...One of these basic rules is “do not steal”, something children are taught from at a young age. However, ethical principles are more complicated than what is right and wrong. Sometimes morals have to be judged by the consequences and conditions in their own context. In which case this idea utilitarianism attempts to plead. Utilitarianism is an ethical theory which means that an act is right as long as happiness is the result. However, actions are deemed wrong if it is more probable to produce the reverse of happiness. There are two forms of utilitarianism that can be addressed. Bentham “principle of utility” and Mill’s “greatest happiness principle” are the two principles premises of utilitarianism. The priest notion directly relates to Bentham principle of utility. Bentham maintained that the foundation of morals and principles are grounded in this idea of pleasure and pain. Essentially, we make our decisions by what’s right or wrong, but we incorporate our personal feelings of pleasure and pain into the decision. Bentham went further to use the concept of utilitarianism to say an action is right if it maximizes happiness. If stealing instills the most happiness, then it is morally right on that individual act to steal. Otherwise, it is morally wrong. For instance, if stealing causes young kids not to go hungry and the majority of society is happy...
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...other, thereby minimizing conflicts. Limitation of this advantage of ethical egoism: * It offers no consistent method of resolving conflict if self-interests. Its not help resolving self-interest. * We do not live in isolated, self-sufficient communities, but rather in increasingly crowded communities where social, economic, and moral interdependence are facts of life and where self-interests conflict and somehow must be compromised. Utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism. Utilitarian maintains that everyone should perform that act or follow that moral rule which will bring about the greatest good or happiness for everyone concerned. Act utilitarianism Act utilitarianism states that everyone should perform that act which will bring about the greatest good over bad for everyone affected by the act. * The act utilitarian believes that one cannot establish rules in advance to cover all situations and people because they all different. Problems with these theory/Difficulties with Act utilitarianism: * It is very hard to determine what would be good consequences for others. * It is impractical to have to begin a new with each situation, to decide what would be moral in...
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...Describe the distinctive features of a Utilitarian ethical system The principle of utility states that actions are acceptable as long as they have an outcome of either happiness or pleasure. There are two main types of utilitarianism; Act utilitarianism and Rule utilitarianism. The two main figureheads of modern utilitarianism were Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. Jeremy Bentham came up with the idea of the hedonic calculus. This was his system of measuring how good or bad a consequence is. It was also known as the greatest happiness principle. This meant simply that a good action is one that maximises general happiness or minimises pain. A bad action is the opposite of a good action. The hedonic calculus, used to decide whether actions are good or bad goes like this: 1) Its intensity- how intense will the pleasure or pain be? 2) Its duration- How long will it last? 3) Its certainty or uncertainty- How sure can we be that it will follow from our action? 4) Its remoteness- How far away is it in terms of time? 5) Its fecundity- the chance it has of being followed by similar sensations? 6) Its purity- The chance it has of not being followed by opposite sensations? 7) Its extent- To what extent will it affect others? We can use the hedonic calculus for examples such as abortion: 1) Its intensity- The pain of an abortion will be minimal physically but could cause great pain mentally. 2) Its duration- The treatment may only last for a few...
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...idea of morality itself. One philosopher will have one belief and another will have a completely different view and an outside person could interpret each of those philosophies in a different way. In the eyes of a utilitarian, such as John Stuart Mills, it would be considered morally justifiable to expend resources on luxuries when those same resources could provide others with the necessities of life. John Stuart Mill was historically known for utilitarianism. This means that he believed the morality of an action is determined by their consequences and uses the principle of utility to evaluate those said consequences. The principle of utility states that actions are right insofar as they promote happiness and wrong insofar as they produce the reverse of happiness. The utilitarianism that Mill is known for is broken into two separate forms. The first is act-utilitarianism; this view says that the particular consequences of each individual action is evaluated by reference to the principle of utility. The second is rule-utilitarianism; this view says that rules are established by reference to the principle of utility and then individual acts are evaluated by reference to the rules. On top of...
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...“Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that holds that an action is right if it produces, or if it tends to produce, the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people affected by the action. Otherwise the action is wrong.” ( DeGeorge 44) Utilitarianism is a way of making decisions by evaluating the consequences. Utilitarianisms believe that actions are not “good” or “bad” in themselves; they are evaluated by their effects and consequences. (DeGeorge 44-46) There are many different forms or views of utilitarianism that are used to calculate consequences. One of these views is hedonistic utilitarianism; the basis of this form is pleasure and pain. This form of calculation reduces actions to whether they cause pleasure or pain (the absence of pleasure). For example, doing a dangerous job to earn extra money, extra money can lead pleasure. If an injury occurred while doing this job, this action would cause pain and lack of money which would lead to lack of pleasure. This view came from Jeremy Bentham. ( DeGeorge 44-46) Jeremy Bentham (1784-1832) was an advocate of utilitarianism and has been referred to as the founder or father of utilitarianism. He was born in London into a wealthy family of lawyers. He was a child prodigy that began studying Latin at the age of 3. By the time he was 21 he had earned various degrees and had been trained as a lawyer. ( “Bentham, Jeremy”) Bentham was called to the bar in 1769, but he was more interested in speculating on the theoretical...
