...“Against Utilitarianism” Utilitarianism, a form of consequentialism, is one of the most notable and influential moral theories. The basic concept behind utilitarianism is that the morality of an action is based solely on the consequences it produces. People possessing utilitarian views believe that a person’s actions should be chosen to maximize utility for the greater good of all people. In the article “Against Utilitarianism,” British philosopher Bernard Williams aims to discredit the validity of the utilitarian argument. He supports his argument through examples of moral dilemmas and working definitions of utilitarian terms. Although Williams presents a compelling case against utilitarianism, such a prominent theory in philosophy cannot be reproached so quickly. Utilitarianism enhances overall happiness and utility without disparaging individual integrity. The concepts making up utilitarianism are extensive, however two of the most fundamental concepts include negative responsibility and integrity. Negative responsibility is the belief that a person is as responsible for the consequences of an action that they failed to prevent as they are for the actions they carry out. The idea of negative responsibility is directly related to utilitarianism because it deals with the concept that a person is responsible for consequences brought about by their being. This includes a person’s lack of action which, in itself, is considered an action to a utilitarian. Based on negative responsibility...
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...Morality? Alexander Raby Introduction Bernard Williams’ article "A Critique of Utilitarianism" has been consistently referred to as the definitive work that refutes utilitarianism.[1] In this article, Williams builds an argument against consequentialist ethical theories in general and utilitarianism specifically. According to Williams, all forms of consequentialism are concerned solely with consequences and are indifferent to the personal integrity of a person, something that is formed by their deepest held moral principles.[2] By forcing a person to reject her conscience and compelling her to perform lesser evils, utilitarianism requires us to discard integrity and should be rejected on these grounds, or at least so says Williams.[3] It can be difficult to understand Williams’ argument without making clear the charges he makes against utilitarianism and why they are considered to be effective attacks against the view. To get the clearest conception possible of the charges made, one should have a firm grasp of the utilitarian position so that one may successfully relate Williams’ criticisms to the theory. First, the utilitarian moral theory must be clearly formulated. Then I will present and clarify some of Williams’ objections against this theory. Finally, I will explore some utilitarian responses to Williams’ objections. Articulating Utilitarianism Utilitarianism is a moral theory that is traditionally attributed to Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill...
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...Utilitarianism Utilitarianism argues that right and wrong actions could be distinguished by focusing on the consequences of those actions. From Utilitarianism perspective, result is the most important factor to consider when making decisions. Therefore, whether the motives behind the action is in accordance to principles or not are not as important. Even if the objectives are to be achieved by violating principles, it would still be deemed as the right thing to do. In short, as long as the objective is achieved, moral rules could be ignored as Utilitarianism based its judgment on a cost or benefit analysis. Arguments Supporting Surveillance Workplace surveillance is believed to be able to enhance employees’ productivity. With the implementation...
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...outcome of an action. “The end justifies the means” -Egoism -Utilitarianism Non consequentialist theories Based on inputs and intentions Actions are intrinsically good or bad by themselves. The right or wrong of these actions is not determined by their consequences. Utilitarianism Actions are judged by how much they benefit the majority. The greatest good for the greatest number of people. It is ethical to make the minority unhappy or suffer to create the greatest good The various ways of defining the greatest good should be taken into consideration. Promulgated by John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham Act Utilitarianism Every act has an individual moral obligation. Rule Utilitarianism Apply utilitarianism to a set of rules that will benefit the majority. Kantian Ethics Intention based The categorical Imperative contains three maxims. Universality: You should only do something if you think it would be ok if everyone did it all the time. E.g. cheating in business, if everyone did it the economy would collapse. Every human should be treated as an end not a means to an end: So you can’t manipulate people to achieve an end. Contrasts to consequentialism which is based on ‘the greater good’. Means you cannot lie, (example about com101 being fav class) Act as if you were the moral authority of the universe: If any action that you undertake, repeated across the universe would create negative effects it is deemed unethical and you should not do it. ...
