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Punishment Utilitarianism
If the offender of the law is indeed worthy of being punished, how then would utilitarianism justify the degree to which the individual is punished? With
the ultimate ends to punishment being the promotion of the greatest good, the proportions to which coercive force is used are determined via
subordinate ends. These subordinate ends define the punishment as only positive as a response to the initial crime – the secondary act of evilness by
punishment is what allows the injustice of the crime to be righted, inducing the prospect of a brighter future. Bentham goes on to suggest that these
proportions must ensure that the offender loses the motivation to commit future mischief, must be proportionate to the extremeness of the act
committed (by
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Utilitarianism Vs. Mill Utilitarianism
anism: Bentham VS. Mill
Utilitarianism is a normative ethical theory that holds the morally right course of action in any given situation is the course of which yields the
greatest balance of benefits over harms. More specifically, utilitarianism's core idea is that the effects of an action determine whether actions are
morally right or wrong. Created with the philosophies of Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) and John Stuart Mill (1806–1873), Utilitarianism began in
England in the 19th Century. Bentham and Mill built their system of Utilitarianism on ancient hedonism (pursuing physical pleasure and avoiding
physical pain). Although both of these philosophers agreed on the basic principals of Utilitarianism they disagreed on what exactly hedonism is.
Jeremy Bentham was one of the first philosophers to present a fully developed system of utilitarianism. He thought that we, as humans, should evaluate
the consequences of our actions, determine whether each action is morally right or wrong, and tally the pleasure and pain that comes as a result of our
actions. Is it right for me to donate to charity? Is it right for me to cheat on my government test? These questions we ask ourselves fall under Bentham's
theory known as act–utilitarianism because it focuses on the consequences of every action we perform. Bentham argues that the "greatest happiness of
the greatest number of people" (Bentham) is how we should determine right from wrong. He also believed "mankind is under the
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Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism in its very basic form calls for putting benevolence into action, and by extension calling for people to be concerned with the good of a
population in general. More or less, through such an ethical theory, we are encouraged to explore the full range of consequences of our actions and
provides direction of how we can make difficult tradeoffs between different kinds of values in a humane and acceptable fashion. Therefore, the
application of utilitarianism in our day to day decisions involves calculating the various consequences of different actions and selecting the one with the
highest net benefit.
The case of Theresa Ann Campo Pearson, popularly known as "Baby Theresa", provides for us an example in which the theory of utilitarianism ... Show
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It seems acceptable to the utilitarian to kill one person to save two or more. Yet this is an over simplified assertion. If such were the case, a few
people would be killed every now and then for their organs to benefit the many. In fact, there have been cases in various parts of the world where
beggars and homeless persons would be rounded up and their organs forcefully harvested. Such an action, in my opinion is wrong and totally
unacceptable. But we still need to reconcile the utility principle with the situation at hand. If Baby Theresa was a normal healthy child, of course
there would be no argument against her staying alive. Even a physical disability would not warrant the actions her parents proposed. It is safe to
assume that had she had an estimated survival of a year, or at least two months, then harvesting her organs should have been a contentious issue.
However, as an anencephalic, Baby Theresa being alive was doing her no good. According to James Rachels' benefits argument on Baby Theresa,
being alive is a benefit only if it enables you to carry on activities and have thoughts, feelings and relations with other people–none of which Baby
Theresa could
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Utilitarianism And The Theory Of Utilitarianism
Mill determines that there is not a great amount of support for the utilitarian principle, but that is mostly due to it being vastly misunderstood by a
large number of people that choose to discredit it, instead of trying to learn its intricacies. The two main criticisms of utilitarianism are opposites of
each other in terms of belief. The first group to oppose the happiness theory draws their conclusions from the typical sense of the word utility, where it
typically stands for the opposition of pleasure. The other group to oppose this theory holds the opposite view and thinks that utilitarianism bases
everything on pleasure. Neither of these are accurate representations of what utilitarianism is. The author defines utilitarianism as ... Show more content
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Mill says, "Human beings have higher faculties than the animal appetites, and once they become conscious of them they don't regard anything as
happiness that doesn't include their gratification." (10). Humans not only have the base and carnal needs of animals that drive survival, but we also
have feelings, imaginations, intellects, and aspirations. Once we discover and acknowledge this significant difference between us and animals it is
impossible for us to be satisfied with the mediocrity of simple pleasures of bodily sensations. Mental pleasures are seen as superior to those of the
bodily nature because they are "more permanent, safer, less costly and so on," (11). Another important factor of determining higher and lower
pleasures is to look at not only quantity, but also quality. A pleasure can be determined as having a higher quality if a rational person, "prefer[ed] it
even when they know that a greater amount of discontent will come with it, and wouldn't give it up in exchange for any quantity of [another pleasure]
that they are capable of having," (11). A higher pleasure is preferred over lower pleasures, even if it comes with negative side effects. This drastically
shows the extreme value that is put on higher pleasures and how much more valuable they are to the human condition than anything that could come
from a basal pleasure. For those that have gotten the chance to experience both kinds of lifestyles the higher pleasures are obviously more
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Essay on Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism Utilitarianism is mainly associated with the principle of Utility summarised by Jeremy Bentham, a social reformer, in 1768. This
principle was to apply 'the greatest good of the greatest number' theory to all situations that may arise. This theory was that which is good is the act
which provides the greatest amount of pleasure and the least amount of pain. This is a teleological theory as the action is determined by the
consequences of the action, and not the purpose of the action. The theory considered pleasure and happiness to be the... Show more content on
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For Bentham an act is only good if it leads to pleasure. John Stuart Mill was the son of a philosopher who worked with Jeremy Bentham. However,
Mill thought that Bentham's idea of pleasure was vague and thought that different forms of pleasure had different values. Certain areas of Bentham's
theory proved to be problematic when trying to apply it to real life situations. The common example of this is supposing you were a doctor driving
to give a patient an emergency Caesarian section, but you see an old man and the woman's husband in a car crash together. With all four lives in a
fatal state, following the theory is impossible as people would respond differently as well as not having the time to consider all the options. Mill
recognised that it was within human nature for a person not to try for the maximum pleasure, but for a closer pleasure instead, and developed
Bentham's theory. Bentham's theory states that an action that will produce the most happiness is the justified decision, using the hedonic calculus, and
does not allow for the action to be morally inexcusable. The example of this would be the sadistic guards who enjoy torturing a prisoner, which would
be producing happiness for multiple guards and
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Use Of Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism is a theory that was founded by Jeremy Bentham and was later revised by John Stuart Mill. This theory is based on producing the
greatest amount of happiness for the greatest amount of people and all self–aware beings on Earth. Utilitarianism factors in the amount of bad and
good that will be produced by an act. It uses this whether it is during the act or after the act has been done. A utilitarianist believes in one ultimate
goal: living a life without pain and a life with many enjoyments. Pain and enjoyments are different to everyone so they are hard to judge sometimes.
Mill stated that overall happiness is key and that we as a society should try to maximize quality and quantity of overall happiness.
Utilitarianism has three
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The Theory Of Utilitarianism And Rule Utilitarianism
Have you eaten breakfast this morning? Put on clean clothes? Did you have a bed to sleep in at the end of your day? For millions of less fortunate
around the world, the answer to those questions is no. Knowing this is true, can you continue to go about your day and claim to be a moral and ethical
person? In order to obtain the greatest pleasure for the greatest number of people, it is clear that you in order to uphold your moral duty; you must
contribute to those experiencing poverty.
When applying this concept to the consequentialist theory of utilitarianism, it is important to first examine the difference between act utilitarianism and
rule utilitarianism. As Mosser explains, act utilitarianism tells us that we must question what single act would generate the greatest good. Whereas,
rule utilitarianism evaluates the actions themselves and determines what would produce an outcome that institutes the greatest good. (2013 sec. 6.1)
From an act utilitarian standpoint, say you had a hundred dollars to spend lavishly. If you purchased the designer shirt you have been looking at for
weeks, you would definitely be happy, you would make the person selling the shirt happy, and you would make the company making the shirt happy.
Yet, if you were to give the same hundred dollars to charity and it fed a family for a week, gave them new clothing, the medicine they needed, and
better shelter this action would outweigh your pleasure from the shirt you purchased. Not only from
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Utilitarianism In Movie
Decisions, Decisions
We all have seen how in the movies, the main characters decide to take on the situation presented in front of them. Some of would think I would of
have it differently, or ask why would you do that? These actions can be defined through the term Utilitarianism. In detail, onUtilitarianism, it is a theory
in which it is a concern action that will result the utmost amount of pleasure, or happiness, to the vast numbers of persons. (pg.138) In the most part,
Utilitarianism can be connected with Consequentialism "an action is morally required just because it produces the best overall results. (pg.121) This is
simply defined as good actions results in happiness. (pg.119) However, a better understanding follows the interpretation... Show more content on
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Plato indicates that I) Either God has reasons or lacks them for His commands. II) If God lacks reasons that support His commands, then God's
commands are arbitrary and that renders God imperfect, undermining His moral authority. III) If God has reasons that supports His commands, then
these reasons rather than the divine commands, are what makes action right or wrong, thereby refuting the Divine Command Theory. IV) Therefore,
either God is imperfect, or the Divine Command Theory is false. V) God is not imperfect. VI) Therefore, the Divine Command Theory is false.
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Utilitarianism Vs. Utilitarianism Theory
In the history of philosophy Utilitarianism has been viewed as one of the best of the moral theories. It has become one the most powerful, influential,
and most persuasive approach to normative ethics. The utilitarianism theory also has had a major impacts on approaches to economic, political, and
social policy. Theutilitarianism theory had originally had been created by Jeremy Bentham. His version of was that aggregate pleasure after deducting
suffering of all involved in any action. However, this was later revised by John Stuart Mill He has revised the concept of utility and has brought forth
"the Greatest Happiness Principle".
First off, utilitarianism is the philosophical view about how we should evaluate a things that are involve choices that people have to make. These
things that are evaluated are actions, laws, policies, character traits, and moral codes. In general, whatever is being evaluated, we are the ones that have
to choose the one that will produce the best overall results. Utilitarianism is also a form of consequentialism this is because utilitarianism is based on
the consequences or results of actions that are the only standard of right and wrong. Utilitarian's say that we should choose the option that has
"maximizes utility," i.e. that action or policy that produces the largest amount of good. Although it may be similar to Utilitarianism is distinctly
different from other forms of consequentialism such as egoism as it considers all interests equally. On
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Examples Of Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism unlike other theories reviews the consequences of an action and according to Mill and Bentham, should view happiness as being based
upon pleasure that are more long lasting and cerebral. I believe that utilitarianism is the most acceptable theory because it requires that we take into
account the consequences of an action to promote the maximum amount of happiness and unlike deontology which does not take into account
consequences nor does it take in account children and mentally disabled individuals, whereas utilitarianism considers all human beings.
Utilitarianism is considered a consequentialist ethical theory created by John Stuart Mill and Jerry Bentham. Utilitarianism is defined as an action
made is ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The towns Sheff if can hardly maintain peace between the two families. One of the sons of the one the families goes and kills the other family's
son. However, only the sheriff knows about it. What should he do? An act utilitarian would pin the murder on an innocent man who happened to be
passing by the town that day, in order to create maximum happiness. The sheriff is thinking short term. However, a rule utilitarianism would arrest
the son and put him on trial which would lead the two families into even more disputes, but this is his job, so this would lead to positive
consequences in the long term. Many people believe that other theories, such as Deontology, is a better theory than Utilitarianism because believes
that rightness and wrongness of an action doesn't rely on consequences but on motivation, or whether they accomplish our individual duties.
Deontology is a motive based theory. There are three main elements to deontology. 1. Every individual is a rational decision maker. So, how we
arrive at a moral decision is entirely rational. 2. The process of everything you do can be decided and worked out ahead of time. Lastly, 3. It is
concerned with the purity of motives.
