Q&A Home > U > Utilitarianism According to Utilitarianism which states: The greatest good for the biggest number of people; would you justify killing Adolph Hitler to save the millions of Jews? The fundamental virtue in Christianity is love. Our Lord Jesus Christ was very clear when He said. This virtue is the root "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you" (Mt 5:44) principle of Christian morality. If you justify killing Hitler, you would justify killing Diocletian to save the thousands of martyrs who died for our Lord Jesus Christ. Clearly, this was not God's plan, for today we know how valuable and beneficial martyrdom was for the spread of Christianity in the world.
Non-Christians came up with secular systems of morality that are easier and more acceptable to them than the unconditional love preached in the Holy Bible.
Utilitarianism or philosophy of the common good enjoins one to do what is beneficial. However, the concept of "beneficial" seldom coincides with the concept of "good" as something absolutely good. Surgery is beneficial in restoring health. On the other hand, a knife is beneficial to a thief in the fulfillment of his evil intent. Thus, the principle of usefulness, or goodness, cannot be established as a basis of morality. If we express this utilitarian principle in a concise form: "Act in a way that is beneficial (i.e., advantageous) to you," we will end up with selfishness.
For this reason, some utilitarian philosophers strive to soften this ideal by recommending that one pursue not only one's own personal advantage, but the common good, common benefit in which, they claim, the personal good of each individual is to be found. In this case, utilitarianism appears in a more ennobled and superior form. It nevertheless retains the fact that the concepts of "useful" and "good" do not necessarily coincide.
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