The Lifeboat Case and Utilitarianism Imagine that four men are placed in a life or death situation. They are stranded in a boat in the middle of the ocean with nothing to eat for nourishment. In a severely weakened state‚ the men decide that for the benefit of the majority they will draw lots and eat whoever draws the shortest; one of the men refuses to draw. The next day‚ in spite of the lottery‚ the youngest boy is killed and fed on by the other men. The argument proposed to justify their actions
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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 ideals 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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Act and Rule Utilitarianism There are a lot of differences and similarities between act and rule utilitarianism. Act utilitarian supports the principle of utility must be applied to each individual situation. The rightness or wrongness of an action is determined by its usefulness. This was Bentham’s idea when he established that pleasure and pain was important qualities for determining what was morally right or wrong. With Act Utilitarianism‚ you must decide what action will bring the greatest
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Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that holds‚ that an action is right if it produces‚ or if it tends to produce‚ the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people affected by the action‚ otherwise the action is wrong" (DeGeorge‚ 44). The utilitarian approach assesses each action separately and the effects that arise from it. Act utilitarianism‚ the most common form used in many circumstances‚ looks at the consequences of each individual act and calculate utility each time the act
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John Rawls and Utilitarianism Heath C. Hoculock The social contract theory of John Rawls challenges utilitarianism by pointing out the impracticality of the theory. Mainly‚ in a society of utilitarians‚ a citizens rights could be completely ignored if injustice to this one citizen would benefit the rest of society. Rawls believes that a social contract theory‚ similar those proposed by Hobbes‚ Locke‚ and Rousseau‚ would be a more logical solution to the question of fairness in any government
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summary‚ is utilitarianism as presented by Mill (sometimes called classical utilitarianism). It is the ethical philosophy that bases right and wrong on the production of happiness. It is also an ethical philosophy that stresses the greatest happiness of the greatest number as seen from an impartial bystander’s perspective. Before we discuss how Mozi’s philosophy can be applied to utilitarian morality‚ a distinction within utilitarianism must be made. Act Utilitarianism vs. Rule Utilitarianism Generally
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that there are two types of utilitarianism in instances concerning overall justice. Julia Driver mentions this in her book Ethics: The Fundamentals. Driver posits that there is a difference between act-utilitarianism and rule-utilitarianism (Driver 64). Act-utilitarianism deals more with what classical utilitarianism believes. It follows the belief that one should choose the action that has the best outcome for the most amount of people‚ even if it means
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actions are considered in the rules of thumb. Utilitarianism is a species of consequentialism‚ which focuses on the greater good. Utilitarianism states that an act is right if and only if it produces more happiness and pleasure than unhappiness and pain. When we do utilitarianism‚ we aim to maximize overall happiness and minimize pain. In this essay‚ I will explain and defend the moral theory of utilitarianism. According to the theory of utilitarianism‚ an action is right if it brings the best possible
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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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Simply put‚ Utilitarianism states that one should act on what would bring the greatest happiness or benefit to the greatest amount of people. Therefore‚ a utilitarian would agree to push two heaviest passengers overboard to save the six. While it violates our morals to kill two people‚ a utilitarian would explain their choice with the integrity objection. In the situation of the lifeboat‚ one is faced with a situation that does not present a perfect outcome. However‚ a utilitarian would say that
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