Utilitarianism
It is better to give than to receive . I believe I was about nine years old when I heard that statement for the first time . It was in church. It was one of those things that I randomly chose to hear while sitting in church every Sunday. Normally anything that was said in that building never made sense to me and I never had any use for retaining it. This time however something did make sense to me. Perhaps it was because my parents had been telling me that same thing except in a more ambiguous and indirect manner. "Isaac you should share your toys; Isaac why don't you give your food to your sister if you don't want it?; Isaac get your old toys and clothes together so you can donate them to the Salvation Army." So as I grew up I had a somewhat strong belief that it was better to give than to receive. I am now nineteen years of age and I have come to see that what I heard in that church ten years ago isn't always necessarily the true.
Harris claims utilitarianism as the basis of his idea , and in the actual context and definition of the term he is correct . According to Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996 Utilitarianism is defined as the doctrine that utility is the sole standard of morality, so that the rectitude of an action is determined by its usefulness.
Utilitarianism is a movement in ethics which began in the late eighteenth centaury and is primarily associated with the English philosopher Jeremy Bentham and was later adapted and fully developed by John Stuart Mill in the ninetieth century. . The theory states that we should try to achieve ‘the greatest good for the greatest number’. Utilitarianism is a teleological theory of ethics. Teleological theories of ethics look at the consequences to decide whether an action is right or wrong. Utilitarianism is defined as a doctrine that the useful is the good and that the determining consideration of right conduct should be the usefulness of it consequences: specifically: a theory that the aim of action should be the largest possible
One constant between all cultures is the understanding that all lives will come to an end. Throughout one’s lifetime, virtue, character, and morality are sought, through different ideals and methods, with the overall endgame being the most ethical and desirable outcome possible. There are times, however, when an individual may feel like there is no hope of reaching a successful existence; therefore the act of suicide becomes a viable option. The decision to voluntarily take one’s life has always been a topic of discussion on ethical grounds. Whether or not the decision to die is an ethical one can be argued depending on from which ethical theory the act is being evaluated.
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 an ethical study often associated with “politics of interest” because the ideas of utilitarianism are set on maximizing utility and efficiency. This idea focuses on individualism and aggregating what is best for society as a whole, specifically the economic aspect of society. Deontology is an ethical study that is almost the complete opposite of utilitarian beliefs. Deontology is an ethical study often associated with “politics of conscious” because it approaches issues with the idea of right vs. wrong on mind. This ethical viewpoint is rooted in fulfilling God’s laws and focuses on equal rights. An ethical dilemma case that revolves around the utilitarianism view is The Yellowstone National Park case. The controversy in
Since I can remember, giving is better than receiving, use things and love people, but do not love things and use people, loving others is loving yourself, and sharing is caring has been told to me. My mother always told us to keep this close to our hearts and we would be content with what we had. What she taught me helped me become selfless, respectful to everyone no matter age, gender, race, or religion, encouraging to others, and helped me become
Mill’s Utilitarianism varies from the most general form of utilitarianism, which claims that one should assess persons, actions, and institutions by how well they promote humans’ happiness. Mill branches off of this basic explanation by interpreting the misconceptions of utilitarianism into utility. This utility is something in opposition to pleasure. In order words, mill utilitarianism utility is the greatest happiness principle.
Utilitarianism can be used to describe the reasons why healthcare should be made available universally; why maximization of access to healthcare should be pursued for the greatest number of people (Wilson). Utilitarianism is a theory of consequences, in which the results of actions should determine their moral value. It can be summarized by the greatest happiness principle, which John Stuart Mill describes as “happiness is desirable, and the only thing desirable, as an end; all other things being only desirable as means to that end” (Wilson). For Mill, pleasure is the prime motivator, and all beings must seek out maximum pleasure for themselves and others. This principle can be used to judge the morality of healthcare policies in terms of how they provide access to healthcare for the greatest number of people. In order to make the claim that healthcare is a human right is not sufficient; we must then be able to justify its expansion by illustrating its benefits (Wilson).
This essay seeks to apply the ideas of Punishment and Utilitarianism to the speech made by John Kerry to the Senate Committee of Foreign Relations on behalf of the Vietnam War veterans. The normative idea of utilitarianism purports that “actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness”, thus it is submitted that firstly utilitarianism focuses on the subjective pleasures, satisfactions, or preferences of the actor and secondly, it requires the aggregation of all of the subjective goods of individuals and it considers as best the outcome in which the total of individual satisfactions is maximized. The speech delivered by John Kerry brings to the fore issues regarding the various moral implications and the utility of the actions of the American soldiers during the war. This essay examines whether the a utilitarian view of the defence of torture and punishment inflicted by the American soldiers in the Vietnam War provides a viable argument for justifying torture on those grounds. The speech by Kerry raises important issues which criticise a utilitarian view of the war by claiming that it ignores the core value of justice and retribution. The essay shall first detail the concept of Utilitarianism and shall then proceed to describe the role it plays in assigning penal sanctions, concluding with an analysis of both these concepts within the context of Kerry’s speech.
Utilitarianism concerns itself with promoting the best outcomes for the greatest numbers in order to be ethically acceptable, utilitarianism is a consequentialist approach which aims at results of actions regardless of how they are carried out. Utilitarian monsters, a term coined by R. Nozick, are those who “get enormously greater gains in utility from any sacrifice of others than these others lose. For, unacceptably, the theory seems to require that we all be sacrificed in the monster’s maw, in order to increase total utility”.(The Utility Monster, 2011)
The utilitarian argument can also be used to say that hESC research and use is unethical. This philosophy has a viewpoint that considers the right action to be the one that does the greater good ( ). You could say curing people with disease or injuries are a good thing to do. But would it be the best thing to do? Wouldn’t having a whole new life from birth be better than curing an eighty-year-old Alzheimer’s patient? Using that example, the greater good would be not to use embryos for research. Another question utilitarianism uses asks to determine morality is what will happen as a consequence of doing something. One consequence of using embryos would be that a life is ended before birth. A whole life would be ended before
Imagine a child living in a hot, government owned apartment in Chicago. He has no father. With his single, jobless mother he struggles to the words of the founding fathers: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with inherent and inalienable Rights; that among these, are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness...” (The Declaration of Independence). This is one of the most famous phrases in the US Declaration of Independence and has become the underpinning of the dreams of millions of people around the world. Although the words are different, these sentiments are reflected in the political and economical policies of many democracies. While the notion of ‘happiness for all’ seems like the obvious solution to many of our persistent problems, we inevitably encounter conflicts between our actions and our morals. “The state is based on……the contradiction between public and private life, between universal and particular interests. For this reason, the state must confine itself to formal, negative activities.”(Marx, 1992). This essay focuses on the issues of a prominent theory, Utilitarianism as it blends and encompasses both areas of Economics and Ethics which have become the basis of our governmental bodies.
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.
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.