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Question: What are some examples of when utilitarianism fails!?
based on an action seeming intuitively wrong, but utilitarianism says its right!.
eg, someone is disabled, and thus angry!. Their anger spreads to neighbouring people, thus decreasing overall utility!. Even their own negativity means their own life decreases utility!.
If someone killed this person (secretely, without anyone knowing and appearing to be of natural causes) utility would increase!. Utilitarianism would say this is the morally correct thing to do!.
But intuitively this is morally wrong!.
Could you please give me another example like this!?Www@QuestionHome@Com
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
One of my favourites was Nozick's 'utility monster'!.
If there were some person or creature who became much happier with the same amount of resources, utilitarianism would allocate more - and perhaps all - resources to him!. If for example, a meal made him happier than a starving man, then he should have all the meals he can eat, even if it means the starving man dies!. And if the utility monster can eat all the food in the world, then utilitarianism would give it to him just as long as the total happiness he can produce is greater than everyone else!.!.!. and even though it would mean that everyone but the monster dies!.
Or there's always drugs!.
There are many drugs that produce pleasant sensations at the expense of being useless for almost anything else!. But if there's nothing you can do at a particular moment that makes you happier than those drugs, then utilitarianism would have you take them!. And perhaps vast segments of the population would be kept in a constant euphoria of opiates, doing nothing at all for the remainder of their lives, never to be allowed to sober up (after all, realizing they've been in a drug-induced haze for years might be depressing for them)!. A wasted life that produced nothing but happiness!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Show me a philosophy that taken to extremes does not generate "monsters"!.
Anyone would say for instance that resting one day of the week is reasonable!. Unfortunately, early Jews observed it with such rigor, that they would not defend themselves if attacked (or maybe that's an urban myth)!.
Though sometimes I may use utilitarian arguments, I do no see them applicable to everything!. If you consider Ethics or Law you will quickly realize a different set of principles is required other immediate practical advantage (to whoever defines it)!.Www@QuestionHome@Com