There are many objections to Deontology however, which is why I believe that Utilitarianism is the best theory. For example, it assumptions are that
every being is a rational agent. However, it doesn't take into account children and
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Essay on Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism is a moral theory that has long been the subject of philosophical debate. This theory, when practiced, appears to set a very basic
guideline to follow when one is faced with a moral dilemma. Fundamental Utilitarianism states that when a moral dilemma arises, one should take
action that causes favorable results or reduces less favorable results. If these less favorable results, or pain, occur from this action, it can be justified if
it is produced to prevent more pain or produce happiness. Stating the Utilitarian view can summarize these basic principles: "the greatest good for the
greatest number". Utilitarians are to believe that if they follow this philosophy, that no matter what action they take, it ... Show more content on
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Utilitarianism would say that the more "basic or lower–order projects" that comprise of these desires such as family and friends, are unimportant and
detract from "higher–order project" of maximizing desirable outcomes (Singer: 341). The result of this reasoning would mean that all "lower–order
projects" would have only the purpose of satisfying "higher–order projects." This would make one's only goal in life to make other people happy which
is not the only cause for one's own happiness. An individual's happiness is also related to a varying range of projects or pursuits of interest of
"lower–order projects." Integrity is a very important issue that is often overlooked by Utilitarians. This is often the case because integrity is closely
related to "lower–order projects." If an individual did not have any integrity, he/she would a unfulfilling and boring life. Williams says that "happiness,
rather, requires being involved in, or at least content with, something else (Singer: 342)." These "lower–order projects" are the defining characteristics
of an individuals' existence and allow one to achieve personal happiness.
"If such commitments are worth while, then pursuing the projects that flow from them, and realizing some of those projects, will make the person for
whom they are worth while, happy (Singer: 342)."
The examples that Williams' uses, shows us how two characters are faced with a dilemma
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Utilitarianism Essay
Utilitarianism is an evaluation of an action, whether it is favorably or unfavorably affected by the people, which is based upon their consequences. It is
an ethical philosophy that has the procurement of achieving the maximum amount of happiness for the greatest number of people. There are two
Classical Utilitarian philosophers, Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, who believed that the greatest good in the world was attaining pleasure and
the avoidance of pain. It was the idea that the goal for overall happiness was created for the society by an action of someone's well–doing.
Jeremy Bentham was a social reformer, political radical, and founder of Utilitarianism. He viewed the philosophy through laws instead of ethics; hoping
that it would
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Utilitarianism Vs. Utilitarianism : Utilitarianism,...
Reading through the three chapters, what grabbed my attention most was the one on Utilitarianism. I will have some comments throughout this journal
from Chapter 4 (egoism, altruism, and social contract) and 6 (Deontological Ethics and Immanuel Kant) because they have a big influence on this
chapter. Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that relies on the comparison of the overall happiness produced for everyone. It also advocates the
precedence of consequence in the judgment of an action. On the former note, I believe that utilitarianism highly opposes secularism. Utilitarianism
demands that we should undergo a choice that is directly dependent on producing a greater happiness for more people. However, it is right to question
why I'm ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
A utilitarian may thus give a person a choice to adhere to the rules and share these benefits or fly solo and start his/her own civilization from zero. I
would prefer the former over the latter. My main idea, however, is that utilitarianism demolishes the value of personal liberty. It is therefore ironic for
me that some utilitarian philosophers value liberty even though their views are quite the opposite. Speaking of utilitarian philosophers, two of the
influential philosophers that supported utilitarianism were Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. I was amazed that a mathematical procedure was
suggested by utilitarian philosophers in order to calculate the right ethical solution for general problems. Amount of happiness, intensity, duration,
fruitfulness, and likelihood were the guidelines for determining the valid net happiness. I was interested in the likelihood aspect of this proposal.
How can we be certain that pleasure can be delivered to certain groups of people as it was initially planned. For instance, let's say I had a leisure saving
of about 5000 dollars. Instead of taking my family on a vacation to Thailand and providing a decent amount of happiness for a week, I decided to
buy a used Audi car to my wife in hopes of providing more happiness for coming few years. It may turn out to be the correct decision if my wife
cherishes this gift every day as she uses it instead of taking the bus.
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Utilitarianism Sacrifice
Utilitarianism:
Should You Sacrifice Your Happiness? Would you be willing to sacrifice something that you really care about for the greater good? Utilitarianism is
the theory that we should do what is best for the world as a whole, even if that means that there will be some unhappiness. It is the ethical theory that I
believe I base most of my moral judgments on, but as with anything, there are flaws to this theory. Utilitarianism, defined as "the theory that an action
is right if it seeks to promote the greatest amount of happiness in the world at large". This theory was started with the philosophies of Jeremy Bentham
(1748–1832) and John Stuart Mill (1806–1873). "Utilitarianism gets its name from Bentham's test question, "What is the ... Show more content on
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One argument is that it is unpredictable. We cannot predict the future and most of the time, things do not turn out the way that we thought they
would. Therefore, we can't judge an action as being right or wrong based on outcomes that come down to chance. Another argument is justice. Our
view of justice is that everyone should be treated fairly. Utilitarianism allows us to sacrifice individuals for the greater good. Many people would see
this as unfair. In an article I read online, the author makes a very good point about how utilitarianism cannot protect the rights of minorities. In his
example he says, " if the goal is the greatest good for the greatest number. Americans in the eighteenth century could justify slavery on the basis that it
provided a good consequence for a majority of Americans. Certainly the majority benefited from cheap slave labor even though the lives of black
slaves were much worse." With an argument like that, it is hard to fully agree with the theories of
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Examples Of Utilitarianism
When making decisions, it is often difficult to consider the best course of action with the surrounding circumstances. There are different thought
processes that explain why actions are right or wrong; the two basic approaches are teleological, which says that the consequences of an action
determine whether the action is right or wrong, and deontological, where an underlying "duty" makes the distinction. Utilitarianism is a teleological
approach to moral reasoning and rationalization of basic human actions. It is a theory based on communal good, that decision is right if it creates the
most good for the greatest number of people impacted by the action. With that said, utilitarianism is a plausible approach in deciding the morality of an
action.
Though utilitarianism has drawbacks, it can help when making a difficult decision. It is a relatively ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Some key factors to consider with utilitarianism are the impact on those not directly impacted by the choice at hand, and the need to compare potential
actions with alternatives in order to choose the best possible solution. An example that one could use to demonstrate the value of a utilitarian approach
would be looking at whether opening a factory in the US would be morally just. To properly apply utilitarianism, one must identify all people affected
by the decision; in this case, the different construction and factory workers in the US, people impacted by pollution and additional waste, end
consumers, and shareholders. The dominant consideration in this case would be the shareholders, as the company cannot afford to undertake
unprofitable projects for social benefit. Next, the positive and negative consequences must be specified and totaled. Here, the positives include more
jobs, stimulating the economy, and the good produced by the quality of US made products. The negatives include pollution
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Consequences Of Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism is a theory in normative ethics holding that the proper course of action is the one that maximizes overall happiness. It is now generally
taken to be a form of consequentialism, According to utilitarianism the moral worth of an action is determined only by its resulting outcome although
there is debate over how much consideration should be given to actual consequences, foreseen consequences and intended consequences. Utilitarianism
has often been considered the natural ethic of a democracy operating by simple majority without protection of individual rights. In this essay, I will
argue that utilitarianism is incorrect because of the objection that it does not provide adequate protection for individual rights, and that not everything ...
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A utilitarian would argue that just because rights are not directly considered in relation to the consequences of an action, they do in–fact have some
impact on the chosen action. With majority of the population getting happiness out of doing the right thing, rights are often protected through
Utilitarianism. For the small minority of people that don't experience unhappiness from disregarding human rights, the existence of the police force
ensures human right are protected from these members of society. With human rights being protected under law, people rights will be upheld under
Utilitarianism because there will always be a larger amount of disutility from violating the law than from the personal gains of a human right offender.
For example the CEO and CFO of Tyco a New Jersey–based company stole $150 million and inflated Tyco incomes by $500 million, in doing so they
violated the rights of investors. After the police discovered this fraud, the justice system penalized both, with a sentence of 8–25 years in prison with
the addition of $2.92 billion paid to Tyco Investors. Under Utilitarianism this case wouldn't occur because the benefits of stealing this money would
never outweigh the consequences that result from being caught for defrauding investors. Therefore even though rights are not considered in
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Utilitarianism Essay
Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism is a consequentialist ethical theory. An action is right or wrong based on its consequences. John Stuart Mill was an important
philosopher in developing the idea of utilitarianism. Utilitarianism holds that any action that results in a greater amount of happiness in the world is a
right action and any action that results in pain or less happiness is wrong. Utilitarianism can be divided into different versions.
Act utilitarianism is one of the versions of utilitarianism. Act utilitarianism's goal is to maximize the overall happiness of the universe. Act
utilitarianism uses the Greatest Happiness Principle which says in every situation, choose the option that you believe to be most likely to ... Show more
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If the bank managers did not care about the customer's money, the FDIC insured all the stolen money, the police were not unhappy because of the
robbery, and the robber was extremely happy because he could move to the Caribbean and never work again, then robbing the bank would be a right
action.
There are many good points to act utilitarianism. It is very appealing because most people want to increase their happiness and reduce their pain. Act
utilitarianism says that people could do that and they would not only make everyone happier but they would also be doing what is morally right. Act
utilitarians will not have conflicts over any action being right or wrong because the hedonistic calculus is an objective test that proves the amount of
please or pain that will result. It is a standard that all actions can be evaluated by. Another point or act utilitarianism that can be seen as an advantage
over rule utilitarianism is that each individual situation can have a different action be right. This means that in every situation the right action will
provide more happiness or less pain as opposed to rule utilitarianism where the individual situations do not matter.
Act utilitarianism also has some disadvantages. One major fault of act utilitarianism is that some actions would
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Utilitarianism : Utilitarianism And Philosophical Ideas
Mill begins his book on Utilitarianism by laying out some basic ethical and philosophical ideas. From what I have read in his book I believe that
Utilitarianism can be defined as the idea that humans should make decisions based on the ability to promote the most happiness to them. Another way
to say it would be that Utilitarianism states that a good decision is what brings the most happiness to the most people. Mill based his utilitarian theory
on the decisions that people make. He says the decisions people make should always benefit the most people as much as possible no matter what the
consequences might be. Mill says that we should balance the outcomes and make our decisions based on the outcome that is in the interest of the
majority of the people. This leads to him stating that pleasure is the only desirable consequence of our decision or actions. Mill believes that human
beings have the ability for conscious thought, and they are not satisfied with physical pleasures, but they will try to achieve pleasure of the mind as
well. He claims that people seek pleasure and reject pain. I will point out some problems that Mill has with this theory and use examples to express my
stance.
There are several moral problems that Mill ran into with his theory. One of the first conflicts I noticed was that actions are right to create happiness,
but wrong if they sometimes tend to produce unhappiness. A soldier moving a wounded comrade out of the line of fire could be seen as the
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Utilitarianism : Mill 's Theory Of Utilitarianism
Konstantin Keller
Anne Portman
Philosophy 2010
21 October 2015 In Chapters 2 and 4 of Utilitarianism, Mill responds and attempts to refute misconceptions and arguments against utilitarianism and
further broadens his examination of happiness. Along with this he also defines the subtle differences in his own theory of utilitarianism. By claiming that
it is better to be "better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied", Mill asserts that it is better to use one's higher capacities to be aware of the
world whilst being unsatisfied than to be ignorant and naГЇve but blissful.
In Chapter 2, Mill begins by answering the objection which claims that utility is a separate concept from pleasure and happiness. He discerns this as
simply a lack of education on the objector's part, because the concept of utility is defined as pleasure itself and the absence of pain. He assumes that
this misconception arose from people hearing the word "utility" and simply inferring that it's something cold and opposed to pleasure because of how
it sounds. He then proceeds to dub utility as "the Greatest Happiness Principle," which holds that "actions are right in proportion as they tend to
promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. By happiness is intended pleasure, and the absence of pain; by
unhappiness, pain, and the privation of pleasure." According to this definition, pleasure and the absence of pain are the only things that are inherently
"good." Therefore,
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Utilitarianism Essay
Utilitarianism is a theory in normative ethics which suggests that the best moral action is the one that maximizes utility. Utility is related to the good of
human beings. Individuals who are for utilitarianism defines utility as the combined pleasure after reducing suffering of all involved in any action.