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...Utilitarianism is a moral theory generally considered to have been founded by Jeremy Bentham, a 19th century English philosopher and social reformer. It is centered on the concept of happiness, and those who seek it. The idea is that all people seek happiness, and that it is the ultimate goal of all human beings to be happy. Therefore, according to classical utilitarianism, when a person wishes to act in an ethically sound manner he or she should strive to bring about the greatest possible amount of happiness for the greatest possible amount of people. This is known as the greatest happiness attitude. Another, similar idea is that a person should always strive, if incapable of producing happiness, to reduce unhappiness. As the theory is wholly focused on the outcome of a person’s actions, it is classed as a “consequentialist” theory, i.e. a theory that concerns it with consequences and not actions in themselves. Utilitarianism can be seen as a highly mathematical theorem, looking at the total units of happiness that a particular action gives rise to. For instance, I might want to go out and have drinks with some friends and my boyfriend or I could find something more family oriented and do something fun with my son and my boyfriend. Consider that my son is only little for a short time, would I rather have drinks and regret the hang over later or share a memory with my little boy. Taking my son out for a night might add 10 units of happiness to the world’s total stock, whereas...
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...Act and Rule Utilitarianism? Why is rule utilitarianism considered by many to be a preferable form of utilitarianism? Clearly describe each version of utilitarianism and explain which you think is to be preferred, and why. The American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy defines Utilitarianism as ‘a system of ethics according to which the rightness or wrongness of an action should be judged by its consequences. The goal of utilitarian ethics is to promote the greatest happiness for the greatest number’. This is known as the Principle of Utility. There are two main versions of utilitarianism: Classical Utilitarianism and Preference Utilitarianism. Classical Utilitarianism describes utility as pleasure or happiness and looks at the balance between pleasure/happiness and pain/unhappiness. Preference Utilitarianism defines utility as the satisfaction of preferences. Act Utilitarianism vs. Rule Utilitarianism: Act utilitarianism is ‘the value of the consequences of the particular act that counts when determining whether the act is right’. It depends on the Principle of Utility for every situation. In other words, it depends on the consideration of the utility value of every distinct action. Rule Utilitarianism ‘determines rightness by finding the value of following a particular rule’. It uses the Principle of Utility in order to select the rules that mostly bring about the most utility. The distinction between the two is simply that Act Utilitarianism is based on...
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...most influential ethical theories that have been studied in this module include Mill’s Utilitarianism and Kant’s duty-based theory. The aim of this essay is to weigh each of these two ethical theories. The analysis conducted will then be used to determine which of the two theories is applicable in day-to-day life. An explanation for the belief will also be presented. Utilitarian theory of J. S. Mill Utilitarianism was initiated by John Stuart Mill. It refers to an essay that supports utilitarianism as a moral theory. It also responds to the various misconceptions that individuals have concerning utilitarianism. According to Mill, the principle behind utilitarianism is that actions are only right if they are aimed at bringing happiness and wrong if they result in the opposite of happiness (Mill, 2009). In his regard, Mill claims that happiness exists in the presence of pleasures and absence of pain. Pleasure differs in terms of quality and quantity. Some of the ways that count as one’s happiness include achievement of personal goals and virtuous living. Mill also claims that utilitarianism is a result of the various sentiments that are caused by the social nature of human beings. As such, a society that embraces utilitarianism as its ethic standard would be bound by such standards and morals that define utilitarianism. Furthermore, Mill argues that happiness forms the basis of morality in a society (Mill, 2009). That is because happiness is all that people...
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...maximise happiness? Define utilitarianism: Is an ethical theory in normative ethics that has a core belief that the actions can be judged as right or wrong if they lead to a good consequence. Define: Act utilitarianism is a form of utilitarianism created by Jeremy Bentham. Act utilitarianism is a theory that states happiness can be calculated via the 'the hedonistic calculus'. This included factors such as profundity, intensity, duration and others. Each of these are used in relation to the action and then one can calculate the best outcome. This led to Bentham arguing that every action can be deemed right if it leads to maximising utility. Therefore, it seems reasonable to conclude that actions can be judged to the extent which they maximise happiness However, one can argue that act utilitarianism allows for barbaric actions to be taken place, which seem immoral. For example, torturing thousands of people in order to save millions. This entails some individuals will have to suffer hugely. This leads to swine ethics where cruel actions can be deemed good just because they lead to good consequences. However, one can argue that this form utilitarianism is a favourable one. That's because it is an egalitarian theory, which matches well with the concept of democracy. Since, democracy is for the people, by the people, one can assume that it is therefore right to support the majority. This would mean that act utilitarianism is acting in the interests of majority...
