Utilitarianism: “Actions are right in the proportion as they tend to promote happiness‚ wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.” John Stuart Mill utilitarianism‚ 1863 Utilitarians founder Jeremy Bentham has a famous formulation that is know as the “greatest-happiness principle”. The definition of this is “the ethical principle that an action is right in so far as it promotes the greatest happiness of the greatest number of those affected”. Central Beliefs: There are seven
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Jonathon Brown Professor Jun Philosophy 2033 July 5‚ 2013 Virtues We’ve all heard the famous quote “patience is a virtue”. As true as this statement is‚ I don’t think we really grasp the meaning of what a virtue really is. I would describe a virtue as a morally good character trait that one is not born with‚ but must strive for. Patience is a perfect example of this. No child is born with patience. Many times a child will interrupt the mother who is in the middle of a conversation because
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Utilitarianism provides the most useful approach to business ethics. Discuss. The ethical theory of Utilitarianism follows the principle of utility. This is to provide the greatest number for the greatest number. Utilitarianism provides this through being a deontological theory – basing its ethics upon consequences. The consequentialist nature allows us to apply Utilitarianism to our own situation and also‚ unlike deontological theories‚ looks onwards and into the future. In terms of business ethics
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In this paper‚ I will explain the different points of view of Kantianism‚ Utilitarianism‚ Contractarianism and their corresponding philosophers‚ as well as my own opinion about the presented case of the adulterous affair. First‚ I will begin by explaining how Kant would view this situation and what decisions he would make. In Kantianism‚ it is imperative to always say the truth and do that which is right. Regardless of the situation that one may find him or herself in‚ he or she must always say the
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“Utilitarianism is not compatible with a religious approach to ethics” To what extent is this a fair statement? Ultimately utilitarianism is a way of improving the lives of most people‚ and religious ethics also aims to act out of compassion and love to improve the lives of others. For example‚ Christianity has certain rules that benefit those in society. We know that they work as many of those rules are tied in with the laws of the country. For instance‚ Murder and stealing are both illegal and
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12400 Yizhou Hu Luck‚ Virtue and Happiness The idea that non-virtuous people is possible to be better off than virtuous people like Priam seems to acknowledge that happiness is ultimately determined by luck. Indeed‚ by emphasizing that certain amount of fortune is necessary to happiness‚ Aristotle focuses on the relationship between luck‚ virtue‚ blessedness and happiness in Chapter 8 of Book 1. In the end‚ he takes a more intermediate stand toward fortune‚ claiming that virtue is the determinant of
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Both Kantian Ethics and utilitarian ethics are two of the most well know conceptions on human nature and how we as human beings should go about living our lives. They also have strong cores and there purpose is very clear. According to utilitarianism humans have two masters’ pain and happiness‚ only good actions will achieve happiness and will also minimizes pain. In one sentence you can describe utilitarianism as “the greatest good for the greatest amount of people”. While in the other hand the
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believe in it‚ it needs to benefit them in some way. This paper will discuss the properties of utilitarianism and the benefits it has on society. It will also compare utilitarianism to egoism‚ Kantian ethics‚ intuitionism and affirmative action. Utilitarianism’s overall purpose is to serve the greater majority and this paper sets out to prove that. This paper will discuss many major points in utilitarianism such as: it links happiness and morality‚ it conforms to meet the needs of different situations
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theory is a theory of ethics that holds that there are moral laws found in nature and discernable by the use of reason” (MacKinnon 2015). This theory law theory identifies the actions of humans and categorized them either right or wrong. Virtue Ethics is often used to define characteristics standard of a person. Virtue Ethics normative theory that maintains that the focus of morality is habits‚ dispositions‚ and character traits” (MacKinnon 2015). Natural law and Virtue Ethics could be compared side
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Utilitarianism Utilitarianism is a moral theory generally considered to have been founded by Jeremy Bentham‚ a 19th century English philosopher and social reformer. It is centered on the concept of happiness‚ and those who seek it. The idea is that all people seek happiness‚ and that it is the ultimate goal of all human beings to be happy. Therefore‚ according to classical utilitarianism‚ when a person wishes to act in an ethically sound manner he or she should strive to bring about the greatest
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