Utilitarianism and the Lonesome Stranger Utilitarianism is the ethical theory that believes one should do what will promote the greatest utility for as many people as possible‚ that utility is often considered to be happiness or pleasure. There are different kinds of utilitarian views; hedonistic‚ preference‚ rule‚ and act to name a few‚ but they all have the same main objective. This theory does indeed seem good at first‚ but it is flawed. The case of the lonesome stranger challenges utilitarianism
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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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The prominant criticism of Utilitarianism is that it is extremely hard to predict the results of an action. The outcomes of all situations are hard to predict‚ so how can we possibly apply the rule of the greatest happiness for the greatest number if we do not know who will benefit most? It is also difficult to decide whether an outcome is morally good or bad. People have contrasting opinions on what they think is right or wrong and it depends on the individual who is making the decision. This causes
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have some key concepts which point to what the good ultimately is: egoism‚ utilitarianism‚ and deontology. Egoism values the desires of the individual the most‚ and this is most important to the individual. Utilitarianism‚ on the other hand‚ needs to be impartial in order to value each individual’s happiness equally. Deontology also conflicts with both of these other theories because it is not consequentialist like utilitarianism‚ and does not always benefit the individual or anyone else involved. The
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Utilitarianism Utilitarianism examines overall happiness and can deduce whether it is ethical for Ming to tell customers about Condoitin. The happiness scale selected was -10 to 10‚ where -10 is unhappy‚ and 10 is happy. The stakeholders identified excluded those not relevant to Ming’s decision (like the air-conditioning company). There are approximately 100 elderly customers requesting advice per week‚ so Ming’s decision would impact 1200 over three months. Customer awareness of Condoitin’s lower
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Act utilitarianism is a utilitarian theory of ethics which states that a person’s act is morally right if and only if it produces the greatest overall utility. In assessing a moral theory there are four adequate criteria which are: completeness‚ explanatory‚ practicability and moral conformation. For completeness‚ an ethical theory should support all meaningful moral claims‚ neglecting none of the claims. Next‚ there is explanatory power. For this assessment a theory should provide insight into what
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Strengths and Weaknesses of Utilitarianism In the article‚ “Strengths and Weaknesses of Utilitarianism”‚ Louis P. Pojman explained the grounds on which utilitarianism has been attacked and showed some possible response to its defenders which imply his positive attitude towards utilitarianism [1] . In order to argue that thesis‚ Pojman’s one important premise is the response to the no-rest objection. He believed that the agent should aim at maximizing his or her own happiness as well as other people’s
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That is the view of philosophers when it comes to thinking about moral theory. Singer a philosopher suggest that people should abandon utilitarianism without even giving them a convincing point about why‚ except that utilitarianism does not support vegetarianism in fact Singer says that utilitarianism have a great relationship with vegetarianism. Utilitarianism is considered to be a moral philosophy that bases it argument that we have moral obligation to utilize and maximize the available utility
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systems debated today are utilitarianism and deontology. These two traditions parallel the sayings “the ends justify the means” or “the means justify the ends”. Inspired by Jeremy Bentham’s philosophies‚ John Stuart Mill applied his ideas to his many pamphlets and short works regarding Utilitarianism. This philosophy considers that the best thing to do ethically for a society is to maximize its happiness‚ interests‚ preference‚ or well-being. In effect‚ utilitarianism focuses on outcomes‚ or the
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Kantianism and Utiliarianism. So far‚ it seems to be the best moral theory we have talked about because it seems to take parts from both Kantianism and Utilitarianism; neither of which seemed like the “correct” moral theory. Virtue ethics is more concerned with the aim of humans. On the other hand‚ Kantianism dealt with intent‚ and Utilitarianism was about maximizing happiness for the greatest number. Virtue ethics seems to be more practical than theoretical like the previous moral theories we talked
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