The idea of utilitarianism classifies actions of being "morally" right or wrong solely based on the results and outcomes of the actions. This paper will analyze the problem that Arthur, "the art dealer", faces with artwork pieces he stumbles upon. Arthur's predicament is that he is given an opportunity to buy looted artworks. His dilemma is to either purchase or to not purchase the art work. This paper will evaluate the two analysis views of a utilitarian: act (extreme) and rule (restricted).…
“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” (11). That quote is from “Utilitarianism” written by John Stuart Mill. Mill is noted in history as a man who pushed for radical change of social and legal principles using Utilitarianism as his guide. That quote sums up his belief in that theory. In this essay I will be discussing Mill, the theory of Utilitarianism and how that theory relates to contemporary ethical issues.…
The complaint received from the Singapore and Malaysia salespeople are that Ian has been ‘spending so much time with them’. On days when Ian spends with them to provide coaching tips and feedback, he did otherwise. Ian even went to the extent of accompanying the salesperson at sales presentations to review their performance on the spot and give comments when he thinks there is a need to. He would take over when he is dissatisfied with their presentation to the customers. His salespeople said that this has led to some confusion in his customers, which might in turn affect the company’s image in the long run.…
Utilitarianism Act means to do the right action that will benefit a good amount of people over any other option. In the two examples I read from Bernard Williams “A Critique of Utilitarianism” I realized those were two difficult choices these two men had to make. However, if we follow the Utilitarianism Act, George would of taken the job offer and Jim would unfortunately sacrifice one of the protestors to save the rest. By George taking the job offer, it would benefit his family financially and also help his family’s emotional battle. Also, George opposing chemical and biological warfare would mean he wont have much interest compared to the other gentlemen that had much more interest on the subject. This will benefit a large amount of people…
In chapter 2 of your textbook, Jonathan Wolff gives a formalized version of the utilitarian argument for the state. Please evaluate the first three premises of this argument: for each of these three premises, state whether you think that premise is true, and explain why or why not. For each of the three premises that you think is true, please also describe one objection to that premise, and explain why you think that the objection ultimately fails. Please assume that “state” in the formalized argument refers to a body that satisfies both of Nozick’s two necessary conditions of a state. If you choose this topic, you must reference both Wolff’s formalized argument (from either the textbook or the Topic 10.a lecture) and Nozick’s two necessary…
a 350- to 700-word essay comparing the similarities and differences between virtue theory, utilitarianism, and deontological ethics. Include the following in your essay:…
In chapter number one titled “General Remarks” Mill starts off by talking about what is to be seen as morally right and morally wrong things, yet no one has a complete understanding for what is actually morally right and wrong. He then talks about “Moral Faculty” and two different views or opinions on the subject. Mill states in his text that “Our moral faculty, according to all those of its interpreters who are entitled to the name of thinkers, supplies us only with the general principles of moral judgments; it is a branch of our reason, not of our sensitive faculty; and must be looked to for the abstract doctrines of morality, not for perception of it in the concrete. The intuitive, no less than what may be termed the inductive, school of ethics, insists on the necessity of general laws.” The quote that Mill states is very outstanding for the reason of “applying the concept of law to ones certain case,” this is what Mill is trying to relate between the two different views. Mill also states that the differences between the two is where the “source from which they derive their authority” but yet they both agree on the concept of “moral law.” So as the chapter is coming to an end Mill comments on how “Utilitarianism has had a tremendous influence in shaping moral doctrines, even among the people who reject the principle.” Since our class had just been reading text from Kant his “idea of law” or “will” is still fresh in my mind and can easily be seen as a difference to what Mill is stating in the “Utilitarianism.” I can directly relate the two ideas because Kant’s “will” for a rational being may be thought of “the objective laws of reason and morality” or “subjective needs and interests,” which is what Mill is talking about in his two different views of “Moral Faculty.” Kant also states that “Act only on that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law” but Mill argues the point…
The Utilitarianism theory supports individual capability to foresee the costs of an act. A Utilitarian considers the decision of giving the best profit to a large number of people; this is known to be ethically correct.…
