...Utilitarianism Introduction In this report we would like to explain some of the concepts in moral ethics called utilitarianism. A famous philosopher called Jeremy Bentham introduced this moral concept in the 18th and 19th century. The utilitarian’s describes utilitarianism, as “the actions are morally permissible if and only if they produce at least as much net happiness as any another available action”. Also, this paper we would explain the concepts by John Stuart Mill Theory on utilitarianism. History During the 18th century, there was a revolution in Europe that not only affected the industries, but also government regulations like liberty, equality and fraternity. The result of this revolution helped in creating new modernized Europe. This...
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...In the chapters from Mill’s book, Utilitarianism, he writes about how people will be held accountable if they don't follow Utilitarianism and also what people are really looking for as an “ultimate ends”. One thought that the writes about is happiness as a way to an end. But what exactly is happiness and how do we measure it? We can’t scientifically measure happiness and it means different things to different people, but everybody has felt a sense of happiness at one point in their lives. I agree with Mills in that happiness can be broken down into parts and looked at from these different angles. Mills looks at happiness in a couple different ways that I found to be intriguing. One word he uses is “desire”. I agree that desire is a part...
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...Utilitarianism beliefs have been around for a long time but it wasn’t called utilitarianism until the philosopher Jeremy Bentham. John Stuart Mill was a philosopher born in 1806 and in 1861 wrote People haven’t’ agreed on what is right and what is wrong so the point is to come up with a universal systematic way to determine whether or not something is ethical The first principle of utility, as Mill describes, is “pleasure and freedom from pain are the only tings desirable as ends” The second principle is about the greatest happiness. “Actions are right in proportion as they tend to produce happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse.” He also describes happiness as pleasure with the absence of pain and unhappiness as pain with the absence of pleasure -First Premise- Constantly chasing pleasure brings about bad things (addictions, disease, an unhealthy life, loss of friends due to selfishness. You become a slave to your pleasure) The first thing that I believe is wrong with this theory is that a person should not be constantly chasing pleasure -Second Premise- mob rule...
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...According to (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/utilitarianism) that utilitarianism is “a belief that a morally good action is one that benefits the greatest number of people.” A perfect example would be Ozymandias and what he did to the city of New York during the government and foreign affairs. He believed in utilitarianism because he thought rather than nuclear bombs being sent from US to Europe to the Middle East to Russia and vice versa. Every country had nuclear weapons pointed at one another, and on the brink of a new world war. Ozymandias set off a bomb and killed thousands of people in New York, yet he simply did this all to end the tension with nuclear weapons and ended a war that was going to break out. This was exact situation was a result...
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...The theory of Utilitarianism takes its name from the Latin word ‘utilis’, meaning ‘useful’. It was first developed by Jeremy Bentham, a philosopher and legal theorist of the 18th century. Bentham sought to produce a modern and rational approach to morality which would suit the changing society of the industrial age. Utilitarianism basically says that happiness is the key to life’s conquest, and happiness that is the determination of right or wrong. So if an action’s consequence causes happiness, then the action is right, if it causes pain, or destroys happiness then the action is wrong.Utilitarianism may be regarded as a relativist, consequentialist and teleological system of ethics, giving no fixed moral rules and judging an action by its consequences or end result. Jeremy Bentham, and his disciple John Stuart Mill have become recognised as the two greatest sponsors of Utilitarianism. Bentham is known for his popularisation of the more traditional version of the theory, known as Act Utilitarianism. Although a student of Bentham, Mill could see problems in what he was being taught and so began to develop his own views in his own version called Rule Utilitarianism. Bentham’s main philosophy of Act Utilitarianism is to create the “greatest good for the greatest number”. So for example, if you are in a situation where lying would bring about the greatest good then, you should lie. Utilitarians support the view that it is the value of the consequences of the particular act that count...
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...John Stuart Mill holds that actions can only be judged as morally good based on the consequences it will have on the greater majority. That is, rather than maximize individual benefits in order to be considered morally good, actions of a utilitarian are only morally good if they maximize benefits for the greatest number. Benefits are defined as happiness minus pain. Individual rights may not count if they hinder the ability to maximize good for the majority. There is therefore a lack of full self-ownership of the benefits derived or arising from such actions. Individuals cannot also transfer the rights and benefits. Promotion of one’s own happiness and welfare and thus individual benefits ceases. Mill’s Greatest Happiness Principle therefore...
