Adrian A.

Rumbaua BPEd 1B

Activity 1

1. Cite at least three (3) personal experiences when you were able to apply the principle
of utilitarianism and explain why you said so.

 Utilitarianism is a Philosophy that attempts to encourage right (or, positive) actions

while not relying on religious or moral arguments that actually conflict among differing
populations. For example, Islamic Tradition asks its followers to kneel on a prayer mat,
face Mecca, and pray five times per day, while for a Catholic worshipper of Christ, this
would be ludicrous. So, rather than drawing its idea of “Right and Wrong” from religious
sources that may conflict and in many cases, are actively trying to kill each other it
simply says, “That which provides the most happiness, for the greatest number, and
which minimizes pain, must be right,” while that which does the opposite is wrong.
 There are maybe dozens of times a day we might be tempted to lie, knowing that the
immediate result might be good. However, if people go around lying all the time, then
the result would be bad for society in the long run. Therefore, avoid lying as a general
rule. Make exceptions if at all only in exceptional cases.
 Social distancing is it very good example of utilitarianism in practice. Social distancing is
the only logical way to contain a pandemic. Unfortunately if the government does not
understand its role in seeing to the needs of the people while they voluntarily retreat
from commerce and wage producing labour, a major part of the utilitarian scheme is
missing. A large part of utilitarianism is based on group action since the logic is that it
results in the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

- Utilitarian ethics can be applied to pretty much anything, and can shine when dealing
with complex situations with multiple competing factors. However, it is sometimes
effortful and burdensome to deploy and its results can be counter intuitive.