Some individuals have expanded this definition of utility to consider not only the quantity, but quality of pleasure, while focusing on rules, instead of
individual moral actions. Others have denied that pleasure has actual value and have advocated negative utilitarianism, which defines utility only in
terms of suffering.
Utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism, which states that the consequences of all actions are the basics of right
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Utilitarianism Mill
In Mill's "Utilitarianism" he brings up a response that some have to the principles of Utilitarianism. The response is an objection to the Utilitarian moral
theory. The objection that Mill recounts is that the people who do not agree with the Utilitarian moral theory say that Utilitarianism suggests that human
beings are like swine. The argument for this idea is that Utilitarianism is about the maximization of pleasure and the minimization of pain. So with this
in mind, those against the Utilitarianism say that then it would be morally right to live life as a satisfied pig which seems very absurd. An example of
this concept would be with drug addicts. The objectors believe that Utilitarianism says that it is morally right to live life
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Utilitarianism And Moral Responsibility : Utilitarianism
The welfarist component of utilitarianism denies the intrinsic value of any moral elements other than wellbeing. This assumption makes the utilitarian
moral theory susceptible to the criticism that it undermines the moral significance of justice and law–something that many people assume to possess
an absolute nature. However, in the following analysis, I'll try to demonstrate that even in morally sophisticated cases, utilitarianism comes to the
conclusion that may well explain our commonsense about law. Its real weaknesses lie in the consequentialist assumption, which may be potentially
incompatible with a plausible theory on moral responsibility.
It might be helpful to begin our evaluation about utilitarianism by considering a moral dilemma. I'll then propose an answer under the utilitarian
framework and respond to some of our moral concerns by offering alternative explanations. Then I'll try to identify the weaknesses of utilitarianism by
showing its confusion on moral responsibility.
Suppose that four white policemen were taped beating a black suspect while arresting him, and the videotape was uploaded online. The video aroused
widespread public anger and the four policemen were put on trial, yet the available evidences argue against conviction. However, an acquittal is likely
to trigger public fury and cause riots, which may ultimately result in deaths and injuries. A jury member is thus facing a decision either to vote for
acquittal, allowing the riot to happen, or to
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Utilitarianism Essay
Classical utilitarianism, the theory as described by 17th century philosopher John Stuart Mill, states that the only thing that matters is that are the
happiness and unhappiness that is created as a consequence of an action; those actions are to be judged right or wrong solely by virtue of their
consequences, everything else is irrelevant. The theory also states that each person's happiness is equally important. According to Mill, the right actions
are actions that produce the greatest possible balance of happiness over unhappiness. Although the theory of utilitarianism is widely accepted, it is not
without some very critical and persuasive objections. I will examine and analyze the "doctrine of swine" and "lack of time" objections ... Show more
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Premise two is more ambiguous; it is true considering life is no longer meaningful hooked up to the machine because a person is not technically
living reality, but false when life is defined by the experiences of its surroundings. Because experiences in life are just projections of the mind, what
difference would it make if it was fed into the mind by artificial means? The end result would technically be the same in this case. All in all, premise
two has a conflicting logic, making the argument unsound.
Mill tackles this argument by saying that some pleasures are just better than others. Types of pleasures include moral, intellectual, aesthetic, and
sensuous pleasures. And while the experience machine might produce a profuse amount of aesthetic and sensuous pleasure, the quality of those two
types of pleasure would be outweighed by the quality of moral and intellectual pleasure of living in reality. Thus, with the each pleasure scaled, living in
reality would produce more utility than being hooked up onto the machine, rendering premise one of the 'experience machine' argument false.
Even with the modified version of utility, Mill's response is still vulnerable to a modified version of the pleasure machine objection. All one has to do
is to design a switch for moral pleasure and set the knob to maximum. Mills argument quickly
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Mill And Utilitarianism
1.According to Mill, why are some pleasures more worthwhile than others?
According to Mill, "what makes a pleasure more valuable than other merely as pleasure except its being greater in amount, there is but one possible
answer. Of two pleasures, if there be one to which all or almost all or have experience of both give desired preference irrespective of any feeling of
moral obligation to prefer it, that is the more desirable pleasure." This means that it all comes down to the person's preferences once he or she has
experienced pleasure in both quantity and quality.
2.Explain the difference between act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism.
For Act Utilitarianism an act is right if it results in as much good as any available alternative
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Act Utilitarianism And Rule Utilitarianism
1. Utilitarians believe that "one should so act as to promote the greatest happiness (pleasure) of the greatest number of people" (Angeles 326).
However, within the utilitarian community there are major splits in how we are to determine which action brings us the greatest amounts of pleasure.
Today I will be focusing on two ways to determine which actions bring the greatest amount of pleasure to a situation: act and ruleutilitarianism. I will
define both act and rule utilitarianism, give a situation where both can be applied, and respond to an objection of utilitarianism. I will also be
discussing why I believe act utilitarianism helps more people than rule utilitarianism, in turn, becoming 'superior' to rule utilitarianism.
2. To begin, I will be defining both act and rule utilitarianism. In act utilitarianism, you determine the morality of an act by measuring the pleasures
and pains for a specific situation Angeles 326). Act utilitarians take into consideration only those affected in the specific situation. However, rule
utilitarianism determines the morality of an act "according to the good or bad consequences that ensue from following a general moral rule of
conduct..." (Angeles 326). Good examples of those general moral rules are phrases like, never steal or never tell a lie. In any situation, people can use
either act or rule utilitarianism to determine the correct course of action.
3. Now, I will use a hypothetical situation to describe both act and rule
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Mill 's Utilitarianism : Utilitarianism
Mill's Utilitarianism For centuries philosophers have attempted to explain morals, creating ideas that break this ethical system down into basic
components. English philosopher, John Stuart Mill, was a large contributor to the idea of utilitarianism. Although Mill's utilitarianism provides a strong
argument for explaining morality, it is not a bulletproof theory.
J.S. Mill's Principle of utility, also known as the greatest happiness principle, is an ethical philosophy that looks at the development of morals and how
people choose to follow these morals. The basis of Utilitarianism is the idea that our morals are designed to create the most amount of happiness while
minimizing the amount of pain felt. Mill's utilitarianism looks at everyone's happiness as equal, with individual actions concerning the feelings of
everyone equally. Utilitarianism argues that decisions are made based on whether that decision will create happiness for the most while minimizing
pain for the least amount of people, looking at the opportunity costs of various decisions and using this to lead to the best course of action. From this
Mill suggests the idea of the first principle of morality.
The "first principle" is the idea that morality has a principle that is the basis of all morals and ethics. Throughout history, human morals have remained
largely unchanged. For example, humans have always viewed killing another person as immoral. How can some morals be similar even across
regional areas and
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Example Of Utilitarianism
"Utilitarianism is a simple, bold, and direct ethical theory. It takes happiness as its standard and uses it to assess the morality of the actions we
perform." (Sanchez 2). The basic principle of Utilitarianism theory of Ethics articulates that an action is right if and only if that action inclines to
promotes net happiness. Furthermore, utilitarianism assert that multiple actions are considered right if and only if every action brings about parallel
amount of happiness compare to other action that could have been executed. Laying away the likelihood of actions only producing happiness, "the
utilitarian principle instructs us to perform the action that brings about the greatest net happiness. The "net" happiness of an action is simply the
happiness it produces minus any unhappiness it causes" (Sanchez 3). Therefore, utilitarianism is not only concerned with the positive consequences of
the actions, but utilitarianism is more interest in the overall consequences of the actions. Consequently, utilitarianism maintains that if the effect of an
action does not encourage happiness, then that action is regarded to be wrong. Furthermore, the utilitarian theory states that the actions, which may
have immediate positive outcome, could transpire harm to others or reciprocate any unintentional consequence. Therefore, in any given situation, a
person should determine to take an action by taking an account of the long–term consequence of that action. For instance, deceiving another person
may seem a ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
"Bentham and Mill equated happiness with pleasure and the absence of pain." (Sanchez 5). In other words, any actions that generates greatest amount
of pleasure and enjoyment are deemed to be right. "Pleasure, in their view, is the one thing that is intrinsically good or worthwhile. Anything that is
good is good only because it brings about pleasure (or happiness), directly or indirectly." (Sanchez
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Utilitarianism Benefits
Benefits of Utilitarianism According to the utilitarian theory it believes that the impartiality, fairness, and greater social harmony requires us to balance
our interests with those of others. In doing so, utilitarianism provides an effective antidote for the evils of discrimination based on race, gender,
religion, and other unjust criteria. This means utilitarians try to find a way to make themselves and others happy. The value of happiness for example,
should be distributed to as many people as possible. Considering this, I agree that using the utilitarianism theory will benefit a society in the distant
future. To begin with, negative consequences may be reached to receive a positive outcome. For instance, there are five victims tied down to a
railroad and there is a runaway trolley cart heading towards the five victims. If there is a choice to divert that runaway trolley cart to kill that one
victim instead of those five, killing that one victim is considered ethical according to the utilitarian theory. Indeed, diverting that runaway trolley from
attacking those five victims is a better outcome for the society rather than saving that one sufferer. The reason that is, those five victims are now able
to create a society that is far ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Those people who were saved were not saved based off their status in society. But they were judged based on how many victims there were.
Bentham himself writes, "prejudice apart, the game of pushpin is of equal value with the arts and sciences of music and poetry" (Bentham 475). In
other words, Bentham believed that pleasure has no lesser or higher value. The principle of utility states that property of any object, if its produces an
benefit or an advantage to a certain party whose interest is considered then it is the right solution. This means that the group of victims who were saved
can produce a society that will be successful in the
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Essay on Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism
There are many essays, papers and books written on the concept of right and wrong. Philosophers have theorized about moral actions for eons, one
such philosopher is John Stuart Mill. In his book Utilitarianism he tries to improve on the theories of utilitarianism from previous philosophers, as he is
a strong believer himself in the theory. In Mill's book he presents the ideology that there is another branch on the utilitarian tree. This branch being
called rule–utilitarianism. Mill makes a distinction between two different types of utilitarianism; act–utilitarianism and rule–utilitarianism.
Rule–utilitarianism seems like a major advance over the simple theory of act–utilitarianism. But for all its added complexity, it ... Show more content on
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In the instance when an individual steals from another individual for his/her own self–happiness, others in society cannot deem this to be justifiable,
even if it may be more beneficial to the thief to steal. Act–utilitarianism does not guarantee the protection to the victim of theft in this example because,
it's more focused on the greatest happiness and not on the consequences for others' happiness. The greatest happiness may be given to either person in
this situation depending on 'the stories' of each (i.e. the reason for thief). Therefore, the idea of right seems not to be absolute. Mill however,
recognizes this as a problem and introduces the theory of rule–utilitarianism to compensate. Instead of looking at the consequences of a particular act,
rule–utilitarianism determines the rightness of an act by an alternative mean. That mean consists of first finding the best rule of conduct, this is done
by finding the values of the consequences that follow a particular rule; The best rule is the rule, which has the greatest overall result of any given
action. Hence, one must follow the actual rules of one's society. To illustrate, 'one ought not to steal' because it is societies laws. Solving the issue of
not recognizing the victims happiness due to the fact, according to Mill, that these laws are based on morally right objectives. However,
rule–utilitarianism is just an impotent way around the problem presented by the simple
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Aristotle And Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism is the idea that best moral path possible at all times is one that benefits the greatest amount of people. In other words, Utilitarianism
operates under the doctrine that supports the greater good and maximizes happiness. It does not require or virtuous figure to follow, for it based purely
upon reducing human suffering. It is sometimes called consequentialism because it is based on the idea that the best action is what produces the best
consequences. They reduce suffering. you can have different actions that lead to good outcomes and they can all be good.
Aristotle came up with the virtue theory. The virtue theory, on the other hand, states that an action is moral if it is what virtuous being would do. In
this way, less emphasis is placed upon specific rules or laws that clearly define moral actions, and more is placed on what constitutes a good person.
