The utilitarian approach in ethical decision-making proposes to consider :

AThe effect of each decision alternative on all parties and select one that optimises the greatest number of people

BAn action which is intended to produce a greater ratio of good to bad for an individual

CStandards of equity, fairness and utility

DDecision that best maintains the rights of those affected by it

Answer:

The core principle of utilitarianism is to maximize overall happiness or well-being for the greatest number of people.
It is a consequentialist ethical theory, meaning that the morality of an action is judged solely by its outcomes or consequences.
Key figures associated with utilitarianism include Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill.
Jeremy Bentham proposed the 'hedonistic calculus' to measure pleasure and pain, suggesting that actions leading to more pleasure than pain are morally right.
John Stuart Mill refined Bentham's ideas, distinguishing between higher (intellectual, moral) and lower (physical) pleasures, arguing that higher pleasures are more valuable.
In practical decision-making, a utilitarian approach involves:
- Identifying all possible courses of action.
- Assessing the potential consequences of each action for everyone affected.
- Calculating the net happiness or unhappiness produced by each action.
- Choosing the action that yields the greatest net happiness.
This approach emphasizes impartiality, as everyone's happiness counts equally.
Challenges to utilitarianism include:
- Difficulty in predicting all consequences accurately.
- The potential to justify actions that seem intuitively unfair or unjust to minorities if they benefit the majority.
- The problem of measuring and comparing happiness across different individuals.
Utilitarianism is often contrasted with deontological ethics (duty-based ethics) and virtue ethics.

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