In Utilitarianism, J.S. Mill gives an account for the reasons one must abide by the principles of Utilitarianism. Also referred to as the Greatest-happiness Principle, this doctrine promotes the greatest happiness for the greatest amount of people. More specifically, Utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism, holding that the right act is that which yields the greatest net utility, or "the total amount of pleasure minus the total amount of pain", for all individuals affected by said act (Joyce, lecture notes from 03/30).
The moral philosophy of Utilitarianism includes a calculation of happiness, in which actions are considered to be good if they produce happiness and evil if they produce pain. Utilitarianism also considers at what extent happiness can be created not just for an individual, but also others whom may be affected. By following a Utilitarian moral philosophy, a person can assure the best possible situation for the most amounts of people affected by every action they make. Utilitarianism is the centered on happiness, as a concept, and tries to promote the idea. The vision here is that if all people seek happiness, it will result in the happiness for all humans and animals. In the case that one does not produce happiness, one should also strive to reduce unhappiness. As Utilitarianism is wholly focused on the utility of a person’s actions, it is called a “consequentialist” theory. I argue that Utilitarianism is the best moral philosophy to follow due to its versatility, ethicality, and production of happiness for all.
Ethical Utilitarianism
The theory that I have chosen is the theory of ethical utilitarianism. Many people use this theory every day without even knowing we are using it, it’s is so natural that we don’t even think about it or wonder how we became to using it. Ethical utilitarianism is one of the many answers to the question of why an action or something is morally correct or incorrect. This is has been an ongoing question that many people have made theories towards trying to answer it and the theory of utilitarianism is the one that I think answers it the most accurately.
This part will introduce consequentialism and deontology, and their sub-theories which are egoism, utilitarianism, and kantianism. consequentialism is contrast to deontology. Because, consequentialists make judgements only on the consequences of the action, while deontologists are only concentrate on the actions themselves. Egoism and utilitarianism belong to consequentialism. Both of them reliance on consequences to make judgement. Egoism gives concern to self-interest, while utilitarianism focuses on the overall good. The most famous deontology is kantianism which was established by Prussian philosopher Immanuel Kant. we are going to examine these theories separately.
Traditional utilitarianism is a viewpoint that actions and policies are based on. This determines the benefit and cost it has on society. It requires us to look at what action will net the greatest outcome or the lowest net cost when determining what is right. Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill founded this idea. They felt the best way to determine the “correct” course of action is to weigh it to ensure the benefit to everyone. This act forces us to look think of the collective instead of the individual.
Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill are credited for developing the idea of utilitarianism. Simply put, utilitarianism is doing the most good for the greatest amount of people. In this ethical system, an individuals rights are essentially less important than the good of the majority. Happiness is what is valued in this ethical system. Ultimately, the action that leads to the most good is the right ethical action. Basically, no act is simply right or wrong, but rather it depends on the happiness that comes out doing that act. (Caleb, Utilitarianism critiques). In utilitarianism, "the end justifies the means. " Utilitarianism is not as much focused on the individual motivations and obligations, but is more so focused on the outcomes. (Caleb,
Next, it is important to see who is a citizen. For Aristotle (2013), a citizen depends on the regime, is not who is physical present, not those taking part in the justice systems and not those receiving benefits, but those who are entitled to hold office: “Who the citizen is, then, is evident from these things. Whoever is entitled to share in an office involving deliberation or decision is, we can now say, a citizen in this city; and the city is the multitude of such persons that is adequate with a view to a self-sufficient life, to speak simply” (p.64). Many would disagree about what qualifies one as being a citizen: “ 'citizen ' is used without reference to the criterion of legal eligibility which plays a central role and is instead used
Utilitarianism is the foundation of moral values or maximization of net expectable value for all parties affected by a decision and/or action. This ethical decision is most popular in making the right choice in a given situation is the one that produces the most happiness and/or the least unhappiness for the largest number of people. Utilitarianism plays a large part in life because it has the most to do with results-based ethics in which it is simple and appeals to common sense. It is more sensible to base ethics on : producing and reducing happiness, and the consequences of what we do, because we make decisions about what to do by considering what result it will produce, and it is easy to understand based on common sense. The positive features of utilitarianism can be looked at in many ways. In this moral theory, every person’s good or happiness is equally important. The principal value is consistent with the notion of democracy. Furthermore, the utility or happiness provides a clear usable standard for determining right and wrong. There are also negative features that can be addressed about the utilitarian ethical approach. It is difficult to quantify happiness as well as calculate how quickly the effects of certain behaviors. The theory allows actions that our moral intuitions would consider to be wrong. Additionally, it appears to deny or ignore human rights, since the few may be sacrificed for happiness of the many.
Moral theory and utilitarianism have a lot in common with each other and J. S. Mill’s explains how these two work separately and together. There are different theories out there about morals and utilitarianism and some do not agree with Mill on his theories. This paper will talk about an experiment dilemma using utilitarian perspectives, how it defends utilitarianism, and how utilitarianism is an adequate moral theory for the thought experiment.
Although utilitarianism is more a school of though, rather than one specific thesis, a utilitarian view on individual decision making can be generally stated as acting or making decisions “in order to maximize the utility for your future self” (Paul, 2014), where ‘utility’ can be though of as a subjective quality depending on the agent’s priorities and values. Why is it that some individuals devote a great deal of money and time in planning for their retirement, and others much less or none at all? A utilitarian explanation would state that an individual that does plan for retirement places a higher utility on their well-being in the distant future, and consequently less utility on their well-being in the present. Similarly, an individual who