Utilitarianism is a teleological theory which looks at the consequences of an act to decide whether it is right or wrong. There are lots of strengths to utilitarianism and not many weaknesses. One of the strengths is that it is a theory which established whether something was good or bad according to the majority of people. Bentham came up with this theory and it is known as the principle of utility. Bentham said ‘Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure. It is for them to point out what we shall do’. This is the foundation for the principle of utility and it is a strength to utilitarianism as pleasure and pain can determine how people act. Bentham also said the aim of utilitarianism is ‘the greatest good of the greatest number’ and he used the Hedonic Calculus that he created to measure how good an act is and how many people it will affect, this is a major strength of utilitarianism because it tries to please everyone and each individual is equal. A weakness of Bentham’s view was noticed by Mill, Mill said it failed to differentiate humans from animals as animals can share the same pleasures that humans have, so this make human beings equal to animals. Mill also said that Bentham’s Hedonic Calculus was a weakness as it was too impractical as to use it you have to think of the; purity, intensity, certainty, extent, duration and fecundity of an act. In some situations this would be pointless as there might not be time to complete the Hedonic Calculus. For example is your house was on fire and you only had time to save either you cat or your dog you would not be able to think through the Hedonic Calculus as by the time you have your house would be burnt to the ground. This is a weakness to Bentham’s theory but not to utilitarianism because you can still please the majority without looking at the Hedonic Calculus every time you want to complete an act.Bernard…
In his piece, “Extreme and Restricted Utilitarianism” J. J. C. Smart illustrated just how different extreme utilitarianism and restricted utilitarianism are from each other and which one is more realistic to follow. Smart developed this idea by supplying his readers with various examples on each side and explaining them thoroughly. Smart’s objective from presenting this piece is to show just how unreasonable restricted utilitarianism is in most, if not all situations. He also explains why people should live their lives the way an extreme utilitarian would. Through the course of this paper there will be multiple examples of each kind of utilitarianism, restricted and extreme, and Smart’s opinions on the matter. While some examples will support…
If everyone acted in an effort to promote the greatest good for the greater number of people our universe would exist with a utilitarian state of mind. Although, when one looks at this statement on the surface without further analyzing it, most would assume that existing in a universe where everyone seeks the happiness for the greatest amount of people that it would be greater one to live in. Although, surface wise we can make this assumption, everyone’s definition of “happiness” varies, for some happiness is defined by monetary objects and for others happiness is not determined through any tangible element.…
There are a lot of differences and similarities between act and rule utilitarianism. Act utilitarian supports the principle of utility must be applied to each individual situation. The rightness or wrongness of an action is determined by its usefulness. This was Bentham’s idea when he established that pleasure and pain was important qualities for determining what was morally right or wrong. With Act Utilitarianism, you must decide what action will bring the greatest good for the greatest number in the circumstance. For example, if you are in situation where lying would bring about the greatest good then, you should lie. This supports that the value of the consequence is in the particular act that would lead to the greatest good for the majority even it is was breaking the law.…
If the moral agent were to be able to successfully be impartial the time consumed calculating utility ramifications would result in a net loss of utility. If the individual were occupied worrying about infinite event ramifications they would be too preoccupied to gain any utility of their own.…
When the administrator (in the case of schools) is forced to make a decision, the best choice is one that benefits the most people. The “end game justifies the means,” or the consequences of each action are determined on a case by case basis. The suitability of any decision is based on the consequences experienced and the morality of the decision is revealed by the results. Utilitarianism is a type of benefit maximization, which defends the actions (of the decision maker) that produce the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people involved.…
Among the ethical arguments that we have seen, it is clear that a form of utilitarianism is the best option, that is, we should always do what brings about the best outcome where the outcomes are rated by the amount of good they bring about. The utilitarian argument says that in any given decision, the option that brings about the most good is the right thing to do every time. That being said, the definition of good is extremely important to the soundness of the argument. In this case, the best view of what is good is that of a hedonist, that is, a thing is good if it brings about pleasure and bad if it brings about suffering. To add to this however, I would argue that the best good outcome is the outcome which…