EVARLE, Maria Jeaness B.

A22 – Ethics

“Pure Intentions”
An Intellectual Challenge

Back in early 2020, I said 'yes' to a guy who courted me for months. I was sure I

liked him, but after a month, I lost interest. There were many factors why I didn't want to

continue the relationship; the pandemic just started, and I had family and mental issues that

should be prioritized. I felt like being in a relationship is not the right time, and I can't fake

my disinterest anymore. The only thing that held me back is guilt. He never did wrong, and

his intentions were pure from the start. So, ending the relationship after making him happy

by saying 'yes' might hurt him. It took me days to finally tell him the truth, and he

understood, which made me relieved and brokenhearted at the same time. According to

utilitarianism, successful life is solely tied to the quantity of pleasure in that life; no other

considerations are significant. Its nature may also be an issue since it ignores the purpose

of an action and therefore justify immoral behaviors, which is something I felt because

there was a pleasure after ending it, and guilt because I hurt someone.
References:

Ajvazi, I. (2022, February). Critique of Bentham’s Utilitarianism. ResearchGate.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/358590300_Critique_of_bentham%27s_

utilitarianism

Dimmock, M. (n.d.). Chapter 1. Utilitarianism. © Open Book Publishers, 2017 Creative

Commons - Attribution 4.0 International - CC BY 4.0. Retrieved September 16,

2022, from https://books.openedition.org/obp/4419?lang=en