Question

unit 3 — milestone 3
claire is helping her elderly neighbor, ms. flannigan, with some yard work. ms. flannigan has no close family and tells claire that she is beginning to wonder who will get the small bundles of cash she has hidden throughout her large house. ms. flannigan even remarks that she cannot remember where she has hidden them all. after helping ms. flannigan, claire goes inside to freshen up. in the bathroom she notices a large wad of cash tucked inside the medicine cabinet.
which action is supported by utilitarianism but intuitively seems unethical?
claire leaves the money, but tells her friends about mrs. flannigans forgetfulness and where she had found the money.
claire takes the money and puts it in a savings account that she will not touch for 10 years.
claire leaves the money, and tells ms. flannigan that she will take her to the bank the following week to deposit it.
claire takes the money and donates it to the food kitchen that feeds the community’s homeless population.

Explanation:

Utilitarianism focuses on maximizing overall happiness/utility. Donating the money to a food kitchen (helping homeless, increasing overall good) supports utilitarianism, but taking someone else's money (even to donate) is intuitively unethical as it's theft. Other options: leaving money (ethical) or helping deposit (ethical). Telling friends could lead to harm, but taking and donating fits utilitarian (max good) but is unethical (stealing).

Answer:

Claire takes the money and donates it to the food kitchen that feeds the community’s homeless population.