the main features of Utilitarianism as an ethical theory? (10 marks) Examine and consider criticisms that have been made against Utilitarianism. (10 marks) Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that pivots around the belief that morality should be judged by consequence and the way in which an action can be deemed moral or immoral‚ depends upon the number to which it brings the greatest happiness. A decision can be defined as ethically correct under the theory of Utilitarianism if the moral choice
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had awoken to discover that he is an insect‚ he is afraid that he will be late for work and as a result he will lose his job. As a result of this behavior‚ Gregor Samsa is a perfect example of utilitarianism in the early 20th century. Comparatively‚ Gregor’s family is also exemplified through utilitarianism. In part one of the short story‚ Gregor Samsa had awoken from "uneasy dreams" and was "transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect" (40 Short Stories‚ 146). Although he found himself transformed
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Outline the important concept of utilitarianism. Utilitarianism was a theory developed by Jeremy Bentham in the 18th century. Bentham’s theory was motivated by his desire to find universal theory that could be applies to every ethical situation. Due to industrial revolution people fled to the city where they endured urban oppression. Bentham’s theory helped improve social situations. This theory is also a teleological theory; telos meaning end or purpose. This means that the theory bases the decisions
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disagrees means that the person has to follow the ones that agree because they are many. Libertarianism focuses on the needs of the individual not just on the community. Utilitarian’s focus more on the community. They want what’s best and what will benefit the community. In contrast libertarianism focuses on self-government. For libertarians‚ they argue that they have the freedom of choice to decide what to do with their money. The government cannot force them to have health care. Some people rather
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Comparing Direct and Indirect Utilitarianism British philosopher‚ John Stuart Mill‚ served many years as a member of parliament and worked diligently to bring forth liberal ideas. Amongst these ideas was the distinction of utilitarianism‚ or the act of doing what is right for the greatest number of people. Yet‚ just discussing the idea of right versus wrong for the masses was not enough‚ Mill’s determined there were two forms of utilitarianism; act‚ the direct form‚ or sanction‚ the indirect form
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In the current age people‚ all over the word are indulging in their own personal pleasures. Some of which may be physical and others may involve more of a mental aspect. In 1861 philosopher John Stuart Mill published “Utilitarianism”‚ and in this piece Mill introduces his idea of higher and lower pleasure. He states that people require mental pleasure over physical pleasure. In his work‚ he defends his stance‚ but in the end his views are not justifiable. Pleasure is based off desire‚ and individuals
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similar and different ideas among them. Two theories that share this are utilitarianism and Kant’s moral theory. Both theories have similar ideas but they also are perceived differently. Utilitarianism is based on the principle of utility by John Stuart Mill. It is the belief that people ought to concern themselves with the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people (MacKinnon‚ Fiala‚ 2014 p. 356). With utilitarianism‚ the belief if about the consequences of the action and how it affects
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Utilitarianism is an essay by John Stuart Mill that was written with an aim to provide support to the utilitarianism value as a moral theory. Moreover‚ the essay responded to the misconception about the theory by different quarters. Mills defined utilitarianism as a theory based on the principle that the “actions are in the right proportion as they promote happiness and wrong if they promote the reverse of happiness” (Mill 4). He further defines happiness as the presence of pleasure and absence of
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the surplus over pain and everything we do is motivated by a desire to maximise pleasure and minimise pain. Preference utilitarianism‚ on the other hand‚ is the view that what is good for a person and what is good overall is determined entirely by people’s preferences. In what follows‚ I will argue that Preference utilitarianism is not more plausible than Hedonistic utilitarianism. Hare‚ a preference utilitarian‚ view is that human logic applies to moral assertions and that moral judgements can be
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Perhaps quite eloquently‚ in John Stuart Mill’s text Utilitarianism he noted that “there are few circumstances among those which make up the present condition of human knowledge more unlike what might have been expected‚ or more significant of the backward state in which speculation on the most important subjects still lingers‚ than the little progress which has been made in the decision of controversy respecting the criterion of right and wrong” (Mill 1:1-6). In summary‚ it is rather evident that
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