Essay On Utilitarianism

On Utilitarianism Essay
In Utilitarianism, J.S. Mill gives an account for the reasons one must abide by the principles of
Utilitarianism. Also referred to as the Greatest–happiness Principle, this doctrine promotes the
greatest happiness for the greatest amount of people. More specifically, Utilitarianism is a form of
consequentialism, holding that the right act is that which yields the greatest net utility, or "the total
amount of pleasure minus the total amount of pain", for all individuals affected by said act (Joyce,
lecture notes from 03/30).
In defining utilitarianism, J.S. Mill counters the popular belief that this theory only deals with the
pleasure yielded by actions of individuals by stating that, "the theory of utility... [is] not something to
be...show more content...
Therefore, when confronted with two pleasures or acts, one must choose the one that will create the
most utility, or happiness and pleasure, for the largest number of people. One might contradict this
by saying that men can do without happiness and that happiness isn't the purpose of human life. J.S.
Mill rebuts by stating that when these critics talk about happiness, they mean a "continuity of highly
pleasurable excitement," which is evidently impossible (600). To Mill, utility includes not only the
pursuit of happiness, but the prevention of unhappiness and pain. this proves to be the truest theory
of the purpose of human life because happiness is incorporated with the endless pursuit to prevent
pain.
Mill also argues that not all forms of pleasure are of equal value. Holding that quality of pleasures
is certainly better than quantity, Mill states that, "It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than
a pig satisfied, better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied" (598). More specifically, he is
stating that there isn't a single intelligent human being would consent to be a fool, even if that
person could be more satisfied with his lot as a fool. Being intelligent beings of "higher faculties" in
this sense, Mill argues that it is in the everyone's best interest to abide by the utilitarian standard, or
the pursuit of the greatest
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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...
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

Utilitarianism Essay examples
This essay will present the key features of Utilitarianism and identify the problems of Utilitarianism
to the extent to which they make Utilitarianism unacceptable.
Jeremy Bentham founded Utilitarianism. He lived at a time of great change. With revolutions in
France and America, demands were being made for human rights and greater democracy. Bentham
worked on legal reform. Utilitarianism is associated with the principle of utility. Utility means the
amount of satisfaction or pleasure that somebody gains from consuming a commodity, product, or
service, i.e.; useful.
The hedonic calculus, which is his system for measuring how good or bad a consequence is:
At the time Bentham put forward the theory it...show more content...
Louise does not want to have sex. James, Peter and Matthew rape Louise, as there are three of them
and one of her."
This is the greatest good for the greatest number of people; however it is an immoral action.
Bentham was an empiricist (the philosophical belief that all knowledge is derived from the
experience of the senses), i.e.; food or sex. Bentham maintained that human beings
were motivated by their five senses and that humans would always seek pleasure and avoid pain at
all costs.
To measure the pleasure he devised the hedonic calculus, which consisted of seven principles each of
which could be given a numerical score. These consist of its intensity, duration, certainty or
uncertainty, propinquity or remoteness, fecundity, purity and possibly wit. This should make it clear
how beneficial the greatest good for the greatest number is.
An example could be "A car is on fire. Inside the car is a doctor with the cure to cancer and your
own child and you can only save one." Using the hedonic calculus you would save the doctor with
the cure to cancer rather than saving your own child. This is the greatest good for the greatest
number of people, even though it is not the greatest for the individual and family.
However, while John Stuart Mill agrees with Bentham's fundamental principles and approves of his
method he maintains that the

Essay Of Utilitarianism
We often speak of "utilitarian" solutions in a negative manner, but it's very probable that every
human being will have to make a "utilitarian" decision at least once in their lifetime. Although I
don't agree with most "utilitarian" point of views, in some cases utilitarianism is a demanding
moral side that brings benefit for the sake of the majority. In this case, I give you a matter of life and
death. For example, a person has been in car accident and needs a heart transplant immediately in
order to survive. There are no suitable donors available, but there is a brain–dead person in the
emergency room that is being kept alive on a respirator, who probably has only a few days to live,
and who is a perfect donor. Without the...show more content...
By focusing on the overall happiness able to cause by this action, and disregarding self–interest and
perhaps integrity, the consequences of this decision will definitely induce pleasure and satisfaction
to a majority.
There is a maximum utility being made because, a life is being saved, and a useful end is given to
the less fortunate one. Another benefit is the deprivation of pain as only one man is to die, and just
one family has to suffer. "The Fundamental Principle of Morality is the Principle of Utility or
Greatest Happiness Principle." (Mill), this basically means picking the course of action that is
more likely to produce the greatest good of the greatest number of people. "This is and has always
been the fundamental principle of morality" (Mill). If you count the number of people who benefited
from this "utilitarian" decision plus the amount of happiness or pleasure caused, it would definitely
overcome the amount of pain caused plus the lives affected.
Despite the fact that many do not concord with most "utilitarian" decisions, there exists occasions in
which you have to consider their standards and ideals. The case mentioned above is an example of
how if I were given the opportunity to decide, would certainly consider this "utilitarian"

