Paper Abstract
This is a 9 page paper discussing the application of utilitarianism to the U.S. decision to go to war with Iraq without U.N. approval. John Stuart Mill’s “Greatest Happiness Principle” and utility is used in terms of moral decisions and can be applied in regards to act-utilitarianism and rule-utilitarianism. Basically, morals and decision making are based on the ideas of rule-utilitarianism in which the consequences of certain actions are considered in terms of the whole, or everyone. Act-utilitarianism however, which can for Mill void rules in certain circumstances, evaluates an action based on the circumstances solely related to the action. The decision making process is only considered a moral one if it is based on good will, according to Immanuel Kant. Thomas Nagel, on the other hand, argues that the U.S. often acts within its own circumstances (act-utilitarianism) and in cases of war, once enacted, the decision to start war, or whether the decision was moral or not, is forgotten and replaced with future speculations of peace, freedom and economic prosperity. Similarly, the application of act-utilitarianism and rule-utilitarianism can be applied to the recent U.S. decision to declare war on Iraq without the approval of the U.N. Security Council. Theoretically, the U.N. is following the moral guidelines of rule-utilitarianism where as the U.S. is following those under act-utilitarianism. Bibliography lists 6 sources.
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