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ethics and happiness essay
discuss ‘utilitarianism’
discuss utilitariansim theory
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THEORY-- The theory of Utilitarianism states that actions should be judged as right or wrong depending on whether they cause more happiness or unhappiness. It weighs the rightness and wrongness of an action based on consequences of that action. PRINCIPLES-- (1) CONSEQUENCE PRINCIPLE: Actions are to be judged right or wrong mainly by their own consequences. Nothing else matters. Right actions are those that have the best consequences. -No act is right in and of it self. -No act is wrong in and of it self. (2) PRINCIPLE OF UTILITY: The only thing that matters is the amount of happiness and unhappiness that is caused. Therefore the right actions are those that produce the highest ratio of happiness over unhappiness. So in judging the consequences only the wants of happiness and pain are relevant morally. (3) PRINCIPLE OF IMPARIALITY: When finding happiness and unhappiness that's caused ones own happiness is to be looked at more important then anyone else's. Every person is equally important as the next when it comes to happiness. Applying the 3 principles of Utilitarianism: (1) Utilitarian can disagree about what is right and wrong yet still be utilitarians. (2) The principle of Impartiality has its limits, so . . . (3) Personality types can be assessed in terms of their utility. EVERYDAY SCENARIO-- Utilitarian experience's conflict when considering acts of injustice that does harm to others. That this sort of...
Utilitarianism is consequentialist ethical system that focuses on the results of actions, rather than the actions themselves. Utilitarian ethics, attributed to Jeremy Bentham, also argue that humans are naturally driven to seek pleasure and avoid pain. Therefore, in utilitarian ethics, just actions are those that maximize happiness, utility, and minimize unhappiness. Utilitarian ethics also argue that happiness must be maximized for the greatest number of people, rather than focusing on the individual pursuit of pleasure. Utilitarianisms strengths lie in its societal applications, allowing decision making bodies that benefit large groups, rather than looking purely individualistically. It also offers a stronger justification if one accepts the base principle that happiness is universally better than unhappiness. One of the main difficulties in applying utilitarian ethics is the challenge of quantifying happiness. It is impossible to empirically measure happiness. Utilitarianism also opens itself to hypotheticals that yield unpleasant results. Under pure utilitarianism, if it would increase the safety, and therefore happiness, of a society to torture or kill innocents suspected of a crime, it would follow that such action was ethically just. Subsequent utilitarians have offered more nuanced versions of the hedonic calculus and ideas of rule utilitarianism that look at overall moral rules
The Theory of Utility teaches that we make our decisions in life based on the basic principle of maximizing happiness – which can be measured in pleasure and pain. Morality can also be defined as that which brings about the largest amount of happiness, and the least pain. Unlike other theories, however, Utility states the happiness of all is to be considered over the happiness of one. When faced with a choice, one must choose the option that will cause the greatest pleasure and the least pain. Applying this part of the Utilitarian argument to the supplied scenario, it would seem that Utility would say stealing the ice cream and breaking the law are the morally right course of action. However, Utility continues on in its teaching stating that
Utilitarianism: Explanation And Study of Criticisms The dictionary definition of Utilitarianism is: 'The doctrine that the greatest happiness of the greatest number should be the guiding principal of conduct.' When making a moral decision, we should look at the outcome of an action. Whatever brings the greatest happiness to the most people is the morally 'right' decision. It is a consequentialist principal where the majority rules.
Utilitarianism is one of those moral theories. Its attempt for absolutizing morality leads to a formula, which is very similar to
An action is morally good if and only if it promotes my personal happiness and it is morally wrong if and only if that action hinders my personal happiness.
The ethical theory of utilitarianism has one basis, one must chose the action that will contribute to the greatest good; the greatest good for the greatest number. In any instance one may ask, which action will make the most people happy and how long? As a method
In Utilitarianism the aim of our actions is to achieve happiness for the greatest number of people. “Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.” (Mill, 1971). Utilitarianism directly appeals to human emotions and our reactions to different events. Emotions are a fundamental Way of Knowing and influence both ethical and economical theories. In most cultures there are fundame...
There are many essays, papers and books written on the concept of right and wrong. Philosophers have theorized about moral actions for eons, one such philosopher is John Stuart Mill. In his book Utilitarianism he tries to improve on the theories of utilitarianism from previous philosophers, as he is a strong believer himself in the theory. In Mill's book he presents the ideology that there is another branch on the utilitarian tree. This branch being called rule-utilitarianism. Mill makes a distinction between two different types of utilitarianism; act-utilitarianism and rule-utilitarianism. Rule-utilitarianism seems like a major advance over the simple theory of act-utilitarianism. But for all its added complexity, it may not actually be a significant improvement. This is proven when looking at the flaws in act-utilitarianism and relating them to the ways in which rule-utilitarianism tries to overcome them. As well one must look at the obstacles that rule-utilitarianism has on it's own as a theory. The problems of both act and rule utilitarianism consist of being too permissive and being able to justify any crime, not being able to predict the outcomes of one's actions, non-universality and the lose of freewill.
The most important question of all is what should one do since the ultimate purpose of answering questions is either to satisfy curiosity or to decide which action to take. Complicated analysis is often required to answer that question. Beyond ordinary analysis, one must also have a system of values, and the correct system of values is utilitarianism.
The moral of Utilitarianism is, “What is going to reduce the most pain?” Also, when dealing with utilitarianism everyone else’s happiness matters meaning that when you do something for someone even though you do not want to do that for he/she you know that the outcome will make them happy and that’s all that matters. Most of the time when you make someone else happy it makes you happy so therefore your happiness counts equally as well. “The Ethics of care is sometimes seen as a potential moral theory to be substituted for such dominant moral theories as Kantian ethics, utilitarianism, or Aristotelian virtue ethics.” (Held, 115). Care Ethics is based on morality with particular others including emotions in particular relationships, in both private and public life. Care Ethics is difficult to define, but has several distinct features. The Top 3 are moral importance of meeting the needs of particular others, values emotion rather than rejecting it and rejects abstract impartiality. Morality includes reasons and
The Utilitarian moral theory claims that an action is right if it brings about the best
Despite “doing the right thing,” there are things that can happen beyond our control that can alter the good results we were expecting. However, consequences are measurable and create lasting effects on people. Even though we may intend to do the right thing, a positive outcome is not guaranteed. Sometimes our actions do not just affect us personally, they can also have repercussions for other individuals, such as members of our families. Intentions, on the other hand, cannot always be determined. While someone might claim that they acted with good intentions, that is not always necessarily the
A natural way to see whether an act is the right thing to do (or the wrong thing to do) is to look at its results, or consequences. Utilitarianism argues that, given a set of choices, the act we should choose is that which produces the best results for the greatest number affected by that choice.
We have our own moral codes but our decisions are solely based on the impact of our perspective on the people’s welfare and happiness. Although it is in our perspective as utilitarian to decide what actions to make, the theory of utilitarianism has strengths and weaknesses.
Utilitarianism is an ethical theory proposed by Jeremy Bentham and defended by James Mill. The theory says, that all the activities should be directed towards the accomplishment of the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. Utilitarianism is impractical and very unrealistic because, it refuses to focus on the individuals values, morals, and happiness. Utilitarianism endorse risking ones life for the sake of other is not and in fact it rewards such behavior. Utilitarianism mentions that if the outcome of the one persons death saves many lives then therefore it is obligated to do so.