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

LUtilitarianism
Utilitarianism is an ethical theory which acts as a guideline on how people should act in certain
situations and was first introduced by a hedonist (pursuer of pleasure) named Jeremy Bentham who
put forward the 'Principle of Utility' which said "The greatest happiness for the greatest number".
Utilitarianism is a theory which bases on the end purpose (teleological) of achieving pleasure, our
decisions should be based on consequences in pursuit of the principle of utility (consequentialist) and
is a theory which judges each situation independently (relativistic).
Jeremy Bentham was the first contributor and developer for Utilitarianism and was most famous for
his version of 'Act' Utilitarianism which focused applying the...show more content...
Bentham believed that all people were entitled to happiness, and thus each to count as one and
no–one as more than one. However, there were many obvious faults in this theory; for example,
eating a chocolate bar is subjective to people who like and dislike chocolate therefore not every
action has equal pleasure and pain for every person.
John Stuart Mill, a fellow colleague of Jeremy Bentham criticised him for developing a 'Swine
theory' as it encouraged people to be selfish and recognizes no higher purpose for life other than
the mere pursuit of pleasure. Mill was concerned that one person's unhappiness could be entirely
overlooked if the majority were happy. Unlike Bentham, Mill focused on differentiating the quality
of pleasure and thus introduced a new theory of utility called 'Rule' Utilitarianism which acted as a
general guideline that achieved happiness without discriminating. Mill's definition of happiness
was tended to the spiritual and culture side rather than just physical. He distinguished between
Higher and lower pleasures, higher pleasures were in pleasures in tune with the mind such as
reading and poetry and lower pleasures tended to physical needs to do with the body like sex and
eating. Mill stated that lower pleasures are more easily accomplishable and thus have to be
completed before satisfying the intellectual needs of the mind. He famously wrote 'It is better to be
a human satisfied than a pig satisfied, it is

Utilitarianism Reflection
849
Jerry Lee Oglesby
Dr. Jana McAuliffe
Ethics and Society, PHIL 2320.991/9U1, Summer 2017, WEB
04 June 2017
Reflection Essay: UtilitarianismDuring the first portion of this class, we have had the privilege of
learning about some of the basic principles of ethics. We have gone over aspects of both
Utilitarianism and, my favorite, Libertarianism during our time in the course. In this reflection paper,
I will attempt to analyze the theory of justice utilizing the beliefs of Utilitarianism. I will begin by
using Michael J. Sandel's text, Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?, to attempt to explain the
provided quote from John Stuart Mill and its meaning when it comes to justice. I will then apply the
meaning of that quote to the controversial issue of the rejection of same sex marriages and prove
that this theory of Utilitarianism could apply to this issue. Lastly, I will attempt to show how this
theory is justified in this application. John Stuart Mill wrote a quote, which was provided for this
essay. That quote reads: "The creed which accepts as the foundation of morals, Utility, or the
Greatest–Happiness Principle, holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote
happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness" (Mill 245). This quote describes
the basic meaning for Utilitarianism. It places a measure of happiness on the quality of life which
situations or actions have on people or communities. By happiness, Mill means

Essay on Utilitarism
Question 1: Williams thinks that the doctrine of negative responsibility, which follows from the
principle of utility, undermines personal integrity. Do you agree that being held responsible for the
consequences of not acting, of failing to prevent something, will (always or sometimes) erode the
idea of personal integrity? Is there any way to be a utilitarian and still respect the integrity of
individuals? Integrity is the honesty and truthfulness or accuracy of one's actions. Integrity regards
internal consistency as a virtue. One may judge that others "have integrity" to the extent that they act
according to the values, beliefs and principles they clam to hold. As Williams explains, the principal
of utility undermines personal...show more content...
So, the principals of utilitarianism are not conflicting with personal integrity. With that being said, I
believe that a person of integrity may differ about what is right but a moral person cannot have
integrity. The utilitarian approach alienates individuals from their own commitments and moral
identity. Deliberating and acting for reasons directed at the right or good thing to do depend upon a
moral theory in which we have personal integrity. To be moved by the needs of others, we need to
possess substantial commitments that help individuals see themselves as part of the group (Sheehy
2008). Not to dismiss what role principles like the principles of utility have in our decisions, but our
view of the world is made of the commitments forming us. This idea is not limited to an individual,
but central to the nature of us and woven into our moral thinking. Ashford, Elizabeth, 2000.
'Utilitarianism, Integrity and Partiality,'Journal of Philosophy, 97: 421–439. Sheehy, Paul. "Doing
the Right Thing (Part II): Challenges to Utilitarianism." The Richmond Journal of Philosophy.
Richmond Journal, Mar. 2008. Williams, Bernard, 1973. 'Integrity,' in J.J.C. Smart and Bernard
Williams, Utilitarianism: For and Against New York: Cambridge, 108
–117. Question 2: Morality
tells us what we ought to do, and imposes upon us duties which it would be wrong not to fulfill. Yet
Kant claims, in Chapter Two of the Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, that autonomy–the
ability