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...Name Professor Course Date Why does Mills think that Utilitarianism provides the foundation for Justice and why does Rawls reject it? Introduction The concept of utilitarianism is one that has engulfed the philosophical arena with an obscene number of arguments that support and/or criticize it. Generally, utilitarianism is a theory in normative ethics that defines an action as one that ensures maximum utility. Other schools of thought would like to put it as the concept of “maximizing happiness while reducing suffering” (Mills 3).In as much as utilitarianism has continued to receive applause from people and the political scene, other divergent scholars has come up with other theories that seek to compromise the philosophies under which the concept of utilitarianism operates. As a result, utilitarianism has become subject to contradictions from other theories in the field of ethics. The thinking class in other fields of utilitarianism characterizes in as a quantitative yet reductionist approach to ethics (Mills 3). Over time, the concept of utilitarianism has received ideological threats from; deontological ethics which does not assign moral worth to an action based on its consequences, virtue ethics that solely deals with action and habits that results to happiness, pragmatic ethics and other forms of ethics that backs the idea of consequentialism. In a nut shell, the concept of utilitarianism as defined by political philosophers and in relation to justice is becoming...
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...PHIL 1 1 May 2013 Utilitarianism: Ethics Many people in this generation are living a media influenced lifestyle based on having “no regrets” and not taking into account the effects their irresponsible behavior may result in. The world would turn into pure chaos if people lived with “no regrets,” each individual must live and know their regrets; a person should learn and build off of the mistakes that either they or someone else has made in the past. John Stuart Mill’s ethical theory of Utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism, which means by observing similar past events people are able to predict what may happen in their future. As a result of learning from past events a person would therefore be able to make a choice that would bring maximum utility in future occasions. "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" (p.412). Mill believes that looking at the motives behind an action are needed to find the source of why a certain choice was made, but the source does not always explain the action, because even though a person may be good morally they may do a wrongful action, even though they may or may not have been acting with the best of motives. However, that person can always get maximum utility (happiness) if it follows the theory of utilitarianism. Ignorance is not always...
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...Abortion, the deliberate termination of a pregnancy, has been the subject of discussion and controversy for many decades. Utilitarianism is the chief teleological ethical theory today which considers the consequences of an action; such as abortion. This ethical approach to abortion is useful because it determines that “an action is right if it produces the greatest good for the greatest number”. It considers the hedonic calculus, designed by Bentham, which weighs up the pleasure and pain generated by the available moral actions; the theory mainly focuses on both pleasure and pain and the ability to maximize pleasure over pain. It also emphasises the ends of abortion over its means; so it judges the rightness of abortion by the end result, possible pleasure, it produces. The views of Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill are significant in illustrating the effects of a Utilitarian approach to abortion. Firstly, Bentham’s version of utilitarianism, known as Act utilitarianism, is the most relevant theory to the issue of abortion. His theory remains teleological, using the outcome of an action to determine whether it is good or bad. With abortion being a personal issue, it seems that act utilitarianism is the most adequate theory because it looks at the consequences of an abortion, taking each situation into separate account of all others. This would then enable women who have been raped, for example, to choose whether they go ahead with the birth because they may not be able to...
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...Outline important concepts of Utilitarianism. (21) Utilitarianism is a theory which denotes actions that are right and wrong from there consequences. There are three types of Utilitarianism, act, rule and preference. Act Utilitarianism was initially developed by the theorist and psychological hedonist, Jeremy Bentham who believed that our main aim in life was to achieve 'happiness' and avoid 'pain'. He wanted to produce a different approach to moral decision making to suit the advancing society of the industrial age and argued that "natural rights is simple nonsense".This principle focuses on the individual action and the consequences that come with it. His moral rule was the 'Principle of Utility' which clearly stated that we should aim to achieve the 'greatest good for the greatest number', therefore he equated moral goodness with happiness. Bentham then created the 'hedonic calculus' to measure happiness and show the process for making moral decisions; it included seven key criteria: intensity, duration, certainty, extent, remoteness, richness and purity. Overall, the calculus gave the principle reason and allowed people to understand what was classed as a morally correct act in terms of 'happiness'. Considering the consequences of an action is a sensible approach which is not outgrown by society as it's flexible and can be applied to any situation under any circumstances; however, the fact that it is so flexible and that there are very few solid rules means that it's...
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...Explain both the general principles of utilitarianism and the distinctive features of Mill's utilitarianism Utilitarianism says that the result or the consequence of an act is the real measure of whether it is good or bad. This theory emphasizes ends over means. It is therefore, a teleological or deontological ethics theory. Teleological ethics determines whether an action is right or wrong depending on the consequence or end result. Deontological, on the other hand, is when the actions are intrinsically right or wrong due to an absolute law and the outcome doesn’t matter, even if it is good. The theory of utilitarianism was devised by Jeremy Bentham, the English philosopher (1748-1832). He was born in London during the big time of the great scientific and social change. Jeremy Bentham wrote The Principles of Morals and Legislation. This is where he presented the ethical theory. This theory can be divided into three parts: 1. His view on what drove human beings, and what goodness and badness was all about. 2. The principle of utility, which is his moral rule. 3. The hedonic calculus, which is his system for measuring how good or bad a consequence is. Bentham claimed that human beings were motivated by pleasure and pain. This is why he can be called a hedonist. In Principles of Morals and Legislation, he said, ‘nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure. It is for them alone to point out what we ought to do, as well as...
