A2 Framework Master File LTHS

Answers to Utilitarianism
1. Utility relies on subjective theory of what constitutes good. There is no
way to maximize utility from a macropolitical level because only one set
standard of welfare can be furthered, disregarding personal determination
of value.
2. Utilitarian ethical theories can only be achieved through deontological
ones. Freedom is necessary to allow individuals to pursue their own ends.
Thus, to maximize social good, freedom must be given to individuals and
not sacrifice it for some greater good.
3. Utility fails to recognize the distinction between individuals. Sacrificing
one person to save ten denies the inherent moral equality of persons.
Robert Nozick states in Anarchy, State, and Utopia that:
To use a person in this way does not sufficiently respect and
take account of the fact that he is a separate person, that his
is the only life he has. He does not get some overbalancing
good from his sacrifice, and no one is entitled to force this
upon him least of all a community that claims his
allegiance and that therefore scrupulously must be
neutral between its citizens.

4. Utility is self-defeating and circular the obligation to the overall welfare

comes from acting on individual interests like picking black socks instead
of white.
5. Utility ignores the communal commitments of individuals. When an
individual has to decide between harming a stranger or their own family,
they choose the stranger because of their personal ties and values that
are intrinsic to their identity.
6. Utilitys moral value stems from its respect for humans as ends. Will
Kymlicka writes,
It isunclear why maximizing utilityshould be considered a
moral duty. Whom is it a duty to? Moralityis a matter of the
obligations we owe to each other. But to whom do we owe the duty
of maximizing utility?...Not to the impersonal ideal spectator who
often figures in such a theory, for he does not exist. Not to the

maximally valuable state of affairs itself, for states of affairs do not

have moral claims. Perhaps we have a duty to the people who
would benefit from maximization of utility. But if that duty isto
treat people with equal consideration, thenMaximizing utility is
now just a by-product, not the ultimate ground of the theory.