The Main Goal And Purpose Of Utilitarianism And Virtue Ethics

Act-utilitarianism and virtue ethics are two philosophic theories that have the common goal of happiness. Both theories have a purpose, and they can be used to guide our life based on our actions. Even though these two philosophic ideas were created with good intentions to improve our lives, they also have many disadvantages that put on doubt their effectiveness.

Utilitarianism is a philosophic theory published in London between 1861-1863 by John Stuart Mill. This theory was used to define whether an act is right or wrong, depending on the amount of pleasure that it produces. Utilitarianism has many advantages; it is based on the idea of a common good, and the fact that it focuses on the outcome allows us to analyze the best and fastest way to achieve our happiness. However, if the outcome is the only thing that matters, the action that precedes the goal generates many disadvantages. How we do things can affect the level of satisfaction of the result. Also, not all the things we do in life give instant happiness, like marriage. Playing a game can provide us immediate pleasure, but a relationship is a long-term gratification.

Virtue ethics is a philosophy developed by Aristotle to determine the best way of achieving happiness. He explains that all things that we do have happiness as the only final goal. Virtues are more like a natural skill; it is the way we do things. Doing a voluntary act which means that no one is forcing us; it is an excellent example of acting right. This theory focuses on enhancing our personality, our virtues. Generosity, honesty, compassion are the central values that we need to improve to become better persons. This idea has many advantages; it allows us to know ourselves better and improve our behavior. However, the virtues of ethics are too broad and idealistic; they don't specify how to act in a specific situation. They are also selfish because they focus on self-improvement based on acting good and doing what is right.

I think that virtue ethics are better than utilitarianism. It is good to know what we need to do to achieve our goals, but in society, it is even more critical how our actions can affect others, the end doesn't justify the means. Virtue ethics focuses on acting right and also knowing that it is hard to be kind or honest to a person that hurt us; it would be the right way to act. If every human were as perfect as virtue ethics want us to be, the world would be a better place.

Both theories have happiness as the only goal, but even when they are full of good intentions, they leave many loose ends. However, if we were able to put them together to create a new theory, they would be more effective. If we use virtue to improve our self-awareness, and utilitarianism that supports the common good, the result of our actions would make us happier without compromising the process.