Examples Of Utilitarianism: Why The Pursuit Of Happiness

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Utilitarianism: Why the Pursuit of Happiness Leads - Ultimately - Only to Despair and Injustice RSSDAN010 Note that this essay maintains that to seek to act immorally is irrational. To attempt at least to act morally if given the option is rational. It is also irrational for justice to be arbitrary. The ancient maxim “do unto others as you’d have them do to you” has been used in households globally to encourage healthy moral foundation in the hearts of children. Philosophers like Kant would argue that the acceptance of this maxim leads to ultimate moral thought. However, what state does this maxim aim for? How can one describe or visualise utopia? Bentham would hold that the answer to both these questions is simple: happiness. Moral action, according to Bentham and his acolytes, should be aimed at maximising happiness in the world. While this sounds, …show more content…

That is, it aims to model ethics and ethical code that is less dynamic. Rule utilitarianism provides a set of rules that are utility maximising and moral action is any that does not conflict or go against these rules. This form of utilitarianism is not utilitarianism at all. What rule can be conceived where there cannot be a scenario also conceived which would result in a contrary action maximising utility more than following the rule? The Rule Utilitarian has three options when faced with this objection of hypocrisy: Firstly, to revert to classical utilitarianism (which as previously mentioned is self-defeating). Secondly, to base moral action on something greater than utility (defeating the purpose of the argument at all). Thirdly, to find an unfalsifiable example to use as justification of the argument (a wholly unpersuasive form of argument which should discount the argument put

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