Posted by Chris Kessler on April 16, 19101 at 14:56:15:

In Reply to: AGAINST UTILITARIANISM posted by Kiki on March 30, 19100 at 05:22:01:

This is from my Philosophy cl.

One argument against Utilitarianism has to do with the notions of justice and meritoriousness.

"The problem of justice and meritoriousness can be revealed in a fictitious example. Suppose you had to go to court to pay a parking fine. You plead guilty, and the punishment is execution by a firing squad. The judge says "I know you dont deserve this punishment, but there has been a rash of murders in our community, and a study has just been released demonstrating that immediately after an execution, the crime rate drops substantially. Unfortunately, we dont have and convicted murderers right now. But we do have you, and there is every reason to believe that if we execute you, the pubic good will be served. Hence, even though my decision may seem unfair to you personally, it will certainly promote the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.

Hope that can help a little

Chris Kessler
SUNY Morrisville

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