“Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness; wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. Happiness is intended pleasure and the absence of pain.” – John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill defines utilitarianism as a theory based on the principle that “actions are right in proportions as they tend to promote happiness‚ wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness” (Sparknotes Editors). There are a few important aspects of this definition. It presents utility
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Mara Kaouzova Professor Anthamatten Philosophical Ethics April 3 2013 Utilitarianism: ------------------------------------------------- The Greatest Happiness for the Greatest Number In the ethical debate‚ a divide has long existed between two models. One school of thought‚ notably Immanuel Kant’s Deontology‚ emphasizes the importance moral motivation‚ the other‚ represented by Consequentialism‚ emphasizes the importance of the outcome. Consequentialism is distinguished from the deontological
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consideration relevant to the rightness of an act is the amount of goodness it produces’. 1 (McNaughton and Piers Rawlings pg32) from David McNaughton and Piers Rawlings essay on Deontology. Versus the Kantian and Rule Consequentialism of utilitarianism which would believe that this is morally wrong‚ despite of the lives that could be saved. Rule Consequentialism and Deontology are very similar in their beliefs. For example‚ this was said in regards to Rule Consequentialism: ’In particular
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beliefs. You have to ask yourself what is more important to you‚ is it morally right to pleasure the masses even if it causes harm to some people which is Mills Utilitarianism theory or do you do what is logically and morally right according to universal law like Kant’s deontological theory. In Bernard Williams experiment against Utilitarianism Jim is put in a very difficult situation with only two options and can either not kill any of the Indians or kill one of them himself. In this scenario their
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of Mill’s most famous works and remains the one most read today. In this book‚ Mill expounds his concept of individual freedom within the context of his ideas on history and the state. On Liberty depends on the idea that society progresses from lower to higher stages and that this progress culminates in the emergence of a system of representative democracy. It is within the context of this form of government that Mill envisions the growth and development of liberty. Chapter I defines civil liberty
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created the utilitarianism school of thought‚ which is an incredibly useful ethical position. It can be most effectively defined by Wikipedia‚ "Utilitarianism is the idea that the moral worth of an action is solely determined by its contribution to overall utility." Utilitarianism has many benefits‚ but those benefits are harmonized with some major flaws. I will discuss the founding fathers of utilitarianism‚ the strengths and weaknesses of act-utilitarianism and rule-utilitarianism‚ other forms
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this ethical system of belief. Other people also should be seen as valuable‚ dignified and with respect. If any action disrespects the moral value of any other human being‚ then it can be considered "right" in accord¬ance with this personal duty. The effects of things are produced as per the universality of laws and it is called Nature. Accordingly‚ the universal imperative of duty may be expressed thus: Act as if the maxim of your action were to become through your will a universal law of nature
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Explain the main strengths of Mill’s Utilitarianism. (25) Mill argues that the pleasures of the mind should take precedence over physical pleasure and that once basic human requirements are fulfilled the primary moral concerns should be for higher order goods. Mill rejected Bentham’s Hedonic calculus because he believed that other values were needed to be taken into consideration when measuring people’s happiness like freedom and emotions. Seeing as Mill succeeded Bentham as a famous utilitarian
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Two criticisms of utilitarianism influence Mill towards rule-utilitarianism. The first criticism involves objectors viewing this philosophy as encouraging society to do what is expedient for the moment (22). The second objection proposes “that there is not time‚ previous to action‚ for calculating and weighing the effects of any line of conduct on the general happiness” (23). Mill argues both of these objections by taking rule-utilitarianism into consideration. Rule- utilitarianism states that a rule
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The core of utilitarianism is based around the idea that a person’s actions should be evaluated in terms of the pain and pleasure it causes. To balance these out it uses mathematics to make moral decisions that will have the happiest results. In human cloning‚ a utilitarian would argue it is essential to weigh up the pain and pleasure that the action would produce. Just because cloning may cause overall happiness it doesn’t mean it is ethically acceptable. Cloning has positive aspects it creates
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