able to financially support your family. Most people would agree that lying or torturing someone is wrong. However‚ some may argue that if you are helping more people than you are hurting‚ then it is okay to lie to or torture someone. Utilitarianism is the ethical theory that the action you choose to perform should result in “the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people” (MacKinnon and Fiala). It is a form of consequentialism that focuses on the consequences of actions that
Premium Utilitarianism Ethics Morality
Jeremy Bentham was a British philosopher‚ jurist‚ and social reformer. He is regarded as the founder of modern utilitarianism. Bentham sees that man is being governed by two feelings‚ this is pleasure and pain. These determine that which is good and evil for man. These are also the basis of the act of man‚ and these-pain and pleasure would be the fundamentals of the philosophy‚ utilitarianism. The principle of utility "is the action that approves or disapproves an action whatsoever". By the principle
Free Utilitarianism Jeremy Bentham Animal rights
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). First
Premium Ethics Morality Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism depends on the happiness of people and by happiness I mean pleasure. When a person experiences pleasure they usually experience pain along with it in some form‚ or the pain is caused to somebody else. Pleasure is not the only thing that utilitarianism depends on. Along with pleasure it depends on the amount of pleasure‚ how great the pleasure is‚ and more things that are along the lines often pleasure the consequences of an action has as an outcome. Despite the action or decision there
Premium Happiness Emotion Psychology
Utilitarianism states “Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness‚ wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness” (pg. 863). What this means is that actions are right when the majority of people benefits from it. This principle is assessed based on the consequences of the action‚ rather than the action itself. Therefore‚ utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism. If the outcome comes out positive and is useful for majority of the people‚ it is considered morally
Premium Ethics Utilitarianism Morality
1. The Super Express Fund Case shows that urgency doesn’t help to explain the difference in your moral judgments. It does this by making the envelope case (non-urgent)‚ an urgent case. Even then‚ if you don’t donate the money which could have been used to save the most urgently needy child‚ no one will think of you as morally wrong. 2. We are obligated to help even those people who‚ if saved‚ would live a wretched life because if you didn’t save them‚ it could have negative impacts on other people
Premium Poverty Homelessness Homeless shelter
“What is Utilitarianism?” Ask a passerby to describe his personal morality‚ and you’ll likely get a complicated explanation filled with ifs‚ ands‚ and buts. Ask a utilitarian‚ and he can give a six-word response: greatest good for the greatest number. Of course‚ utilitarianism is not that simple. Like any philosophical system‚ it is the subject of endless debate. Still‚ for the average reader who is unfamiliar with the jargon that characterizes most philosophy‚ utilitarianism can be a useful tool
Free Utilitarianism Jeremy Bentham John Stuart Mill
Act Utilitarianism The theory of Utilitarianism was first developed by Jeremy Bentham who was a philosopher of the 18th century. Bentham developed this theory to create a modern and rational approach to morality which would suit the changing society. Bentham’s theory Act Utilitarianism has many strengths and weaknesses. A Strength is that this theory is considers the consequences and happiness which an action has created. This is because Act Utilitarianism is a teleological theory where actions
Free Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism is a teleological theory in normative ethics‚ this essentially means that the theory is one in which looks at the consequences of an action to determine if it is right or wrong. The theory of Utilitarianism mainly derives from the concept of utility which in this context is defined as something which is beneficial or conducive to the well-being of the maximum number. There are two main scholars of Utilitarianism‚ one of which is Jeremy Bentham and who is regarded as the founder of
Premium Utilitarianism Ethics Peter Singer
These affirmative programs have helped many people to get into the colleges or schools and to get their match jobs. The arguments that are for and against the various types of affirmative action are
Premium Utilitarianism Consequentialism Affirmative action