The First Application of the Principle of Utility
The Principle of Utility states that an action is right as it tends to promote happiness and wrong as it tends to produce the reverse of happiness. The principle of utility can be used in several different situations to decide if an action is morally right or morally wrong. In this case, a man named John is faced with the decision of whether or not to install anti-pollution devices, called scrubbers, in a new factory that is being built in Southeast Asia. The scrubbers will cost John's company time and money to install, but would promote the general happiness of the surrounding communities. There are many factors about this case that are given, but many that are not. John is torn in his decision because on one hand, he knows that if the factory is a success and built with the least amount of time and money possible, his superiors will be thrilled and John will be in the running for a promotion from Vice President of the company to CEO. The factory would have a better chance of success if the scrubbers were not installed because of money saved by not installing them. The money saved would help to secure the competitive edge aga
No matter what is known and what is not known, John has a moral obligation to install the anti-pollution devices in the new factory. If the principle of utility is applied to what is known, it is obvious what John should do. John is morally obligated to install the scrubbers. If the scrubbers were installed, it would promote the greatest amount of happiness. The surrounding communities would be happy that the emissions from the factory would be cleaner and healthier for themselves and their families. The environmentalists would be happy that the company is taking the responsibility to help clean up the environment, thus the company has been saved from political scandal. John would be happy that he did the morally right thing; it is obviously better to have less pollution in the world. What is not known is if John is happy with his job as Vice President, or if he would rather be promoted to CEO. If he is happy with his life now, and he makes as much money as he wants to make, then he does not care about the promotion. A promotion to CEO could mean more money for John and his family, but perhaps, less time that John has to s
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Approximate Word count = 771
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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