Utilitarianism And Ethics Essay

A moral decision can be defied as a choice made on a person’s ethics, manners, character, and what they believe is proper behavior. Moral decisions made by people are based upon values instilled in them as a child. These values can come from family, peers, culture, and society. The moral decisions that stem from ethics can come from two different theories: ethical egoism and utilitarianism. Having an utilitarianism view on moral decisions is the most ethical way when dealing with moral decisions with strangers. Moral decisions are concerned with the well-being of oneself, family, friends, acquaintances, enemies, and strangers. Many moral decisions can combine many different people in which may be affected by the decision. A difficult moral decision is choosing between benefitting oneself versus a stranger. For example, after walking to one’s car after buying groceries, one notices a shopping cart near his/her car with a bag left in it. Inside the bag is necessity items: toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, hand soap, and laundry detergent. These items could easily benefit anyone. The shopper is no where to be found. Should one take the items for themselves or return the items to customer service?

Ethical egoism claims that we ought to pursue our own self-interest above everyone else’s interest (MacKinnon and Fiala 595). If one lived an ethical egoism lifestyle, he or she would take the groceries for themselves. His or her view point would be the person who left the bag has not noticed and will most likely not return to get it. His or her would put his/her needs above all others. Since the items benefit him or her, and they assume the person will not come back for them, he or she will take the items for themselves without feeling remorse about