Although there is not a clear line in the virtue theory of what is rational and what is not, it is `often up to common sense to determine what is an
admirable trait and what is not. A virtuous person does not let their emotions control them and inhibit them from doing what they know to be right. This
part is important: their heart must be in the right place at all times. there should be no difference between what they should do and what they want to
do. Examining right is wrong in terms of the virtue theory is often very cumulative in the sense that an individual action is judged based on whether or
not it contributes to overall mortality. actions in general arent really the main focus. actions are a representation of ones overall ... Show more content on
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A virtuous being has an entire set of good character traits. Character traits aren't simply things that you do, but actions that are engrained in you and are
often your first instinct. Utilitarianism is an ethics of conduct while virtue ethics are of
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Utilitarianism And Deontological Ethics : Utilitarianism
UTILITARIANISM AND DEONTOLOGICAL ETHICS 13
Utilitarianism and Deontological Ethics
Christopher Kearney
Student ID 4697583
American Public University System (AMU)
Dr. Robert Watkins
September 21,2017
Abstract
Usefulness and duty are two of the primary drivers that cause people to take action or not. Usefulness of an action means that the society receives the
greatest amount of benefits from the action (or actions) of an individual(s). On the other hand, duty is the obligation or a sense of honor that a society
may achieve by following a set code of conduct or ideals to accomplish a goal. Most of the time that goal is for causing good to others. Certain
powerful entities, such as the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
In other words, it evaluates the desirability of a specific action based on the outcomes of that choice. A familiar guide for such a decision–making
would be selecting the option that yields the greatest good for the greatest number of people, or the least harmful result. It demands that individuals
judge their actions based on the significance or correctness of the outcome of it. That means if the outcome of an action is good, then the action can
be ethical. On the other hand, if an action is wrong, then it is unethical (Tanner et al., 2007). According to George Moore (1965), a British philosopher,
the "rightness" or "wrongness" of an action depends on its outcome (p. 80–83). The same holds true with other utilitarianists. George further states that
an individual's intentions or motives are irrelevant in evaluating the "rightness" or "wrongness" of their actions.
When thinking about the concept of rightness or wrongness of an action, it is good to consider the advantages from either one or both sides. The best
scenario is for the two parties to come out in a win–win situation, but sometimes that is not possible. That is because utilitarianism is a normative ethical
theory that basis the locus of right and wrong exclusively on the consequences of choosing one action over the other. The underlying principle of
utilitarianism is looking beyond the desires and
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Utilitarianism, Utilitarianism And Rule Utilitarianism
There are several theories that try to explain the morality of the actions; however, two stand out. the first is deontology, and the other one is
utilitarianism. The former follow the idea that the consequences of you action hold no importance in what we ought to do. But rather, some actions
are morally wrong or good by itself. The latter follows an opposite view in which the consequences of an action are what it makes an action moral.
Specially, if that action produce the greatest happiness over unhappiness. In this essay I will focus on two Utilitarianism ramifications, act utilitarianism
and rule utilitarianism. They both agree that consequences must be the greatest factor in deciding what we ought to do. Nonetheless they have one big
difference. Rule Utilitarianism generalize acts and recreate the consequences of a rule. If the consequences are ultimately favoring, then it is morally
right. By way of contrast, Act Utilitarianism evaluate each action individually, and similar situation would have different outcomes depending on the
situation. There is no universal rule unlike rule utilitarianism. In order to determine how different, the act and rule utilitarianism are, I will analyze it
by applying them in the following scenario. Let's imagine, you are a doctor in an oncology ward in a major city that is strapped for financial and
material resources. One evening, two patients are admitted to the hospital. One patient is suffering from a seemingly incurable form of
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Examples Of Utilitarianism
Utlitiarianism
It is a form of consequentialism and it states that actions are morally right or wrong depending on their outcome and effect. The only effect of a
particular action that is relevant, are the good and bad results produced. Early utilitarian thinkers like John Gay and Richard Cumberland believed that
promoting human happiness was approved by God. A person's salvation and her their eternal happiness depended on their conformity to God's will.
Jeremy Bentham was influenced by Hobbes' account of human nature and Hume's account of social utility. He thought that humans were ruled by the
two "sovereign masters" of pleasure and pain. He introduces a method of calculating the value of pleasure and pain which is known as the 'hedonic
calculus'. ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
For example, if we imagined a scenario where the Government decided that to benefit their society they would stop giving money to those in need. As
a result of this choice they would become significantly wealthy but in the process the minority they stopped giving money to became poor. This would
have been according to utilitarianism justifiable because it utilised maximum pleasure for a large group of people. If we had to add justice as a
deciding factor then utilitarianism is not the only principle that guides our decisions, it only plays a minor role in the outcome. Utilitarianism must
consider the interests of all persons involved and not just the pleasure or pain of the one individual. In addition, Utilitarianism cannot differentiate the
source of 'utility'. An example could be that some people may get 'utility' from viewing a pleasant scene in nature and other from viewing sadistic acts.
Here the same amount of utility is gained from each scenario with each individual gaining the same levels of pleasure. This is troubling because we
would want to separate the sources deriving of pleasure and that of pain, so that pleasure should not be equivalent to that of getting pleasure from
harming
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Utilitarianism Essay
Utilitarianism Utilitarianism is the greatest good of the greatest number. It takes the view that an action is right if it is likely to produce the best
consequences compared to all the other possible actions. The best consequences are those which involve the maximization of what is good and the
minimization of what is bad. The worst consequences are which involve the maximization of what is bad and the minimization of what is good. The
basic premise is the idea that the greatest good comes from creating happiness for the greatest number of people. Pleasure and freedom of pain are the
only things desirable as ends. In Utilitarianism it is the greatest ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Along with these problems, there are many arguments for and against Utilitarianism and whether it provides an adequate basis for making moral
decisions.
An argument against Utilitarianism is that there is no agreement about what is the 'good' that is to be maximized for all concerned in different
situations. Who decides what is good for whom? And whose interests are primary in these decisions? Furthermore does someone have authority over
anyone else in making these decisions?
Also, a Utilitarian would not judge the rightness or wrongness of the actions but rather in the consequences or what has resulted from the actions.
This means they take the view that it is okay, and therefore right, to carry out an action which is wrong in itself as long as it has good
consequences for the majority of people. An example of how this could be wrong is; in a society with a lot of rape and no rapists being convicted,
the general public may be threatened and unhappy with the thought of a rapist being at large. Therefore, if a police detective was a Utilitarian, and
under pressure to find the attacker, then he would feel it was right to convict an innocent man just to make the greater number of people feel safer and
therefore happier. This also means a Utilitarian could not differentiate between an accidental death and a
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Kant's Utilitarianism
Jeremy Bentham founded Utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is to defend the view that those acts that produce the greatest happiness of the greatest
number of people are right and good" (Deininger 2015). This theory focuses on the outcome of an action that leads to good. The action considered to
be good to the greatest number of people affected by action. Immanual Kant Moral theory is applied to everyone no matter what the situation is.
Appling it to all people regardless of the scenario faced. "The Kant's basic moral principle is comparable for his moral philosophy to the principle of
utility for utilitarians. It is Kant's test for right and wrong" (McKinnon 2015). Bentham's Utilitarianism and Kant's theory could be applied to moral and
ethical
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Utilitarianism in Government
In its political philosophy utilitarianism provides an alternative to theories of natural law and the social contract by basing the authority of government
and the sanctity of individual rights upon their utility, or measure of happiness gained. As an egalitarian doctrine, where everyone's happiness counts
equally, the rational, relatively straightforward nature of utilitarianism offers an attractive model for democratic government. It offers practical methods
for deciding the morally right course of action – "...an action is right as it tends to promote happiness, wrong as it tends to diminish it, for the party
whose interests are in question" (Bentham, 1780). To discover what we should do in a given situation, we identify the various ... Show more content on
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One major point of contention, however, is that it is often difficult, if not impossible, to measure and compare the values of certain benefits and
costs. How does one assign value to human life, or time, or artistic pleasures such as literature and music? Mill's response was to introduce variables
to pleasure. While Bentham concentrated on quantity (the pleasure's duration, intensity, etc), Mill stressed quality. Adding the feature of quality to
pleasure differentiates " higher", intellectual pleasures from common, physical ones. He argues in his famous quote "It is better to be a human being
dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied. And if the fool, or the pig, are of a different opinion, it is only
because they only know their own side of the question". This reasoning is not very satisfactory if we consider how subjective (and elitist) it can be.
Who is to determine which activities are more high–brow or low–brow, and what makes a competent judge? Mill states it should be person who has
experience of the activities in question, but a key aspect of utilitarianism it the requirement of making these judgements impartially and impersonally.
With the diversity of this world it is highly unlikely that the tastes and preferences will all align in accord. Even if we attempt to make our decisions
based on how others would be affected, it is impossible for us to know or measure the
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Utilitarianism On Happiness
Explain in your own words the logic of Mill's argument, and critically discuss whether happiness should be the criterion of morality. For utilitarian
philosophers, happiness is the supreme value of life. John Stuart Mill defines Utilitarianism as a theory based on the principle that "actions are right in
proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. By happiness is intended pleasure and the
absence of pain; by unhappiness, pain and privation of pleasure" (Mill, Utilitarianism). This meaning that utilitarianism is determined by the
calculation of happiness, in which actions are deemed to be good if they tend to produce pleasure, a form of happiness. On the contrary, they are evil
if they tend to promote pain. Not only does Mill regard to the end product of happiness in actions, but also considers the motives of such actions. In his
argument, Mill defends the idea that happiness as the underlying basis of morality, and that people desire nothing but happiness. Utilitarianism is a form
of consequentialism because the premise of its idea it is that the results of ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
One might say, however, that some things are desired as a means to happiness. These, he says, are 'ingredients' to happiness. Happiness consists of
these 'ingredients'; they are a part of the happiness. Therefore, Mill claims that whatever is desired for its own sake is part of what happiness is, and
each individual person desires different things to make them happy. They are means to the end of happiness. It is not possible, according to Mill, to
desire something that will not provide some form of pleasure. Pleasure is happiness, and people only desire happiness, and happiness is therefore the
only good.
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Summary Of Utilitarianism
An overview of what Utilitarianism is, can be some–what explained as a combination of both the theory in Normative Ethics and a form of
Consequentialism. In detail, on Utilitarianism, it is a theory in which it is a concern action that will result the utmost amount of pleasure, or happiness,
to the vast numbers of persons. (pg.138) Consequentialism "an action is morally required just because it produces the best overall results. (pg.121)
This is simply defined as good actions results in happiness. (pg.119) However, a better understanding follows the interpretation ofUtilitarianism by
J.J.C Smart. Smart presents his definition of the two sub–forms of Utilitarianism: Act and Rule Utilitarianism. Smart stated, "Utilitarianism is the
doctrine ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Act do not think they just do. In an impulse an Act will try to save someone who is more of need because it is morally right. Patient 2 was not
offered the drug because he was indicated to full recovery, even though signs shows he might be in remission his state was far better than the first
patient. Thus, no greater happiness will resulted in the scenario if patient 2 were to be given the experimental
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Utilitarianism Outline
1. Thesis Statement: John Stuarts Mills Theory of Utilitarianism is correct and valid as it was then.2. State what you will argue: Utilitarianism gives
us a quantifiable method to live one's life, Utilitarianism affirms the importance of happiness as the goal of human life, finally it has a clear defined
goal in maximizing good and minimizing bad.3. Transition: His theory remains relevant because it gives us a practical rules to live by.
1.Topic Sentence: Utilitarianism gives us a quantifiable method to live one's life. 2. Explanation: "Mills prides happiness above all else. Happiness is
the primary factor we strive for. Thus it's useful because we have a basis of how to act. We should act to where it promotes happiness and mitigates...
Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
2. Explanation: Mills innovates by prioritizing and connecting pleasure with happiness. Pleasure itself is a virtue. Utilitarianism acknowledges
individual actions that benefit the greatest number. It affirms majority happiness and individual general happiness. In simple terms it affirms all actions
need to be guided towards attaining happiness. As a result this keys this utilitarianism valid,because happiness is universally sought. 3.Quote: Robert.
