Arguments on Utilitarianism Which is more valuable: a game of push-pin or the study of Latin? Which has greater worth: the life of a single young girl or the lives of an entire community? These are the sorts of questions raised when dealing with the matter of utilitarianism. According to Jeremy Bentham‚ the father of the theory‚ the ultimate moral goal of human beings should be to increase pleasure and to decrease pain. To maximize the amount of time spent in content‚ and minimize the times of
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Utilitarianism What is Utilitarianism? Utilitarianism is an ethical framework for effective moral action. It’s a philosophical concept that holds an action to be held right if it tends to promote happiness for the greatest number of people. The essence of utilitarianism is in its concept of pleasure and pain. It defines the morally right actions as those actions that maximize pleasure or happiness and minimize pain or evil. Utilitarianism is all about making the right choices that will consequently
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of people affected by it. According to Bentham‚ utilitarianism is the greatest happiness or greatest felicity principle. There are many types of this theory which include act vs. rule‚ two level‚ motive‚ negative and average vs. total. (Clifford G.‚ John C. 2009) In act utilitarianism‚ when people have to make choices‚ they should consider the consequences of each choice and then choose that which will generate much pleasure. The rule utilitarianism looks at the rules of actions which are potential
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would agree with the magistrate’s decision on framing the innocent man. The reason behind this agreement is that since the one man being killed is saving lives and saving chaos it makes it ethical‚ from a utilitarian standpoint. According to utilitarianism one must consider the consequences of a certain action. So in this case the magistrate must weigh the pros and cons of the decision to execute this man. The magistrate must be a utilitarian because he decided to kill the innocent man in an attempt
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The philosophical theory that I choose to do is called “utilitarianism”. In a brief sentence‚ utilitarianism means the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Basically what this means is‚ doing the right thing is based on how many people your action benefits rather than how much it benefits you. According to the Oxford American Dictionary utility means “the state of being useful‚ profitable‚ or beneficial”(oxford dictionary‚2013). The whole theory is all about how much it benefits and
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over time‚ one must look to possibly one of the most influential approaches to ethics in history: Utilitarianism (Driver). In order to understand what Utilitarianism is and how this system of thought developed and can be applied in society‚ one must look back to the writings of thinkers who began to discover a clearer definition of the concept in the early nineteenth century. Ideas of John Stuart Mill and his predecessor Jeremy Bentham must be examined as well as the criticisms of their work by more
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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
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Act utilitarianism states that‚ when faced with a choice‚ we must first consider the likely consequences of potential actions and‚ from that‚ choose to do what we believe will generate the most pleasure. The rule utilitarian‚ on the other hand‚ begins by looking at potential rules of action. To determine whether a rule should be followed‚ he or she looks at what would happen if it were constantly followed. If adherence to the rule produces more happiness than otherwise‚ it is a rule that morally
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March 26‚ 2013 Word Count = 1115 In the beginning of Utilitarianism John Stuart Mill states that throughout history very little progress has been made towards developing a set of moral standards to judge what is morally right or wrong. Although a certain disagreement about such foundations can also be found in the most “certain” sciences‚ in those areas truths can still have meaning without understanding the principles underlying them. On the other hand‚ in philosophy‚ where all actions exist
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“A Mother’s Strength.” When we think about a mother’s love we think of an endless and forever kind of love. I understand that even though not all mother’s may be the very best‚ there are still some that are superior. In the story‚ “All Over but the Shoutin’” Rick Bragg explains and demonstrates his mother’s love. His mother’s love can easily be compared to the widow in the bible. Both of these women were hard workers and devoted to their families. Both women had to struggle through their lives
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