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...as right and wrong, good and evil, and responsibility." Wikipedia, defines utilitarianism as: “…ethical doctrine of greatest good. The ethical doctrine that the greatest happiness of the greatest number should be the criterion of the virtue of action The complexities of business and our human/social society makes corporate ethics a very interesting study. To a practicing manager in the working world today, this becomes critically important, especially if they don’t get it! And many obviously have not and still do not. The questions are really simple to ask - yet hard to answer: What does good business today really mean? What does ethics have to do, if anything, with good business? What impact can the human resource function have on either? Within business, what is my responsibility as a human resource professional? Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is known as one of the areas that has drawn many attentions in the business environment over the last twenty years. Carroll (1991) argued that corporation should be addressed not only from economic and legal perspectives but also from ethical and philanthropic perspectives; the idea of CSR’s pyramid is then derived. Furthermore, the efficiency theory and the social responsibility theory have influenced the debate on corporate ethical and social responsibility. The efficiency theory represented by Milton Friedman (1970) portrayed the idea that business’s social responsibility is to use its resources to increase profits...
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...Nikki Jackson Colorado Technical University Online Dr. Pradeep Goel July 10th, 2014 One might ask what is utilitarianism? Utilitarianism is defined as “the belief that a morally good action is one that helps the greatest number of people” (Merriam-Webster, 2014). Ethics utilitarianism derives from consequentialism; therefore with that in mind simple utilitarianism “an action is right or wrong according to whether it maximizes the net balance of pleasure over pain in the universe” (Merriam-Webster, 2014). There are two forms of consequentialism. The first one is classical utilitarianism and it determines the benefits from a decision or action. The second is rule consequentialism which makes the rules or guidelines that would create happiness or pleasure that is derived from a decision or action (Morris, 2014, p. 29-32). In 2010, President Obama created the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) which was created to ensure that all Americans had healthcare insurance. Currently there are 44 million American’s without healthcare insurance. When creating the ACA President Obama had utilitarianism in mind because he put forth the “maximization of the net utility expected for all parties affected by a decision.” (Morrison, 2014, p. 29-32) The ACA is a good example of utilitarianism, and President Obama’s intentions are in helping the greatest number of people for the greater good; however, there are still drawbacks that need to be taken into account. A majority...
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...Utilitarianism Overview 1. Fundamental Tenets of Utilitarianism 2. Standards of Utility/History of Utilitarianism 3. The Utilitarian Calculus 4. Act and Rule Utilitarianism 5. Criticisms of Utilitarianism 6. Concluding Assessment Basic Insights of Utilitarianism n The purpose of morality is to make the world a better place. n Morality is about producing good consequences, not having good intentions n We should do whatever will bring the most benefit (i.e., intrinsic value) to all of humanity. n The Purpose of Morality n The utilitarian has a very simple answer to the question of why morality exists at all: – The purpose of morality is to guide people’s actions in such a way as to produce a better world. n Consequently, the emphasis in utilitarianism is on consequences, not intentions. Fundamental Imperative nThe fundamental imperative of utilitarianism is: Always act in the way that will produce the greatest overall amount of good in the world. –The emphasis is clearly on consequences, not intentions. The Emphasis on the Overall Good n We often speak of “utilitarian” solutions in a disparaging tone, but in fact utilitarianism is a demanding moral position that often asks us to put aside self-interest for the sake of the whole. n Utilitarianism is a morally demanding position for two reasons: – It always asks us to do the most, to maximize utility, not to do the minimum. ...
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...Corporate Governance and Ethical Responsibility Claudette Harrington Strayer University Dr. Diane Barrs Law, Ethics, and Corporate Governance 11/10/12 1. Determine at least three (3) different internal and external stakeholders that Dr. DoRight might have to deal with on a daily basis at the hospital. Answer: Dr. DoRight was morally concerned when he reported the issues regarding treatment of the patient’s health and medical errors, and because of the staff illegal activities, Dr. DoRight informed his Manager and the Executive Committee about the nurses and doctors unethical and illegal behavior. According to Investor Glossary, a stakeholder is any individual, group, or business with a stake in the success of the organization and are considered a stakeholder. They are typically concerned with the organization delivering intended results and meeting its financial objectives. In general, a stakeholder usually stands to gain or lose something depending on the decisions taken or the policies implemented. A stakeholder can be one of two types internal (from within the organization) or external (from outside the organization). Different internal and external stakeholders that Dr.DoRight might have to deal with on a daily basis include the hospital employees, doctors and nurses, board of trustees, creditors, managers’ and executives. All of these persons benefit from the day-to-day decisions and operations of the organization. At the Universal Human Care Hospital...