H.Hoag explains in Happiness and Freedom: Recent Work onJohn Stuart Mill " Thus, on Mill's view, pleasures, virtue, money, fame, in– individuality,
and power can be desired or desirable both as ends and as means to happiness, both as parts of and in relation to happiness."(Pg. 6) 4. Analysis: "
Utilitarianism can be simply seen as maximizing happiness for the greatest number while mitigating pain. While valid, it affirms human desire. It
shows that it's ok for people to desire grandoise. For anything is accessible to one's life. Thus utilitarianism remains valid because it promotes all
human pursuits. As long as it's in relation to one's happyiness and generates minimal suffering. In effect your own happyiness should promote the
happiness of others. Thus this will mill's theory valid. 5. Transition:() Utilitarianism is especially useful because it gives a clearly defined goal,
maximize the good and minimize the
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Utilitarianism's Greatest Good

  • 1. Punishment Utilitarianism If the offender of the law is indeed worthy of being punished, how then would utilitarianism justify the degree to which the individual is punished? With the ultimate ends to punishment being the promotion of the greatest good, the proportions to which coercive force is used are determined via subordinate ends. These subordinate ends define the punishment as only positive as a response to the initial crime – the secondary act of evilness by punishment is what allows the injustice of the crime to be righted, inducing the prospect of a brighter future. Bentham goes on to suggest that these proportions must ensure that the offender loses the motivation to commit future mischief, must be proportionate to the extremeness of the act committed (by ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 2. Utilitarianism Vs. Mill Utilitarianism anism: Bentham VS. Mill Utilitarianism is a normative ethical theory that holds the morally right course of action in any given situation is the course of which yields the greatest balance of benefits over harms. More specifically, utilitarianism's core idea is that the effects of an action determine whether actions are morally right or wrong. Created with the philosophies of Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) and John Stuart Mill (1806–1873), Utilitarianism began in England in the 19th Century. Bentham and Mill built their system of Utilitarianism on ancient hedonism (pursuing physical pleasure and avoiding physical pain). Although both of these philosophers agreed on the basic principals of Utilitarianism they disagreed on what exactly hedonism is. Jeremy Bentham was one of the first philosophers to present a fully developed system of utilitarianism. He thought that we, as humans, should evaluate the consequences of our actions, determine whether each action is morally right or wrong, and tally the pleasure and pain that comes as a result of our actions. Is it right for me to donate to charity? Is it right for me to cheat on my government test? These questions we ask ourselves fall under Bentham's theory known as act–utilitarianism because it focuses on the consequences of every action we perform. Bentham argues that the "greatest happiness of the greatest number of people" (Bentham) is how we should determine right from wrong. He also believed "mankind is under the ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 3. Utilitarianism Utilitarianism in its very basic form calls for putting benevolence into action, and by extension calling for people to be concerned with the good of a population in general. More or less, through such an ethical theory, we are encouraged to explore the full range of consequences of our actions and provides direction of how we can make difficult tradeoffs between different kinds of values in a humane and acceptable fashion. Therefore, the application of utilitarianism in our day to day decisions involves calculating the various consequences of different actions and selecting the one with the highest net benefit. The case of Theresa Ann Campo Pearson, popularly known as "Baby Theresa", provides for us an example in which the theory of utilitarianism ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... It seems acceptable to the utilitarian to kill one person to save two or more. Yet this is an over simplified assertion. If such were the case, a few people would be killed every now and then for their organs to benefit the many. In fact, there have been cases in various parts of the world where beggars and homeless persons would be rounded up and their organs forcefully harvested. Such an action, in my opinion is wrong and totally unacceptable. But we still need to reconcile the utility principle with the situation at hand. If Baby Theresa was a normal healthy child, of course there would be no argument against her staying alive. Even a physical disability would not warrant the actions her parents proposed. It is safe to assume that had she had an estimated survival of a year, or at least two months, then harvesting her organs should have been a contentious issue. However, as an anencephalic, Baby Theresa being alive was doing her no good. According to James Rachels' benefits argument on Baby Theresa, being alive is a benefit only if it enables you to carry on activities and have thoughts, feelings and relations with other people–none of which Baby Theresa could ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 4. Utilitarianism And The Theory Of Utilitarianism Mill determines that there is not a great amount of support for the utilitarian principle, but that is mostly due to it being vastly misunderstood by a large number of people that choose to discredit it, instead of trying to learn its intricacies. The two main criticisms of utilitarianism are opposites of each other in terms of belief. The first group to oppose the happiness theory draws their conclusions from the typical sense of the word utility, where it typically stands for the opposition of pleasure. The other group to oppose this theory holds the opposite view and thinks that utilitarianism bases everything on pleasure. Neither of these are accurate representations of what utilitarianism is. The author defines utilitarianism as ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... Mill says, "Human beings have higher faculties than the animal appetites, and once they become conscious of them they don't regard anything as happiness that doesn't include their gratification." (10). Humans not only have the base and carnal needs of animals that drive survival, but we also have feelings, imaginations, intellects, and aspirations. Once we discover and acknowledge this significant difference between us and animals it is impossible for us to be satisfied with the mediocrity of simple pleasures of bodily sensations. Mental pleasures are seen as superior to those of the bodily nature because they are "more permanent, safer, less costly and so on," (11). Another important factor of determining higher and lower pleasures is to look at not only quantity, but also quality. A pleasure can be determined as having a higher quality if a rational person, "prefer[ed] it even when they know that a greater amount of discontent will come with it, and wouldn't give it up in exchange for any quantity of [another pleasure] that they are capable of having," (11). A higher pleasure is preferred over lower pleasures, even if it comes with negative side effects. This drastically shows the extreme value that is put on higher pleasures and how much more valuable they are to the human condition than anything that could come from a basal pleasure. For those that have gotten the chance to experience both kinds of lifestyles the higher pleasures are obviously more ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 5. Essay on Utilitarianism Utilitarianism Utilitarianism is mainly associated with the principle of Utility summarised by Jeremy Bentham, a social reformer, in 1768. This principle was to apply 'the greatest good of the greatest number' theory to all situations that may arise. This theory was that which is good is the act which provides the greatest amount of pleasure and the least amount of pain. This is a teleological theory as the action is determined by the consequences of the action, and not the purpose of the action. The theory considered pleasure and happiness to be the... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... For Bentham an act is only good if it leads to pleasure. John Stuart Mill was the son of a philosopher who worked with Jeremy Bentham. However, Mill thought that Bentham's idea of pleasure was vague and thought that different forms of pleasure had different values. Certain areas of Bentham's theory proved to be problematic when trying to apply it to real life situations. The common example of this is supposing you were a doctor driving to give a patient an emergency Caesarian section, but you see an old man and the woman's husband in a car crash together. With all four lives in a fatal state, following the theory is impossible as people would respond differently as well as not having the time to consider all the options. Mill recognised that it was within human nature for a person not to try for the maximum pleasure, but for a closer pleasure instead, and developed Bentham's theory. Bentham's theory states that an action that will produce the most happiness is the justified decision, using the hedonic calculus, and does not allow for the action to be morally inexcusable. The example of this would be the sadistic guards who enjoy torturing a prisoner, which would be producing happiness for multiple guards and ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 6. Use Of Utilitarianism Utilitarianism is a theory that was founded by Jeremy Bentham and was later revised by John Stuart Mill. This theory is based on producing the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest amount of people and all self–aware beings on Earth. Utilitarianism factors in the amount of bad and good that will be produced by an act. It uses this whether it is during the act or after the act has been done. A utilitarianist believes in one ultimate goal: living a life without pain and a life with many enjoyments. Pain and enjoyments are different to everyone so they are hard to judge sometimes. Mill stated that overall happiness is key and that we as a society should try to maximize quality and quantity of overall happiness. Utilitarianism has three ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 7. The Theory Of Utilitarianism And Rule Utilitarianism Have you eaten breakfast this morning? Put on clean clothes? Did you have a bed to sleep in at the end of your day? For millions of less fortunate around the world, the answer to those questions is no. Knowing this is true, can you continue to go about your day and claim to be a moral and ethical person? In order to obtain the greatest pleasure for the greatest number of people, it is clear that you in order to uphold your moral duty; you must contribute to those experiencing poverty. When applying this concept to the consequentialist theory of utilitarianism, it is important to first examine the difference between act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism. As Mosser explains, act utilitarianism tells us that we must question what single act would generate the greatest good. Whereas, rule utilitarianism evaluates the actions themselves and determines what would produce an outcome that institutes the greatest good. (2013 sec. 6.1) From an act utilitarian standpoint, say you had a hundred dollars to spend lavishly. If you purchased the designer shirt you have been looking at for weeks, you would definitely be happy, you would make the person selling the shirt happy, and you would make the company making the shirt happy. Yet, if you were to give the same hundred dollars to charity and it fed a family for a week, gave them new clothing, the medicine they needed, and better shelter this action would outweigh your pleasure from the shirt you purchased. Not only from ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 8. Utilitarianism In Movie Decisions, Decisions We all have seen how in the movies, the main characters decide to take on the situation presented in front of them. Some of would think I would of have it differently, or ask why would you do that? These actions can be defined through the term Utilitarianism. In detail, onUtilitarianism, it is a theory in which it is a concern action that will result the utmost amount of pleasure, or happiness, to the vast numbers of persons. (pg.138) In the most part, Utilitarianism can be connected with Consequentialism "an action is morally required just because it produces the best overall results. (pg.121) This is simply defined as good actions results in happiness. (pg.119) However, a better understanding follows the interpretation... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... Plato indicates that I) Either God has reasons or lacks them for His commands. II) If God lacks reasons that support His commands, then God's commands are arbitrary and that renders God imperfect, undermining His moral authority. III) If God has reasons that supports His commands, then these reasons rather than the divine commands, are what makes action right or wrong, thereby refuting the Divine Command Theory. IV) Therefore, either God is imperfect, or the Divine Command Theory is false. V) God is not imperfect. VI) Therefore, the Divine Command Theory is false. ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 9. Utilitarianism Vs. Utilitarianism Theory In the history of philosophy Utilitarianism has been viewed as one of the best of the moral theories. It has become one the most powerful, influential, and most persuasive approach to normative ethics. The utilitarianism theory also has had a major impacts on approaches to economic, political, and social policy. Theutilitarianism theory had originally had been created by Jeremy Bentham. His version of was that aggregate pleasure after deducting suffering of all involved in any action. However, this was later revised by John Stuart Mill He has revised the concept of utility and has brought forth "the Greatest Happiness Principle". First off, utilitarianism is the philosophical view about how we should evaluate a things that are involve choices that people have to make. These things that are evaluated are actions, laws, policies, character traits, and moral codes. In general, whatever is being evaluated, we are the ones that have to choose the one that will produce the best overall results. Utilitarianism is also a form of consequentialism this is because utilitarianism is based on the consequences or results of actions that are the only standard of right and wrong. Utilitarian's say that we should choose the option that has "maximizes utility," i.e. that action or policy that produces the largest amount of good. Although it may be similar to Utilitarianism is distinctly different from other forms of consequentialism such as egoism as it considers all interests equally. On ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 10. Examples Of Utilitarianism Utilitarianism Utilitarianism unlike other theories reviews the consequences of an action and according to Mill and Bentham, should view happiness as being based upon pleasure that are more long lasting and cerebral. I believe that utilitarianism is the most acceptable theory because it requires that we take into account the consequences of an action to promote the maximum amount of happiness and unlike deontology which does not take into account consequences nor does it take in account children and mentally disabled individuals, whereas utilitarianism considers all human beings. Utilitarianism is considered a consequentialist ethical theory created by John Stuart Mill and Jerry Bentham. Utilitarianism is defined as an action made is ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... The towns Sheff if can hardly maintain peace between the two families. One of the sons of the one the families goes and kills the other family's son. However, only the sheriff knows about it. What should he do? An act utilitarian would pin the murder on an innocent man who happened to be passing by the town that day, in order to create maximum happiness. The sheriff is thinking short term. However, a rule utilitarianism would arrest the son and put him on trial which would lead the two families into even more disputes, but this is his job, so this would lead to positive consequences in the long term. Many people believe that other theories, such as Deontology, is a better theory than Utilitarianism because believes that rightness and wrongness of an action doesn't rely on consequences but on motivation, or whether they accomplish our individual duties. Deontology is a motive based theory. There are three main elements to deontology. 1. Every individual is a rational decision maker. So, how we arrive at a moral decision is entirely rational. 