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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of recreational drug use. And by turning to one of the most influential moral theories‚ utilitarianism‚ I arrive at supporting ethical means founded simply on happiness. Maintaining the intrinsic value of human happiness is one of the most important aspects of universal utilitarianism. Self-determination‚ or the process of self-regulating decisions and actions‚ is another important aspect that utilitarianism concerns itself with. Therefore‚ as human beings‚ we should permit ourselves to the utmost
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common criticism of utilitarianism can be reduced simply to: "I don’t like it" or "It doesn’t suit my way of thinking". For an example of this‚ here’s something from someone who might prefer to remain nameless. "Producing the greatest good for the greatest number is fine as long as you are not hurting someone you really love in the process. For instance‚ with the trolley situation‚ I would rather kill 5 people on the main track than m mother on the spur track. Utilitarianism runs into problems
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Utilitarianism in the Theory of Punishment – Utilitarian ideology states that it is our duty to whatever will increase the amount of happiness in the world. Applying this ideology to the Theory of Punishment may seem counterintuitive. Taken at face value‚ Utilitarianism is incompatible with punishment‚ because by definition punishment makes people unhappy‚ therefore‚ is immoral under the strict tenants of Utilitarianism. However‚ Utilitarians‚ do see the need for punishment. Punishment restores a
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Consequentialists are a group of philosophers who asses whether an act is right or wrong based on the consequences of the action. There are different types of consequentialism including: ethical egoism‚ act-utilitarianism and rule-utilitarianism. These three branches of consequentialism will be discussed later in this paper. A supererogatory act is something that is good but is not obligatory; these acts involve rendering aid to others that go above moral requirement. Consequentialists claim that
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Sarah smith 10/8/2013 Deontology and Utilitarianism There are two types of Deontology the first one is‚ one should act based on duty‚ and the second one is action should be based on the right intention and nothing else. Utilitarianism is when you have to think about the majority of the people no matter what the consequences is. It is based on maximizing happiness for everyone involved. I would favor Deontology because I think you should do your duty and only do what is right. If you have the
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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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goals is to end world poverty by donating to charities and convincing others to do the same‚ and he believes that affluent people should donate all disposable income to charity. Nel Noddings is an American philosopher born in 1929‚ and her view on ethics focuses on a natural sense of caring and a flexibility of principles‚ she rejects Singer’s argument saying that we have obligations to those around us and that it is unrealistic for us to try to help everyone. In this essay‚ I will explain and elaborate
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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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Second Writing Assignment‚ PHILO 120 Professor Shelley‚ Tue/Thur 230pm Mill is an heir of an intellectual movement in England known as Utilitarianism; utilitarianism is concerned with the acquisition of pleasure and elimination of pain. John Stuart Mill follows the guidelines of utilitarianism in order to decide if certain actions are moral. Utilitarianism states that a person should perform the action that produces the most pleasurable outcome for every person involved. In order to accurately
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