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...Ethical Judgments ! Utilitarianism ! An Introduction to the Moral Theories of Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill Ethical philosophy differs from the sciences because it is normative or prescriptive, rather than descriptive. In other words, ethics tell us how we ought to act or what we should do, while the sciences are more likely to observe how things are in nature or society. Making Ethical Judgments Areas of Emphasis in Making Moral Judgments Purpose or Act Rule Act, Rule, Motive or Maxim Results or Consequences Making Ethical Judgments in Utilitarianism ! ! ! Utilitarianism says that the Result or the Consequence of an Act is the real measure of whether it is good or bad. This theory emphasizes Ends over Means. Theories, like this one, that emphasize the results or consequences are called teleological or consequentialist. Bentham’s Formulation of Utilitarianism ! ! ! Jeremy Bentham Man is under two great masters, pain and pleasure. The great good that we should seek is happiness. (a hedonistic perspective) Those actions whose results increase happiness or diminish pain are good. They have “utility.” 1 Jeremy Bentham’s Hedonistic Calculus ! Four Theses of Utilitarianism ! ! ! In determining the quantity of happiness that might be produced by an action, we evaluate the possible consequences by p q y applying several values: Intensity, duration, certainty or uncertainty, propinquity or remoteness, fecundity, purity,...
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...Critically assess the view that utilitarianism is of no use when making decisions about sexual ethics. (35 marks) Utilitarianism is a theory mainly derived and developed by Jeremy Bentham and John Stewart Mill. Bentham was headanistic and stated that happiness consisted of pleasure minus pain. This essentially is what makes the ethical theory difficult to use when making decisions about sexual ethics as everyone’s ideas of pain and pleasure varies therefore it is hard to come to a solid decision, especially as sexual acts mostly involve more than one person, this can cause conflict. However, It would not be fair to say that Utilitarianism is of no use at all when making decisions about sexual ethics as it can provide a useful tool when considering such issues in some cases. Although, it seems that if ‘use’ is taken to mean the clarity of decision making in a practical sense, Natural Law would be a better alternative on matters such as contraception as more of a clear response would be provided. A theory’s usefulness depends on your definition. Thus, with different definitions, Utilitarianism’s use can change. One important area of sexual ethics is the issue of contraception. A utilitarian approach may be considered of use when applied to the subject of contraception, when use is defined as fitting in to modern society. Utilitarianism considers the maximising happiness and minimising pain for the maximum number. It must consider the consequences of an action. It can be...
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...Morality (from the Latin moralitas "manner, character, proper behavior") is the differentiation of intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are distinguished as proper and those that are improper.[1] Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from acode of conduct from a particular philosophy, religion, or culture, or it can derive from a standard that a person believes should be universal.[2] Morality may also be specifically synonymous with "goodness" or "rightness." Moral philosophy includes moral ontology, or the origin of morals, as well as moral epistemology, or knowledge about morals. Different systems of expressing morality have been proposed, including deontological ethical systems which adhere to a set of established rules, and normative ethical systems which consider the merits of actions themselves. An example of normative ethical philosophy is the Golden Rule, which states that: "One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself."[3] Immorality is the active opposition to morality (i.e. opposition to that which is good or right), while amorality is variously defined as an unawareness of, indifference toward, or disbelief in any set of moral standards or principles. An initial naïve attempt at a descriptive definition of “morality” might take it to refer to the most important code of conduct put forward by a society and accepted by the members of that society. But the existence of large and heterogeneous societies raises...
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...political systems for ourselves by seeing the effects they produce (90). Utilitarians often advocate for social welfare because everyone’s well-being is of moral interest and social welfare seems like a good way to make sure everyone flourishes to a minimal extent. On the other hand utilitarians often advocate free trade because (a) free trade can help reward people for hard work and encourage people to be productive, (b) the free market allows for a great deal of freedom, (c) freedom has a tendency to lead to more prosperity, and (d) taking away freedom has a tendency to cause suffering. One conception of utilitarian justice can be found in the work Utilitarianism by John Stuart Mill (91). Mill said that justice was a subset of morality—“injustice involves the violation of the rights of some identifiable individual” (ibid.). Mill suggests, “Justice implies something which is not only right to do, and wrong not to do, but which some individual person can claim from us as his moral right” (ibid.). Morality is larger than justice because it’s plausible that we can be heroic or act beyond the call of duty to help others and such acts...
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