Assess the merits of Utilitarianism (24 Marks) Utilitarianism is a theory aimed at defining one simple basis that can be applied when making any ethical decision. It is based on a human’s natural instinct to seek pleasure and avoid pain. Jeremy Bentham is widely regarded as the father of utilitarianism. He was born in 1748 into a family of lawyers and was himself‚ training to join the profession. During this process however‚ he became disillusioned by the state British law was in and set out
Free Utilitarianism Jeremy Bentham
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
Premium Utilitarianism Ethics John Stuart Mill
Pros and Cons of Utilitarianism Utilitarianism is a philosophy in which the ends justify the means‚ or in which the morality of an action is determined by the function that follows the action. Although Utilitarianism has many good principals that are both logical and appealing‚ the contradictions of the philosophy make it incompatible with Christian ethics. The moral standards that utilitarianism is supposedly based on only work when a person doesn’t consider the personal emotions that might
Premium Ethics Morality Philosophy
Most utilitarian theories deal with producing the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people. Negative utilitarianism (NU) requires us to promote the least amount of evil or harm‚ or to prevent the greatest amount of suffering for the greatest number. Proponents like Karl Popper‚ Christoph Fehige and Clark Wolf argue that this is a more effective ethical formula‚ since‚ they contend‚ the greatest harms are more consequential than the greatest goods. Karl Popper also referred to an
Premium Utilitarianism Karl Popper
Killing one to save five others is supported by act utilitarianism as it allows for more happiness. The happiness of five people outweighs‚ and creates more happiness‚ than the happiness of only one; as opposed to those same five dying‚ thus making them unable to promote/create happiness. If maximizing utility is the goal‚ there is no doubt that condemning one to save five is permissible under utilitarian principles. The loop variant of the case follows exactly as the original case of the trolley
Premium Ethics Morality Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism assumes that it would be morally correct for me to employ the water boarding technique on this possibly innocent man if it meant obtaining possible anti-terrorist information that could possibly save thousands of innocent Americans. The ‘greatest good for the greatest number’‚ so they say‚ but is torture really the best way to obtain the best consequence? I will use my take on the Just War model and J.J.C Smarts’ suggestion to focus on all consequences of a situation to argue against
Premium Morality Torture Laws of war
There is only one reason that human history is filled with violence and controversy. This is because people were inherently evil. Machiavelli’s view of humanity is of a society full of selfish individuals who would choose success for themselves over the success of someone they love. His society however‚ was much different from the society we live in today. In his era‚ most regions were rule by single individuals or family lines which used cruelty and fear to keep their people in line. In our current
Premium Political philosophy The Prince Florence
The Battle Between Egoism and Altruism in The Iliad Being that I am a recovering addict‚ I have been looking at my actions more in depth and have come to the realization that all of my actions had a motive to them I believe. I was acting on egoism rather than altruism. Altruism is defined as the unselfish concern of the welfare of others while egoism is defined as the belief that self-interest is the motive for all human conduct. Upon doing my fourth step inventory‚ I was able to see how
Premium Sophocles Oedipus Oedipus at Colonus
Explain the differences between Act and Rule Utilitarianism Since it began‚ there have been two main exponents of Utilitarianism. They are Jeremy Bentham and J S Mill‚ and both of them base their own individual theories on the principle of utility‚ which defines something (an act‚ etc) dependent on if it achieves "the greatest happiness for the greatest number". This makes Utilitarianism a relativistic and consequentialist argument‚ as it takes into account only the outcome of events rather than
Free Utilitarianism
word shamed upon in western society‚ because of negative implications. Men who have become wealthy through their hard works and sacrifices are depicted as “self-centered”. Since‚ society is angry toward people with huge amounts of wealth. Although egoism is portrayed as a bad thing‚ it should be a reward and gift. In our world today and language‚ the word “I” is significant‚ because it presents individualism. Everyone has knowledge that no one is the same‚ everyone has unique characteristics. However
Premium Ayn Rand Thought Mind