Susan Friesen

UNST 230
Module 1 Argumentative Paper Part 2

While Immanuel Kants deontological theory of ethics focused on moral duties,

utilitarianism is a form of ethics that is not so focused on the actual actions as it is on the

outcome. Utilitarians define an ethical action purely on what comes of the action. Therefore,

what many people would see as an unethical action, i.e. murder, could be seen as ethical from a

utilitarian standpoint if the outcome of a single murder were to, say, save dozens of other lives.

In the end, it doesnt really matter how something gets done, as long as the result is good.

Utilitarians typically define a good outcome as one that results in happiness or pleasure,

however, different forms of utilitarianism have varying stances on this. One being well-being,

which is more loosely defined with terms of happiness and suffering. A proposed Muslim

registry and surveillance would be, according to utilitarians, ethical due to group well-being and

a preferable end result, even if the means are incredibly discriminatory.

One might argue that a Muslim registry is unethical, and the means and method of

imposing one would cause a lot of harm to thousands of people. The registry and surveillance is

a gross invasion of privacy, it is religious profiling, religious discrimination, and a violation of

basic human rights and freedoms, let alone American rights and freedoms. However, this is

unimportant according to utilitarianism, because beyond the pain, suffering, and injustice of the

few (being Muslims living or trying to travel to the United States), is a sigh of relief for the

many (being the population of Americans who are afraid of Muslims). Jeremy Bentham, a

popular utilitarian, used a method for determining the well-being of a group population.

Benthams method involved adding up the benefits and losses that members of the group would

experience as a result of adopting one action or policy (Act and Rule Utilitarianism). In this

case, the losses are those of the thousands of Muslims in and traveling to and from the United

States. The benefits are the supposed fewer lives lost in terror attacks and the sigh of relief as
Susan Friesen
UNST 230
Module 1 Argumentative Paper Part 2

the rest of the US population feels safe again. Due to the fact that Muslims are a minority in the

United States, and that the number of Muslim migrants is a relatively small population compared

to the rest of the country, Benthams equation to determine group well-being falls in favor of the

rest of the US population. Therefore instilling a Muslim registry to maintain the safety of the

masses is the ethical solution.

Still, some might say that even though there arent as many Muslims as the rest of the

population, it doesnt mean that their lives are worth any less. This is true, per utilitarianism,

however it also means that their lives are not worth any more than any others lives.

Utilitarianisms sense of equality, oddly enough, in this circumstance seems to advocate for a

very discriminatory policy. Utilitarianism vouches that you may not weigh some peoples

interests -- including your own -- more heavily than others. Similarly, if a government is

choosing a policy, it should give equal consideration to the well-being of all members of the

society (Act and Rule Utilitarianism). Again, while this statute seems like it would promote

equality, in the case of a registry and surveillance based on religious profiling, when this is

applied with the aforementioned belief about group well-being, it further supports the idea of

sacrificing the few for the many, as every man to count for one, nobody for more than one (Act

and Rule Utilitarianism).

In the end, per utilitarianism, a Muslim registry and surveillance would be ethical, since

even though most would classify the process and means of the policy as unethical, the outcome,

for many, would outweigh any shortfalls.

Susan Friesen
UNST 230
Module 1 Argumentative Paper Part 2

Works Cited:

"Act and Rule Utilitarianism." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Feb.

2017.

"Deontology - Kantian Duty-Based Ethics." Seven Pillars Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2017.