Arguments on Utilitarianism Which is more valuable: a game of push-pin or the study of Latin? Which has greater worth: the life of a single young girl or the lives of an entire community? These are the sorts of questions raised when dealing with the matter of utilitarianism. According to Jeremy Bentham‚ the father of the theory‚ the ultimate moral goal of human beings should be to increase pleasure and to decrease pain. To maximize the amount of time spent in content‚ and minimize the times of
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Introduction Much like the idea of utilitarianism‚ my view on morality and ethics has to do with happiness‚ but not my personal happiness nor the happiness of others. My idea of morality is doing what makes God happy. I am a Christian‚ and my “moral compass” comes right from the Bible. Right and wrong are not subjective‚ they are not grey areas‚ and they are not up for debate. What God says is right is right‚ and what God says is wrong is wrong. This is why I absolutely detest the idea of Cultural
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the ancient Greeks) it seems as though there exist some standards that serve as a foundation of morality. Mill argues that this standard is the “greatest happiness principle.” He uses utilitarianism to note the influence and shaping of moral doctrines. In this essay‚ I will be arguing against Mill and his utilitarianism. I believe that the principles
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March 26‚ 2013 Word Count = 1115 In the beginning of Utilitarianism John Stuart Mill states that throughout history very little progress has been made towards developing a set of moral standards to judge what is morally right or wrong. Although a certain disagreement about such foundations can also be found in the most “certain” sciences‚ in those areas truths can still have meaning without understanding the principles underlying them. On the other hand‚ in philosophy‚ where all actions exist
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I will argue for the truth of utilitarianism. In my opinion‚ the most interesting version of utilitarianism is hedonistic utilitarianism. It is the most interesting because it defies logic and rationale in favor of impulsion decision making. Hedonistic utilitarianism is the most interesting version because it is tied more intrinsically into the wellbeing of an organism‚ specifically humans‚ than any other alternatives of utilitarianism. Other forms of utilitarianism are wide-ranging and in my opinion
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.................................................................................................4 BIBLIOGRAPHY Bentham J‚ A Fragment on Government‚ (1776) -The Works of Jeremy Bentham (Simpkin‚ Marshal and Co‚ 1843) Coddington A‚ Utilitarianism Today‚ ‘Political Theory’‚ (Vol. 4‚May‚ 1976) Riddal JG‚ Jurisprudence‚ (2nd edn Oxford Press 2006) Freeman M‚ Harrison R‚ Law and Philosophy Current Legal Issues‚ (Oxford Press 2007) Simmonds NE‚ Central Issues In Jurisprudence‚ (Sweet
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the right. Consequentialist theory works better to argue the above statement. Consequentialist theories are the ethical theories view that the action is right if and only if its consequence is the best possible. The well-known example would be Utilitarianism- “Every advantage in the past is judged in the light of the final issue.’’ (Demosthenes). In the United States of America‚ people drive on the right side of the road and in England‚ they drive on the left side. There is nothing intrinsically right
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Utilitarianism is a teleological theory in normative ethics‚ this essentially means that the theory is one in which looks at the consequences of an action to determine if it is right or wrong. The theory of Utilitarianism mainly derives from the concept of utility which in this context is defined as something which is beneficial or conducive to the well-being of the maximum number. There are two main scholars of Utilitarianism‚ one of which is Jeremy Bentham and who is regarded as the founder of
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ethical philosophy and build a foundational knowledge and understanding of how such thinking has evolved and progressed in humans over time‚ one must look to possibly one of the most influential approaches to ethics in history: Utilitarianism (Driver). In order to understand what Utilitarianism is and how this system of thought developed and can be applied in society‚ one must look back to the writings of thinkers who began to discover a clearer definition of the concept in the early nineteenth century
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Utilitarianism In his book‚ J.S. Mill attempts to build on Jeremy Bentham’s original idea of Utilitarianism. His definition of the moral theory is one that is grounded in Bentham’s original work but also extends to include remarks to criticisms of Utilitarianism. Mill believes that‚ like Bentham‚ utility is what is valuable to society. Utility‚ according to Mill‚ is the promotion of pleasure or the absence of pain. He defines this as happiness‚ which is why he refers to utility as the Greatest
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