2. The process of everything you do can be decided and worked out ahead of time. Lastly, 3. It is concerned with the purity of motives. There are many objections to Deontology however, which is why I believe that Utilitarianism is the best theory. For example, it assumptions are that every being is a rational agent. However, it doesn't take into account children and ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 11. Essay on Utilitarianism Utilitarianism Utilitarianism is a moral theory that has long been the subject of philosophical debate. This theory, when practiced, appears to set a very basic guideline to follow when one is faced with a moral dilemma. Fundamental Utilitarianism states that when a moral dilemma arises, one should take action that causes favorable results or reduces less favorable results. If these less favorable results, or pain, occur from this action, it can be justified if it is produced to prevent more pain or produce happiness. Stating the Utilitarian view can summarize these basic principles: "the greatest good for the greatest number". Utilitarians are to believe that if they follow this philosophy, that no matter what action they take, it ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... Utilitarianism would say that the more "basic or lower–order projects" that comprise of these desires such as family and friends, are unimportant and detract from "higher–order project" of maximizing desirable outcomes (Singer: 341). The result of this reasoning would mean that all "lower–order projects" would have only the purpose of satisfying "higher–order projects." This would make one's only goal in life to make other people happy which is not the only cause for one's own happiness. An individual's happiness is also related to a varying range of projects or pursuits of interest of "lower–order projects." Integrity is a very important issue that is often overlooked by Utilitarians. This is often the case because integrity is closely related to "lower–order projects." If an individual did not have any integrity, he/she would a unfulfilling and boring life. Williams says that "happiness, rather, requires being involved in, or at least content with, something else (Singer: 342)." These "lower–order projects" are the defining characteristics of an individuals' existence and allow one to achieve personal happiness. "If such commitments are worth while, then pursuing the projects that flow from them, and realizing some of those projects, will make the person for whom they are worth while, happy (Singer: 342)." The examples that Williams' uses, shows us how two characters are faced with a dilemma ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 12. Utilitarianism Essay Utilitarianism is an evaluation of an action, whether it is favorably or unfavorably affected by the people, which is based upon their consequences. It is an ethical philosophy that has the procurement of achieving the maximum amount of happiness for the greatest number of people. There are two Classical Utilitarian philosophers, Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, who believed that the greatest good in the world was attaining pleasure and the avoidance of pain. It was the idea that the goal for overall happiness was created for the society by an action of someone's well–doing. Jeremy Bentham was a social reformer, political radical, and founder of Utilitarianism. He viewed the philosophy through laws instead of ethics; hoping that it would ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 13. Utilitarianism Vs. Utilitarianism : Utilitarianism,... Reading through the three chapters, what grabbed my attention most was the one on Utilitarianism. I will have some comments throughout this journal from Chapter 4 (egoism, altruism, and social contract) and 6 (Deontological Ethics and Immanuel Kant) because they have a big influence on this chapter. Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that relies on the comparison of the overall happiness produced for everyone. It also advocates the precedence of consequence in the judgment of an action. On the former note, I believe that utilitarianism highly opposes secularism. Utilitarianism demands that we should undergo a choice that is directly dependent on producing a greater happiness for more people. However, it is right to question why I'm ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... A utilitarian may thus give a person a choice to adhere to the rules and share these benefits or fly solo and start his/her own civilization from zero. I would prefer the former over the latter. My main idea, however, is that utilitarianism demolishes the value of personal liberty. It is therefore ironic for me that some utilitarian philosophers value liberty even though their views are quite the opposite. Speaking of utilitarian philosophers, two of the influential philosophers that supported utilitarianism were Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. I was amazed that a mathematical procedure was suggested by utilitarian philosophers in order to calculate the right ethical solution for general problems. Amount of happiness, intensity, duration, fruitfulness, and likelihood were the guidelines for determining the valid net happiness. I was interested in the likelihood aspect of this proposal. How can we be certain that pleasure can be delivered to certain groups of people as it was initially planned. For instance, let's say I had a leisure saving of about 5000 dollars. Instead of taking my family on a vacation to Thailand and providing a decent amount of happiness for a week, I decided to buy a used Audi car to my wife in hopes of providing more happiness for coming few years. It may turn out to be the correct decision if my wife cherishes this gift every day as she uses it instead of taking the bus. ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 14. Utilitarianism Sacrifice Utilitarianism: Should You Sacrifice Your Happiness? Would you be willing to sacrifice something that you really care about for the greater good? Utilitarianism is the theory that we should do what is best for the world as a whole, even if that means that there will be some unhappiness. It is the ethical theory that I believe I base most of my moral judgments on, but as with anything, there are flaws to this theory. Utilitarianism, defined as "the theory that an action is right if it seeks to promote the greatest amount of happiness in the world at large". This theory was started with the philosophies of Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) and John Stuart Mill (1806–1873). "Utilitarianism gets its name from Bentham's test question, "What is the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... One argument is that it is unpredictable. We cannot predict the future and most of the time, things do not turn out the way that we thought they would. Therefore, we can't judge an action as being right or wrong based on outcomes that come down to chance. Another argument is justice. Our view of justice is that everyone should be treated fairly. Utilitarianism allows us to sacrifice individuals for the greater good. Many people would see this as unfair. In an article I read online, the author makes a very good point about how utilitarianism cannot protect the rights of minorities. In his example he says, " if the goal is the greatest good for the greatest number. Americans in the eighteenth century could justify slavery on the basis that it provided a good consequence for a majority of Americans. Certainly the majority benefited from cheap slave labor even though the lives of black slaves were much worse." With an argument like that, it is hard to fully agree with the theories of ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 15. Examples Of Utilitarianism When making decisions, it is often difficult to consider the best course of action with the surrounding circumstances. There are different thought processes that explain why actions are right or wrong; the two basic approaches are teleological, which says that the consequences of an action determine whether the action is right or wrong, and deontological, where an underlying "duty" makes the distinction. Utilitarianism is a teleological approach to moral reasoning and rationalization of basic human actions. It is a theory based on communal good, that decision is right if it creates the most good for the greatest number of people impacted by the action. With that said, utilitarianism is a plausible approach in deciding the morality of an action. Though utilitarianism has drawbacks, it can help when making a difficult decision. It is a relatively ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... Some key factors to consider with utilitarianism are the impact on those not directly impacted by the choice at hand, and the need to compare potential actions with alternatives in order to choose the best possible solution. An example that one could use to demonstrate the value of a utilitarian approach would be looking at whether opening a factory in the US would be morally just. To properly apply utilitarianism, one must identify all people affected by the decision; in this case, the different construction and factory workers in the US, people impacted by pollution and additional waste, end consumers, and shareholders. The dominant consideration in this case would be the shareholders, as the company cannot afford to undertake unprofitable projects for social benefit. Next, the positive and negative consequences must be specified and totaled. Here, the positives include more jobs, stimulating the economy, and the good produced by the quality of US made products. The negatives include pollution ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 16. Consequences Of Utilitarianism Utilitarianism is a theory in normative ethics holding that the proper course of action is the one that maximizes overall happiness. It is now generally taken to be a form of consequentialism, According to utilitarianism the moral worth of an action is determined only by its resulting outcome although there is debate over how much consideration should be given to actual consequences, foreseen consequences and intended consequences. Utilitarianism has often been considered the natural ethic of a democracy operating by simple majority without protection of individual rights. In this essay, I will argue that utilitarianism is incorrect because of the objection that it does not provide adequate protection for individual rights, and that not everything ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... A utilitarian would argue that just because rights are not directly considered in relation to the consequences of an action, they do in–fact have some impact on the chosen action. With majority of the population getting happiness out of doing the right thing, rights are often protected through Utilitarianism. For the small minority of people that don't experience unhappiness from disregarding human rights, the existence of the police force ensures human right are protected from these members of society. With human rights being protected under law, people rights will be upheld under Utilitarianism because there will always be a larger amount of disutility from violating the law than from the personal gains of a human right offender. For example the CEO and CFO of Tyco a New Jersey–based company stole $150 million and inflated Tyco incomes by $500 million, in doing so they violated the rights of investors. After the police discovered this fraud, the justice system penalized both, with a sentence of 8–25 years in prison with the addition of $2.92 billion paid to Tyco Investors. Under Utilitarianism this case wouldn't occur because the benefits of stealing this money would never outweigh the consequences that result from being caught for defrauding investors. Therefore even though rights are not considered in ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 17. Utilitarianism Essay Utilitarianism Utilitarianism is a consequentialist ethical theory. An action is right or wrong based on its consequences. John Stuart Mill was an important philosopher in developing the idea of utilitarianism. Utilitarianism holds that any action that results in a greater amount of happiness in the world is a right action and any action that results in pain or less happiness is wrong. Utilitarianism can be divided into different versions. Act utilitarianism is one of the versions of utilitarianism. Act utilitarianism's goal is to maximize the overall happiness of the universe. Act utilitarianism uses the Greatest Happiness Principle which says in every situation, choose the option that you believe to be most likely to ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... If the bank managers did not care about the customer's money, the FDIC insured all the stolen money, the police were not unhappy because of the robbery, and the robber was extremely happy because he could move to the Caribbean and never work again, then robbing the bank would be a right action. There are many good points to act utilitarianism. It is very appealing because most people want to increase their happiness and reduce their pain. Act utilitarianism says that people could do that and they would not only make everyone happier but they would also be doing what is morally right. Act utilitarians will not have conflicts over any action being right or wrong because the hedonistic calculus is an objective test that proves the amount of please or pain that will result. It is a standard that all actions can be evaluated by. Another point or act utilitarianism that can be seen as an advantage over rule utilitarianism is that each individual situation can have a different action be right. This means that in every situation the right action will provide more happiness or less pain as opposed to rule utilitarianism where the individual situations do not matter. Act utilitarianism also has some disadvantages. One major fault of act utilitarianism is that some actions would ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 18. Utilitarianism : Utilitarianism And Philosophical Ideas Mill begins his book on Utilitarianism by laying out some basic ethical and philosophical ideas. From what I have read in his book I believe that Utilitarianism can be defined as the idea that humans should make decisions based on the ability to promote the most happiness to them. Another way to say it would be that Utilitarianism states that a good decision is what brings the most happiness to the most people. Mill based his utilitarian theory on the decisions that people make. He says the decisions people make should always benefit the most people as much as possible no matter what the consequences might be. Mill says that we should balance the outcomes and make our decisions based on the outcome that is in the interest of the majority of the people. This leads to him stating that pleasure is the only desirable consequence of our decision or actions. Mill believes that human beings have the ability for conscious thought, and they are not satisfied with physical pleasures, but they will try to achieve pleasure of the mind as well. He claims that people seek pleasure and reject pain. I will point out some problems that Mill has with this theory and use examples to express my stance. There are several moral problems that Mill ran into with his theory. One of the first conflicts I noticed was that actions are right to create happiness, but wrong if they sometimes tend to produce unhappiness. A soldier moving a wounded comrade out of the line of fire could be seen as the ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 19. Utilitarianism : Mill 's Theory Of Utilitarianism Konstantin Keller Anne Portman Philosophy 2010 21 October 2015 In Chapters 2 and 4 of Utilitarianism, Mill responds and attempts to refute misconceptions and arguments against utilitarianism and further broadens his examination of happiness. Along with this he also defines the subtle differences in his own theory of utilitarianism. By claiming that it is better to be "better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied", Mill asserts that it is better to use one's higher capacities to be aware of the world whilst being unsatisfied than to be ignorant and naГЇve but blissful. In Chapter 2, Mill begins by answering the objection which claims that utility is a separate concept from pleasure and happiness. He discerns this as simply a lack of education on the objector's part, because the concept of utility is defined as pleasure itself and the absence of pain. He assumes that this misconception arose from people hearing the word "utility" and simply inferring that it's something cold and opposed to pleasure because of how it sounds. He then proceeds to dub utility as "the Greatest Happiness Principle," which holds that "actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. By happiness is intended pleasure, and the absence of pain; by unhappiness, pain, and the privation of pleasure." According to this definition, pleasure and the absence of pain are the only things that are inherently "good." Therefore, ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 