Essay about Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism
What is Utilitarianism? Utilitarianism is a philosophical concept that holds an action to be held right
if it tends to promote happiness for the greatest number of people. Utilitarians define the morally
right actions as those actions that maximize some non–moral good or happiness and minimize some
non–moral evil. Pleasure is an example of a non–moral good and pain is an example of a non– moral
evil. A utilitarian will fous on the consequences of an act rather than on the intristic nature of the act
or the motives of the agent. In short, utilitarians focus on ends rather than actions. An example would
be a person that litters, a utilitarian will argue that the act of littering is not intrinsicly bad but the
litter that...show more content...
The second story deals with a megistrate that is pressured by the mob to condemn an innocent
person in order to prevent the mob of murdering innocent people. The megistrate acts as a utilitarian
by condeming an innocent person to save the lives of the many innocent people. The megistrate acts
as a utilitarian but was his decision the right decision? Is utilitarinism always the right action to
take? In the next passage I will describe oppositions made towards utilitarianism. Bernard Williams
is the author of " A Case against Utilitarianism". In this passage Williams is against utilitarianism
because he beliefs that the actions that a person takes matter because decisions are reflected by
integrity, responsibility, and morals. His argument states that utilitarianism is only concerned with
the best outcome, and that utilitarianism does not consider and evaluate the actions that a person
must take to achieve the outcome. Williams's beliefs that a person must do what is morally correct.
For example, in Nielsen's mob story, Williams could argue that the megistrate did wrong in killing
the innocent man because he is always going to be held responsible for the murder futhermore he
has probably violated his values, integrity, and morals. Williams would argue that the megistrate
should do what he thinks is morally right because he is the only

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...
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

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...
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

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...
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

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...
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

Utilitarianism is an ethical theory proposed by Jeremy Bentham and defended by James Mill. The
theory says, that all the activities should be directed towards the accomplishment of the greatest
happiness for the greatest number of people. Utilitarianism is impractical and very unrealistic
because, it refuses to focus on the individuals values, morals, and happiness. Utilitarianism endorse
risking ones life for the sake of other is not and in fact it rewards such behavior. Utilitarianism
mentions that if the outcome of the one persons death saves many lives then therefore it is obligated
to do so. Utilitarianism states that no ones friendship is more important than any other friendships.
This is a worry because this is not...show more content...
Fat people are often discriminated and mistreated. Some of them are having a rough time getting
insurance and even if you get one by paying three or four times more than a thin person does, they
will try to avoid doctors because they know that the first thing they want them to do is lose some
weight. The mental model that doctor holds is that fat is that all the ills are caused by fat. The
author mentioned that doctors are more readily to so exams if they don't have to touch fat
people. She also gave an example that if you are suffering from a sharp pain in your heel and
visited a doctor. First thing she/he will ask after checkup is "so what are we going to do about you
losing weight?" they decided to treat your weight first rather than your symptoms. "Fat is a death
sentence" is one of the most popular health myths that people have on fat but the statement doesn't
hold any truth at all because the longevity of someone's life cant be measure from one's weight.
Some cases showed that fat people lived the longest. Another popular myth concerning health is
that "still, Fat people can't be healthy" the Cooper study revealed that fittest people will live
longest no matter what your weight is. Fat people who daily exercise is more likely to live longer
than the thin people who don't exercise at all. Some people believe that being a fat causes diabetes
but the recent research found that the severity of diabetes can be

Discussion of Utilitarianism Essay examples
Discussion of Utilitarianism
In this paper I will be discussing utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is the theory proposing the principle
of utility as the correct ethical standard. I will also be talking about the THEORY of RIGHT
CONDUCT, which is also a part of moral theory. I have been asked to prove if Bentham or Mills'
version of utilitarianism is right for the sadistic voyeur case. I will begin by telling you about the
case.
Case: this man enjoys watching women being brutally raped; he is locked in a room. He cannot
exit the room, there is a window in the room and a curtain covers it. Behind the curtain a woman is
being brutally raped by several men. If the man opens the curtain he will...show more content...
Bentham's utility principle is saying that the sadistic voyeur should open the curtain. If he opens the
curtain he is gaining pleasure but the person on the other side is gaining pain, both mentally and
physically. Just because the sadistic voyeur thinks its right, it is not morally right. Bentham's
principle states as long as you gaining pleasure then there should not be any pain involved. He is
saying that it may be right to open the curtain today but wrong tomorrow.
The reason that this is problematic for Bentham's principle is because Bentham is giving the
person more reasons why it is right to do the act than giving him reasons why it is wrong. Bentham
is saying that if you desire something that is desirable you should obtain that desire. This is not true
in the sadistic voyeur's case, true the men are all gaining pleasure but the woman is not gaining
pleasure at all. She is gaining more pain from the sadistic voyeur because he chose to open the
curtain and watch her being brutally raped. Bentham's principle is problematic because it's
immorally wrong to commit such an act.
The action that the sadistic voyeur is thinking about committing is a forbidden action. Meaning that
from the point of view of

Essay On Utilitarianism

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