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...In this essay, the case of Wal-Mart will be discussed by applying the Milton Friedman’s argument on CSR and utilitarianism. Wal-Mart is the largest retailer in the world, however, it is also known for ruthless exploitation of employee, squeezing suppliers, and crushing communities. It has been the Public Enemy No. 1 for a generation of activists and reformers. To cope with these oppositions, Wal-Mart responded vigorously and, instead, announced plans to preserving the environment, fighting hunger, empowering women and providing access to healthy, affordable food. The essay will try to argue the problems of Wal-Mart dominating the world in the retail business to create great profit by giving low wages to the employee according to Milton Friedman and utilitarianism. Also, it will discuss how the plans announced by Wal-Mart deal with the global responsibility. Moreover, how should government involve in this situation. Problem: Low-wages for the Employee 1. Milton Friedman According to Milton Friedman, an American economist and philosopher, the most important social responsibility of a corporation is to maximize profit for its owner- stockholder (Friedman, 1970). He suggested that if a corporation put the focus on being socially responsible, it would make the corporation less competitive with those competitors who did not put much focus on social responsibility. For the act of Wal-Mart to provide only low wages and little benefit to the employee, according to Friedman...
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...will be discussing how Utilitarianism, Kant’s Theory, and Negative Natural Rights theory determine morality and whether each theory deems the proposal as a moral act or not. The first theory we can use in deciding if selling kidneys for tuition is ethical is Utilitarianism. Utilitarianism determines morality by saying an act is moral if it creates the greatest overall utility. This means it will require that we sacrifice our own pleasure and happiness for the greater good. The first step in determining the moral worth of the act is defining the utility. In this situation, financially poor student are selling their kidney to pay the tuition costs to go to school. The groups that are being affected are college students who cannot afford tuition and people who are in desperate need of a kidney. In the UK, “three people die every day in the UK while awaiting kidneys”. There is a clearly a high demand of kidneys. Since utilitarianism looks to produce the greatest overall utility, we need to measure the consequences to determine whether the positive consequences outweigh the negative consequences. The positive consequences are that poor students receive money for their kidneys so they can pay for college, and people who are in need of a kidney receive them and do not die. The negative consequences are that the student who donates a kidney will only have one instead of two, causing possible future consequences if the one kidney stops working. Another negative consequence is that someone...
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...or to put it another way, produces the greatest balance of good over harm. The ethical corporate action is the one that produces the greatest good and does the least harm for all who are affected that is the customers, employees, shareholders, the community, and the environment. Ethical warfare balances the good achieved in ending terrorism with the harm done to all parties through death, injuries, and destruction. The utilitarian approach deals with consequences, it tries both to increase the good done and to reduce the harm done. Strengths Secular. Utilitarianism does not rely on specific beliefs about God. In the modern, multicultural society with a range of religious beliefs and a growing number of atheists, a secular approach is most useful. The utilitarianism approach is universal, which means it is acceptable to all the different types of cultures that are available globally. In every religion the utilitarianism approach is useful as it only considers the practises that do not harm the society but those that are acceptable to the society. The belief about what is right or wrong is the one that the society approves, not considering what other societies believe in. Happiness. It is absolutely right that happiness is given intrinsic value. There cannot be any situation where we can say happiness is wrong or bad. It is usually important to give high value to happiness as it...