20. Utilitarianism Essay Utilitarianism is a theory in normative ethics which suggests that the best moral action is the one that maximizes utility. Utility is related to the good of human beings. Individuals who are for utilitarianism defines utility as the combined pleasure after reducing suffering of all involved in any action. Some individuals have expanded this definition of utility to consider not only the quantity, but quality of pleasure, while focusing on rules, instead of individual moral actions. Others have denied that pleasure has actual value and have advocated negative utilitarianism, which defines utility only in terms of suffering. Utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism, which states that the consequences of all actions are the basics of right ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 21. Utilitarianism Mill In Mill's "Utilitarianism" he brings up a response that some have to the principles of Utilitarianism. The response is an objection to the Utilitarian moral theory. The objection that Mill recounts is that the people who do not agree with the Utilitarian moral theory say that Utilitarianism suggests that human beings are like swine. The argument for this idea is that Utilitarianism is about the maximization of pleasure and the minimization of pain. So with this in mind, those against the Utilitarianism say that then it would be morally right to live life as a satisfied pig which seems very absurd. An example of this concept would be with drug addicts. The objectors believe that Utilitarianism says that it is morally right to live life ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 22. Utilitarianism And Moral Responsibility : Utilitarianism The welfarist component of utilitarianism denies the intrinsic value of any moral elements other than wellbeing. This assumption makes the utilitarian moral theory susceptible to the criticism that it undermines the moral significance of justice and law–something that many people assume to possess an absolute nature. However, in the following analysis, I'll try to demonstrate that even in morally sophisticated cases, utilitarianism comes to the conclusion that may well explain our commonsense about law. Its real weaknesses lie in the consequentialist assumption, which may be potentially incompatible with a plausible theory on moral responsibility. It might be helpful to begin our evaluation about utilitarianism by considering a moral dilemma. I'll then propose an answer under the utilitarian framework and respond to some of our moral concerns by offering alternative explanations. Then I'll try to identify the weaknesses of utilitarianism by showing its confusion on moral responsibility. Suppose that four white policemen were taped beating a black suspect while arresting him, and the videotape was uploaded online. The video aroused widespread public anger and the four policemen were put on trial, yet the available evidences argue against conviction. However, an acquittal is likely to trigger public fury and cause riots, which may ultimately result in deaths and injuries. A jury member is thus facing a decision either to vote for acquittal, allowing the riot to happen, or to ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 23. Utilitarianism Essay Classical utilitarianism, the theory as described by 17th century philosopher John Stuart Mill, states that the only thing that matters is that are the happiness and unhappiness that is created as a consequence of an action; those actions are to be judged right or wrong solely by virtue of their consequences, everything else is irrelevant. The theory also states that each person's happiness is equally important. According to Mill, the right actions are actions that produce the greatest possible balance of happiness over unhappiness. Although the theory of utilitarianism is widely accepted, it is not without some very critical and persuasive objections. I will examine and analyze the "doctrine of swine" and "lack of time" objections ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... Premise two is more ambiguous; it is true considering life is no longer meaningful hooked up to the machine because a person is not technically living reality, but false when life is defined by the experiences of its surroundings. Because experiences in life are just projections of the mind, what difference would it make if it was fed into the mind by artificial means? The end result would technically be the same in this case. All in all, premise two has a conflicting logic, making the argument unsound. Mill tackles this argument by saying that some pleasures are just better than others. Types of pleasures include moral, intellectual, aesthetic, and sensuous pleasures. And while the experience machine might produce a profuse amount of aesthetic and sensuous pleasure, the quality of those two types of pleasure would be outweighed by the quality of moral and intellectual pleasure of living in reality. Thus, with the each pleasure scaled, living in reality would produce more utility than being hooked up onto the machine, rendering premise one of the 'experience machine' argument false. Even with the modified version of utility, Mill's response is still vulnerable to a modified version of the pleasure machine objection. All one has to do is to design a switch for moral pleasure and set the knob to maximum. Mills argument quickly ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 24. Mill And Utilitarianism 1.According to Mill, why are some pleasures more worthwhile than others? According to Mill, "what makes a pleasure more valuable than other merely as pleasure except its being greater in amount, there is but one possible answer. Of two pleasures, if there be one to which all or almost all or have experience of both give desired preference irrespective of any feeling of moral obligation to prefer it, that is the more desirable pleasure." This means that it all comes down to the person's preferences once he or she has experienced pleasure in both quantity and quality. 2.Explain the difference between act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism. For Act Utilitarianism an act is right if it results in as much good as any available alternative ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 25. Act Utilitarianism And Rule Utilitarianism 1. Utilitarians believe that "one should so act as to promote the greatest happiness (pleasure) of the greatest number of people" (Angeles 326). However, within the utilitarian community there are major splits in how we are to determine which action brings us the greatest amounts of pleasure. Today I will be focusing on two ways to determine which actions bring the greatest amount of pleasure to a situation: act and ruleutilitarianism. I will define both act and rule utilitarianism, give a situation where both can be applied, and respond to an objection of utilitarianism. I will also be discussing why I believe act utilitarianism helps more people than rule utilitarianism, in turn, becoming 'superior' to rule utilitarianism. 2. To begin, I will be defining both act and rule utilitarianism. In act utilitarianism, you determine the morality of an act by measuring the pleasures and pains for a specific situation Angeles 326). Act utilitarians take into consideration only those affected in the specific situation. However, rule utilitarianism determines the morality of an act "according to the good or bad consequences that ensue from following a general moral rule of conduct..." (Angeles 326). Good examples of those general moral rules are phrases like, never steal or never tell a lie. In any situation, people can use either act or rule utilitarianism to determine the correct course of action. 3. Now, I will use a hypothetical situation to describe both act and rule ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 26. Mill 's Utilitarianism : Utilitarianism Mill's Utilitarianism For centuries philosophers have attempted to explain morals, creating ideas that break this ethical system down into basic components. English philosopher, John Stuart Mill, was a large contributor to the idea of utilitarianism. Although Mill's utilitarianism provides a strong argument for explaining morality, it is not a bulletproof theory. J.S. Mill's Principle of utility, also known as the greatest happiness principle, is an ethical philosophy that looks at the development of morals and how people choose to follow these morals. The basis of Utilitarianism is the idea that our morals are designed to create the most amount of happiness while minimizing the amount of pain felt. Mill's utilitarianism looks at everyone's happiness as equal, with individual actions concerning the feelings of everyone equally. Utilitarianism argues that decisions are made based on whether that decision will create happiness for the most while minimizing pain for the least amount of people, looking at the opportunity costs of various decisions and using this to lead to the best course of action. From this Mill suggests the idea of the first principle of morality. The "first principle" is the idea that morality has a principle that is the basis of all morals and ethics. Throughout history, human morals have remained largely unchanged. For example, humans have always viewed killing another person as immoral. How can some morals be similar even across regional areas and ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 27. Example Of Utilitarianism "Utilitarianism is a simple, bold, and direct ethical theory. It takes happiness as its standard and uses it to assess the morality of the actions we perform." (Sanchez 2). The basic principle of Utilitarianism theory of Ethics articulates that an action is right if and only if that action inclines to promotes net happiness. Furthermore, utilitarianism assert that multiple actions are considered right if and only if every action brings about parallel amount of happiness compare to other action that could have been executed. Laying away the likelihood of actions only producing happiness, "the utilitarian principle instructs us to perform the action that brings about the greatest net happiness. The "net" happiness of an action is simply the happiness it produces minus any unhappiness it causes" (Sanchez 3). Therefore, utilitarianism is not only concerned with the positive consequences of the actions, but utilitarianism is more interest in the overall consequences of the actions. Consequently, utilitarianism maintains that if the effect of an action does not encourage happiness, then that action is regarded to be wrong. Furthermore, the utilitarian theory states that the actions, which may have immediate positive outcome, could transpire harm to others or reciprocate any unintentional consequence. Therefore, in any given situation, a person should determine to take an action by taking an account of the long–term consequence of that action. For instance, deceiving another person may seem a ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... "Bentham and Mill equated happiness with pleasure and the absence of pain." (Sanchez 5). In other words, any actions that generates greatest amount of pleasure and enjoyment are deemed to be right. "Pleasure, in their view, is the one thing that is intrinsically good or worthwhile. Anything that is good is good only because it brings about pleasure (or happiness), directly or indirectly." (Sanchez ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 28. Utilitarianism Benefits Benefits of Utilitarianism According to the utilitarian theory it believes that the impartiality, fairness, and greater social harmony requires us to balance our interests with those of others. In doing so, utilitarianism provides an effective antidote for the evils of discrimination based on race, gender, religion, and other unjust criteria. This means utilitarians try to find a way to make themselves and others happy. The value of happiness for example, should be distributed to as many people as possible. Considering this, I agree that using the utilitarianism theory will benefit a society in the distant future. To begin with, negative consequences may be reached to receive a positive outcome. For instance, there are five victims tied down to a railroad and there is a runaway trolley cart heading towards the five victims. If there is a choice to divert that runaway trolley cart to kill that one victim instead of those five, killing that one victim is considered ethical according to the utilitarian theory. Indeed, diverting that runaway trolley from attacking those five victims is a better outcome for the society rather than saving that one sufferer. The reason that is, those five victims are now able to create a society that is far ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... Those people who were saved were not saved based off their status in society. But they were judged based on how many victims there were. Bentham himself writes, "prejudice apart, the game of pushpin is of equal value with the arts and sciences of music and poetry" (Bentham 475). In other words, Bentham believed that pleasure has no lesser or higher value. The principle of utility states that property of any object, if its produces an benefit or an advantage to a certain party whose interest is considered then it is the right solution. This means that the group of victims who were saved can produce a society that will be successful in the ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 29. Essay on Utilitarianism Utilitarianism There are many essays, papers and books written on the concept of right and wrong. Philosophers have theorized about moral actions for eons, one such philosopher is John Stuart Mill. In his book Utilitarianism he tries to improve on the theories of utilitarianism from previous philosophers, as he is a strong believer himself in the theory. In Mill's book he presents the ideology that there is another branch on the utilitarian tree. This branch being called rule–utilitarianism. Mill makes a distinction between two different types of utilitarianism; act–utilitarianism and rule–utilitarianism. Rule–utilitarianism seems like a major advance over the simple theory of act–utilitarianism. But for all its added complexity, it ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... In the instance when an individual steals from another individual for his/her own self–happiness, others in society cannot deem this to be justifiable, even if it may be more beneficial to the thief to steal. Act–utilitarianism does not guarantee the protection to the victim of theft in this example because, it's more focused on the greatest happiness and not on the consequences for others' happiness. The greatest happiness may be given to either person in this situation depending on 'the stories' of each (i.e. the reason for thief). Therefore, the idea of right seems not to be absolute. Mill however, recognizes this as a problem and introduces the theory of rule–utilitarianism to compensate. Instead of looking at the consequences of a particular act, rule–utilitarianism determines the rightness of an act by an alternative mean. That mean consists of first finding the best rule of conduct, this is done by finding the values of the consequences that follow a particular rule; The best rule is the rule, which has the greatest overall result of any given action. Hence, one must follow the actual rules of one's society. To illustrate, 'one ought not to steal' because it is societies laws. Solving the issue of not recognizing the victims happiness due to the fact, according to Mill, that these laws are based on morally right objectives. However, rule–utilitarianism is just an impotent way around the problem presented by the simple ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 30. Aristotle And Utilitarianism Utilitarianism is the idea that best moral path possible at all times is one that benefits the greatest amount of people. In other words, Utilitarianism operates under the doctrine that supports the greater good and maximizes happiness. It does not require or virtuous figure to follow, for it based purely upon reducing human suffering. It is sometimes called consequentialism because it is based on the idea that the best action is what produces the best consequences. They reduce suffering. you can have different actions that lead to good outcomes and they can all be good. Aristotle came up with the virtue theory. The virtue theory, on the other hand, states that an action is moral if it is what virtuous being would do. In this way, less emphasis is placed upon specific rules or laws that clearly define moral actions, and more is placed on what constitutes a good person. Although there is not a clear line in the virtue theory of what is rational and what is not, it is `often up to common sense to determine what is an admirable trait and what is not. A virtuous person does not let their emotions control them and inhibit them from doing what they know to be right. This part is important: their heart must be in the right place at all times. there should be no difference between what they should