Bernard Williams and Utilitarianism

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The utilitarian faces many problems because he loses any ability to live a personal life. By this is meant that in making decisions the utilitarian must consider the steps which lead to the highest level of goodness in society. The utilitarian reaches for the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Two main aspects dominate the light of utilitarian beliefs. The consequentialist principle explains that in determining the rightness or wrongness of an act one must examine the results that will follow. The utility principle is that you can only deem something to be good if it in itself will bring upon a specific desired state, such as happiness or fulfillment. There are two types of utilitarians: Act utilitarians and Rule utilitarians. An act utilitarian believes that a person must think things through before making a decision. The only exception to this idea applies with rules of thumb; decisions that need to be made spontaneously. The right act is the one that results in the most utility. Rule utilitarians believe that an act is only deemed appropriate if it fits in line with the outline of valid rules within a system of rules that target the most favorable outcome.

In Williams's first example he discusses the situation of a man. George is having a difficult time finding a job after completing his Ph.D. in chemistry. He is offered a job to work on chemical and biological warfare. Although the job would be beneficial for him professionally, he is strongly against this type of research. In addition, George's low level of commitment to the project would slow the progress of the research, providing for less advancement in chemical and biological warfare. The utilitarian reply to this would be that George should accept his j...

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...set. This is due to the ideas behind consequentialism and the utilitarian ideals of happiness.

Bernard Williams discusses multiple fine points against utilitarianism. His objections are clear and concise, but he fails to keep confidence in them. For all of the problems he sees in utilitarianism, he is not completely opposing it by any means. Williams enjoys the simple mindedness in making a utilitarian decision. By this he does not imply intellectual simplicity. Rather, utilitarians mix perfectly the technical complexity of processes of decision-making with the simple-mindedness of it all. This leads to Williams's final point against utilitarianism. Although utilitarianism can be seen as a great combination of complexity and simplicity, the complexity of serious issues (i.e. politics) is undermined and made sterile by the simplicity of utilitarian thoughts.

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