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...particular action is right or wrong. -- Ethics issues analyzed using different philosophical theories generally have the same appropriate outcome. Role Morality — people have a moral responsibility to fulfill their role in the organization Do employees have a moral responsibility to “do their jobs?” What are their responsibilities? Do employers have a moral responsibility to “do their jobs?” What are their responsibilities? How do employers handle conflicts in the different roles they perform? What if your superior wants you to carry out some responsibility, and your workgroup thinks this is unfair? What if some personal role conflicts with a work role? (Others roles include: student, parent, child, organization member, etc.) Moral Philosophy Perspectives 1. Teleology — egoism - enlightened egoism - utilitarianism 2. Deontology 3. Relativist Perspective 4. Virtue Ethics I. Teleology — consequences (consequentialist theories) egoism — right behavior is based on good consequences for the individual enlightened egoism — some basic “rules” or policies are followed not because they are right, but because they will help a person in some way Utilitarianism- the greatest good for the greatest number Utilitarianism--- Whether an action is right or wrong depends on the good or bad consequences produced for everyone affected by the action (not just the affect on oneself or just the affect on others)...
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...Running head: ACCOUNTING ETHICS: DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DEONTOLOGY AND UTILITARIANISM Accounting Ethics: Differences between Deontology and Utilitarianism Yaa Mendez Liberty University Outline: Introduction with thesis Deontology: definition, concepts Utilitarianism: definition, concepts Similarities between deontology and utilitarianism Difference between deontology and utilitarianism Conclusion In 2013, the movie, The Wolf of Wall Street portrayed the dishonest dealings of people involved in securities exchange and trades of foreign and public companies. The actor, Leonardo DiCaprio, had an sensational thirst for wealth and learned of greed from his superior. This movie portrays the idea that greed, an unethical behavior, is an acceptable behavior that business individuals must cultivate to increase their wealth. So what is ethics? According to Spiceland, Sepe, and Tomassini (2007), ethics is “a code or moral system that provides a criteria for evaluating what is right and wrong” (Spiceland, Sepe, and Tomassni, 2007). Deontological theories base morality on certain duties or obligations and claim that certain actions are right or wrong regardless of the consequences that may follow from the actions. Deontology is a moral theory that depends on scriptures that are governed by rules, moral laws, and intuition. The word deontology is derived from the Greek term “deon” and “logos” which means the “study of duty” (Moreland, 2009). Moreland (2009)...
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...danger to future customers, or delay the production and modify the original model to assure safety and reliability, regardless the higher costs? Ford’s decision was to continue the production of the defective design while basing it on a cost-benefit analysis. In this context another dilemma was created: should such an analysis be used in situations where defects could lead to death or cause tremendous harm, such as in the Ford Pinto situation? Utilitarianism Based on the information provided by Ford, the company assumed and decided that the most benefit would come from going ahead with the production of the initial design. Utilitarianism is defined as a normative, empirical philosophy that is based on the principle that “the right thing to do, in any situation, is whatever would produce the best overall consequences for all those who will be affected by the action”, so basically it defines right or acceptable actions as those that maximize total utility, or the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Utilitarianism can be used when considering a business decision that seeks to maximize positive effects and minimize...
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...make, who is involved, what are their concerns. • Be prepared for real examples of conflict of interest… o For example: TRUE OR FALSE--- A member of the city council who is employed by a waste management firm would have a conflict of interest in voting on the city’s award of a contract for the handling of the city’s waste. • Know Peter Drucker "Above all, do no harm" • The overview of the Parable of Sadhu case • Know Divine Command/Law Decisions made by the guidance of divine bring. • What theory did Ayn Ryad create? Ethical Egoism • Know utilitarianism Greatest good for the greatest number • Know rights theory Everyone has a set of rights. It's up to the government to protect those rights. Adherent: Robert Nozick • Know ethical egoism Everyhting is based on self-interest. • Who are the creators of utilitarianism theory? Jeremy Benthem and John Stuart Mill • Know moral relativism (very similar to utilitarianism) Time & place ethics. No absolute rules. The situation dictates and justifies the actions taken. Week 3 • Know Carr and Drucker perspectives (numerous questions on them) • Drucker's prospective: A) No distinction between personal & business ethics • B) We can't always promise that we will make people better off, but we can promise that we will not intentionally harm them. • C) Above all, do no harm. • Carr's perspective: A) Business is a special case with its own set of rules. • B) Position on bluffing: Falsehood ceases to be falsehood when...
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