do and what they want to do. Examining right is wrong in terms of the virtue theory is often very cumulative in the sense that an individual action is judged based on whether or not it contributes to overall mortality. actions in general arent really the main focus. actions are a representation of ones overall ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... A virtuous being has an entire set of good character traits. Character traits aren't simply things that you do, but actions that are engrained in you and are often your first instinct. Utilitarianism is an ethics of conduct while virtue ethics are of ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 31. Utilitarianism And Deontological Ethics : Utilitarianism UTILITARIANISM AND DEONTOLOGICAL ETHICS 13 Utilitarianism and Deontological Ethics Christopher Kearney Student ID 4697583 American Public University System (AMU) Dr. Robert Watkins September 21,2017 Abstract Usefulness and duty are two of the primary drivers that cause people to take action or not. Usefulness of an action means that the society receives the greatest amount of benefits from the action (or actions) of an individual(s). On the other hand, duty is the obligation or a sense of honor that a society may achieve by following a set code of conduct or ideals to accomplish a goal. Most of the time that goal is for causing good to others. Certain powerful entities, such as the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... In other words, it evaluates the desirability of a specific action based on the outcomes of that choice. A familiar guide for such a decision–making would be selecting the option that yields the greatest good for the greatest number of people, or the least harmful result. It demands that individuals judge their actions based on the significance or correctness of the outcome of it. That means if the outcome of an action is good, then the action can be ethical. On the other hand, if an action is wrong, then it is unethical (Tanner et al., 2007). According to George Moore (1965), a British philosopher, the "rightness" or "wrongness" of an action depends on its outcome (p. 80–83). The same holds true with other utilitarianists. George further states that an individual's intentions or motives are irrelevant in evaluating the "rightness" or "wrongness" of their actions. When thinking about the concept of rightness or wrongness of an action, it is good to consider the advantages from either one or both sides. The best scenario is for the two parties to come out in a win–win situation, but sometimes that is not possible. That is because utilitarianism is a normative ethical theory that basis the locus of right and wrong exclusively on the consequences of choosing one action over the other. The underlying principle of utilitarianism is looking beyond the desires and
  • 32. ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 33. Utilitarianism, Utilitarianism And Rule Utilitarianism There are several theories that try to explain the morality of the actions; however, two stand out. the first is deontology, and the other one is utilitarianism. The former follow the idea that the consequences of you action hold no importance in what we ought to do. But rather, some actions are morally wrong or good by itself. The latter follows an opposite view in which the consequences of an action are what it makes an action moral. Specially, if that action produce the greatest happiness over unhappiness. In this essay I will focus on two Utilitarianism ramifications, act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism. They both agree that consequences must be the greatest factor in deciding what we ought to do. Nonetheless they have one big difference. Rule Utilitarianism generalize acts and recreate the consequences of a rule. If the consequences are ultimately favoring, then it is morally right. By way of contrast, Act Utilitarianism evaluate each action individually, and similar situation would have different outcomes depending on the situation. There is no universal rule unlike rule utilitarianism. In order to determine how different, the act and rule utilitarianism are, I will analyze it by applying them in the following scenario. Let's imagine, you are a doctor in an oncology ward in a major city that is strapped for financial and material resources. One evening, two patients are admitted to the hospital. One patient is suffering from a seemingly incurable form of ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 34. Examples Of Utilitarianism Utlitiarianism It is a form of consequentialism and it states that actions are morally right or wrong depending on their outcome and effect. The only effect of a particular action that is relevant, are the good and bad results produced. Early utilitarian thinkers like John Gay and Richard Cumberland believed that promoting human happiness was approved by God. A person's salvation and her their eternal happiness depended on their conformity to God's will. Jeremy Bentham was influenced by Hobbes' account of human nature and Hume's account of social utility. He thought that humans were ruled by the two "sovereign masters" of pleasure and pain. He introduces a method of calculating the value of pleasure and pain which is known as the 'hedonic calculus'. ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... For example, if we imagined a scenario where the Government decided that to benefit their society they would stop giving money to those in need. As a result of this choice they would become significantly wealthy but in the process the minority they stopped giving money to became poor. This would have been according to utilitarianism justifiable because it utilised maximum pleasure for a large group of people. If we had to add justice as a deciding factor then utilitarianism is not the only principle that guides our decisions, it only plays a minor role in the outcome. Utilitarianism must consider the interests of all persons involved and not just the pleasure or pain of the one individual. In addition, Utilitarianism cannot differentiate the source of 'utility'. An example could be that some people may get 'utility' from viewing a pleasant scene in nature and other from viewing sadistic acts. Here the same amount of utility is gained from each scenario with each individual gaining the same levels of pleasure. This is troubling because we would want to separate the sources deriving of pleasure and that of pain, so that pleasure should not be equivalent to that of getting pleasure from harming ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 35. Utilitarianism Essay Utilitarianism Utilitarianism is the greatest good of the greatest number. It takes the view that an action is right if it is likely to produce the best consequences compared to all the other possible actions. The best consequences are those which involve the maximization of what is good and the minimization of what is bad. The worst consequences are which involve the maximization of what is bad and the minimization of what is good. The basic premise is the idea that the greatest good comes from creating happiness for the greatest number of people. Pleasure and freedom of pain are the only things desirable as ends. In Utilitarianism it is the greatest ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... Along with these problems, there are many arguments for and against Utilitarianism and whether it provides an adequate basis for making moral decisions. An argument against Utilitarianism is that there is no agreement about what is the 'good' that is to be maximized for all concerned in different situations. Who decides what is good for whom? And whose interests are primary in these decisions? Furthermore does someone have authority over anyone else in making these decisions? Also, a Utilitarian would not judge the rightness or wrongness of the actions but rather in the consequences or what has resulted from the actions. This means they take the view that it is okay, and therefore right, to carry out an action which is wrong in itself as long as it has good consequences for the majority of people. An example of how this could be wrong is; in a society with a lot of rape and no rapists being convicted, the general public may be threatened and unhappy with the thought of a rapist being at large. Therefore, if a police detective was a Utilitarian, and under pressure to find the attacker, then he would feel it was right to convict an innocent man just to make the greater number of people feel safer and therefore happier. This also means a Utilitarian could not differentiate between an accidental death and a ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 36. Kant's Utilitarianism Jeremy Bentham founded Utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is to defend the view that those acts that produce the greatest happiness of the greatest number of people are right and good" (Deininger 2015). This theory focuses on the outcome of an action that leads to good. The action considered to be good to the greatest number of people affected by action. Immanual Kant Moral theory is applied to everyone no matter what the situation is. Appling it to all people regardless of the scenario faced. "The Kant's basic moral principle is comparable for his moral philosophy to the principle of utility for utilitarians. It is Kant's test for right and wrong" (McKinnon 2015). Bentham's Utilitarianism and Kant's theory could be applied to moral and ethical ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 37. Utilitarianism in Government In its political philosophy utilitarianism provides an alternative to theories of natural law and the social contract by basing the authority of government and the sanctity of individual rights upon their utility, or measure of happiness gained. As an egalitarian doctrine, where everyone's happiness counts equally, the rational, relatively straightforward nature of utilitarianism offers an attractive model for democratic government. It offers practical methods for deciding the morally right course of action – "...an action is right as it tends to promote happiness, wrong as it tends to diminish it, for the party whose interests are in question" (Bentham, 1780). To discover what we should do in a given situation, we identify the various ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... One major point of contention, however, is that it is often difficult, if not impossible, to measure and compare the values of certain benefits and costs. How does one assign value to human life, or time, or artistic pleasures such as literature and music? Mill's response was to introduce variables to pleasure. While Bentham concentrated on quantity (the pleasure's duration, intensity, etc), Mill stressed quality. Adding the feature of quality to pleasure differentiates " higher", intellectual pleasures from common, physical ones. He argues in his famous quote "It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied. And if the fool, or the pig, are of a different opinion, it is only because they only know their own side of the question". This reasoning is not very satisfactory if we consider how subjective (and elitist) it can be. Who is to determine which activities are more high–brow or low–brow, and what makes a competent judge? Mill states it should be person who has experience of the activities in question, but a key aspect of utilitarianism it the requirement of making these judgements impartially and impersonally. With the diversity of this world it is highly unlikely that the tastes and preferences will all align in accord. Even if we attempt to make our decisions based on how others would be affected, it is impossible for us to know or measure the ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 38. Utilitarianism On Happiness Explain in your own words the logic of Mill's argument, and critically discuss whether happiness should be the criterion of morality. For utilitarian philosophers, happiness is the supreme value of life. John Stuart Mill defines Utilitarianism as a theory based on the principle that "actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. By happiness is intended pleasure and the absence of pain; by unhappiness, pain and privation of pleasure" (Mill, Utilitarianism). This meaning that utilitarianism is determined by the calculation of happiness, in which actions are deemed to be good if they tend to produce pleasure, a form of happiness. On the contrary, they are evil if they tend to promote pain. Not only does Mill regard to the end product of happiness in actions, but also considers the motives of such actions. In his argument, Mill defends the idea that happiness as the underlying basis of morality, and that people desire nothing but happiness. Utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism because the premise of its idea it is that the results of ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... One might say, however, that some things are desired as a means to happiness. These, he says, are 'ingredients' to happiness. Happiness consists of these 'ingredients'; they are a part of the happiness. Therefore, Mill claims that whatever is desired for its own sake is part of what happiness is, and each individual person desires different things to make them happy. They are means to the end of happiness. It is not possible, according to Mill, to desire something that will not provide some form of pleasure. Pleasure is happiness, and people only desire happiness, and happiness is therefore the only good. ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 39. Summary Of Utilitarianism An overview of what Utilitarianism is, can be some–what explained as a combination of both the theory in Normative Ethics and a form of Consequentialism. In detail, on Utilitarianism, it is a theory in which it is a concern action that will result the utmost amount of pleasure, or happiness, to the vast numbers of persons. (pg.138) Consequentialism "an action is morally required just because it produces the best overall results. (pg.121) This is simply defined as good actions results in happiness. (pg.119) However, a better understanding follows the interpretation ofUtilitarianism by J.J.C Smart. Smart presents his definition of the two sub–forms of Utilitarianism: Act and Rule Utilitarianism. Smart stated, "Utilitarianism is the doctrine ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... Act do not think they just do. In an impulse an Act will try to save someone who is more of need because it is morally right. Patient 2 was not offered the drug because he was indicated to full recovery, even though signs shows he might be in remission his state was far better than the first patient. Thus, no greater happiness will resulted in the scenario if patient 2 were to be given the experimental ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 40. Utilitarianism Outline 1. Thesis Statement: John Stuarts Mills Theory of Utilitarianism is correct and valid as it was then.2. State what you will argue: Utilitarianism gives us a quantifiable method to live one's life, Utilitarianism affirms the importance of happiness as the goal of human life, finally it has a clear defined goal in maximizing good and minimizing bad.3. Transition: His theory remains relevant because it gives us a practical rules to live by. 1.Topic Sentence: Utilitarianism gives us a quantifiable method to live one's life. 2. Explanation: "Mills prides happiness above all else. Happiness is the primary factor we strive for. Thus it's useful because we have a basis of how to act. We should act to where it promotes happiness and mitigates... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... 2. Explanation: Mills innovates by prioritizing and connecting pleasure with happiness. Pleasure itself is a virtue. Utilitarianism acknowledges individual actions that benefit the greatest number. It affirms majority happiness and individual general happiness. In simple terms it affirms all actions need to be guided towards attaining happiness. As a result this keys this utilitarianism valid,because happiness is universally sought. 3.Quote: Robert. H.Hoag explains in Happiness and Freedom: Recent Work onJohn Stuart Mill " Thus, on Mill's view, pleasures, virtue, money, fame, in– individuality, and power can be desired or desirable both as ends and as means to happiness, both as parts of and in relation to happiness."(Pg. 6) 4. Analysis: " Utilitarianism can be simply seen as maximizing happiness for the greatest number while mitigating pain. While valid, it affirms human desire. It shows that it's ok for people to desire grandoise. For anything is accessible to one's life. Thus utilitarianism remains valid because it promotes all human pursuits. As long as it's in relation to one's happyiness and generates minimal suffering. In effect your own happyiness should promote the happiness of others. Thus this will mill's theory valid. 5. Transition:() Utilitarianism is especially useful because it gives a clearly defined goal, maximize the good and minimize the ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...