Act Utilitarianism Essay

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A Critical Evaluation of Act Utilitarianism

Act utilitarianism is an ethics-based view that allows us to establish actions as morally right or wrong. The first modern act utilitarian, J. Bentham (1748-1832) depicted morally right actions produces the best consequences relative to the bad. The consequences of action are regarded as good or bad dependent on the happiness or pain that results from it. The act utilitarian focuses on the net consequences for groups and society, rather than the individual themselves.

Act utilitarianism is applied to any situation where an individual action has consequences. For example, if you were given the choice to lie to someone to not upset them, the consequences of that action would decide whether it is …show more content…

This is because following societies' laws may not always be the morally right action, and to gain moral progress society must perform more morally right actions. Bentham argued act utilitarianism should be used to criticise laws and create reform. The rights of individuals, such as women's rights in England in the 1870s were an example of how using the consequences analysis could lead to the change in law's which were immoral. The suppression of women through the old laws created little happiness, and relative to the pain caused - it was morally wrong to not have equal rights. The use of act utilitarianism to determine that women not having rights as morally wrong lead to the reform of law. Women having an equal vote to men by 1928 depicts the moral progression in society. Therefore, it is evident that observing immoral laws or rules and creating reform for moral progression in society is a reason for accepting act …show more content…

Animal cruelty and rights is an issue evident in our current society. The benefit we gain through the mistreatment of animals is outweighed by the suffering experience by animals. We can determine the mistreatment of living animals is morally wrong. The actions with consequences mistreating animals, such as the breeding and production of animals for slaughter, are determined as morally wrong. Therefore, when acting in accordance to act utilitarianism the suffering of animals is prevented. For this reason, act utilitarianism is likely to be accepted by those who believe in the rights of living animals or the absence of suffering for

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