Utilitarianism says that the moral and ethical thing to do is that which provides the most happiness or the least unhappiness to society. Sitting in class listening to the lecture on the moral theory of Utilitarianism it first sounded like the best moral theory ever. However as the classes continued and we learned more and more about this theory my opinion quickly changed. In this paper I will defend the idea that Utilitarianism is a failed moral theory. As stated in James Rachels‚ The Elements
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Natural Rights and Utilitarianism 1) Locke’s concept of the social contract is to protect people’s rights. According to Locke the contract is between the people and these branches of government that they set up. The reason government arises the social contract between people‚ is because that people want to live longer and better. The legitimacy of the government comes from the fact we consent to set up that authority and protect our natural rights. For example‚ if we designate a group
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Utilitarianism: Bentham and Mill Utilitarianism begins with the work of Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832)‚ an English political and social reformer. Educated at Oxford‚ Bentham eventually headed up a small group of thinkers called the “Philosophical Radicals.” This group‚ which included James Mill (father of John Stuart Mill‚ more on him later)‚ was dedicated to social reform and the promulgation of Bentham’s ideas. Bentham based utilitarian ethics on the so-called “greatest happiness principle
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job to be able to financially support your family. Most people would agree that lying or torturing someone is wrong. However‚ some may argue that if you are helping more people than you are hurting‚ then it is okay to lie to or torture someone. Utilitarianism is the ethical theory that the action you choose to perform should result in “the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people” (MacKinnon and Fiala). It is a form of consequentialism that focuses on the consequences of actions
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“Utilitarianism works” Asses this view Bentham created utilitarianism and Mill improved it. It main points are that human society exists to create happiness‚ that happiness is the highest goal and that everything needs to fit a purpose. The advantages of Bentham’s theory include a reasonable link between moralities‚ the pursuit of happiness and the avoidance of pain. According to Bowie it seems natural to consider the consequences when deciding our actions. He stated that “Utilitarianism offers
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Our morality‚ which is what‚ is right and what is wrong is based on our decisions and actions we make each and every day. Unlike animals that rely solely on instinct alone‚ we as human beings have the ability to make our own decisions based upon our beliefs. You have to ask yourself what is more important to you‚ is it morally right to pleasure the masses even if it causes harm to some people which is Mills Utilitarianism theory or do you do what is logically and morally right according to universal
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theories are concerned with what is right or good‚ and they often attempt to find this by applying a rule or several rules that seem to fit with outcomes that we most commonly find are “good”. An ethical based individual moral objective would be to seek the action that has the most affectionate consequence‚ a utilitarianism person would argue for the greatest amount of happiness‚ a Kantianism’s rule would be to follow the categorical imperative‚ and maybe Natural law‚ we do what is in accordance with the
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“The end may justify the means as long as there is something that justifies the end.” - Leon Trotsky. This quote closely relates to a philosophy that became popular in Russia in the 1860’s- utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is a philosophy defined as the idea of the moral worth of an action is determined only by the contribution to the overall utility‚ the contribution of happiness or pleasure among all people. Meaning‚ the moral worth of an action is solely determined by its outcome. Moral choices
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types of ethical analysis utilized when making a decision‚ but utilitarianism is unique in its particular way. Utilitarianism‚ a theoretical approach to ethics‚ calculates any decision as accurate if the result benefit the majority of the people. The utilization of this system in businesses is common‚ but everyday people may also make use of this system in their daily lives to achieve the best outcome to the majority. Utilitarianism system is very distinctive and beneficial theorem for some who
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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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