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...1. Shaw and Barry distinguish two different forms of utilitarianism. What are these two forms? Briefly describe each and use examples. The two forms of utilitarianism are act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism. Act utilitarianism states we must ask ourselves what the consequences of a particular act in a particular situation will be for all those affected. If its consequences bring more net good than those of any alternative course of action, then this action is the right one and the one we should perform. (Shaw and Barry, p. 60) The other form is rule utilitarianism. Rule utilitarianism states the utilitarian standard should be applied not to the individual actions but to moral codes as a whole. The principles that make up the moral code would be the basis for distinguishing right actions from wrong actions. (Shaw and Barry, p. 77) An example of act utilitarianism is a drug company releasing a drug that was approved with known side effects. The drug is able to help more people than the amount that are bothered by the minor side effects. An example of rule utilitarianism is the type of seating on an aircraft. There are different classes on the aircraft: first, business, and economy. The first or business class seats are more expensive but they come with more conveniences. However, the higher prices of seats help to cover the airline’s financial burden of the economy seats. (Workplace Example of Utilitarianism Ethics, 2014) 2. What do economists mean by the “declining...
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...Utilitarianism ENG300 Information Literacy Assessment [Type the author name] This paper will discuss utilitarianism, its origins and how we can apply it to our lives today. I will show what would happen if everyone adopted this code of ethics and reasoning, and why I chose it. Utilitarianism What is Utilitarianism? According to our textbooks, utilitarianism is the ethical system which believes that which is ethical is what will bring the greatest good or happiness to the greatest number of people (Turner, 2006). In a direct quote from the American Heritage Dictionary, utilitarianism is the ethical theory proposed by Jeremy Bentham and James Mill that all action should be directed toward achieving the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language). Though there are many varieties of the view discussed, utilitarianism is generally held to be the view that the morally right action is the action that produces the most good. There are many ways to spell out this general claim. One thing to note is that the theory is a form of consequentialism: the right action is understood entirely in terms of consequences produced. What distinguishes utilitarianism from egoism has to do with the scope of the relevant consequences. On the utilitarian view one ought to maximize the overall good — that is, consider the good of others as well as one's own good (Driver, 2009).A well-known dialogue by Leonard...
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...I wanted to approach both Kantianism vs. Utilitarianism for those who are not students of ethics words like utilitarianism and Kantianism may sound little foreign but for those are trying to tackle the world of ethics then these two represent important viewpoints. There are many similarities between utilitarianism and Kantianism but some can confuse some people. However, there are important differences between the two philosophies that I will try to explain. In Utilitarianism this philosophy believes that consequences of action are responsible for people judging that action as morally right or wrong. Thus, a believer of utilitarianism would say that the outcomes of the actions that is deemed morally right would be good. The theory says that people choose actions that help in maximizing happiness and at the same time remove misery, pain and agony. The worth of any human action depends upon its utility or value. Now with the view on Kantianism was put forward by Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher he focused on the duty he believed his philosophy take the position that the morality of an action is dependent upon whether the individual has adhered to the rules or not. Here are some points or highlights why Kantianism vs. utilitarianism. * Attitude towards what is right or wrong is what constitutes the basic difference between utilitarianism and Kantianism. * Utilitarianism says that an act is justified if maximum numbers of people are deriving happiness out of it. This...
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...Outline the main principles of Bentham’s Utilitarianism Utilitarianism is primarily based on the principle of utility as outlined by Jeremy Bentham. Jeremy Bentham believed that ‘nature placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure. The principle of utility holds that actions are right in proportion to the degree of happiness they produce and wrong in proportion to degree of pain they produce. The principle of utility defines ‘good’ as happiness or pleasure and the goal of a moral action is the greatest happiness for the greatest number. Utilitarianism is a teleological theory meaning that final causes exist in nature. So the rightness of an action is determined by its consequences and not by the motive. So if the consequences are good then the motivation, even if it is negative is not even considered. The principle of utilitarianism is usually expressed as ‘the greatest happiness for the greatest number.’ The form developed by Bentham is commonly applied to each individual situation. Bentham’s form is better know as Act Utilitarianism. He believed that pleasure and pain identified what we should and shouldn’t do. He also claimed that the quantity of pleasure/happiness for the greatest number of people, therefore he devised the ‘Hedonic Calculus’ this considered seven principles, each of which could be given a numerical score. The key to utilitarianism is to consider the consequences of a particular action rather than just saying that an action...
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...utilitarianism 1. Utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism, which states that the consequences of any action are the only standard of right and wrong. This view can be contrasted or combined with virtue ethics which holds virtue as a moral good. Some believe that one's intentions are also ethically important. Singer did account for if bob would have saved the boy then there would be no car yes, but I also think there would have been a way for bob to save the boy as well as save the car as well. 2. Utilitarianism is distinctly different from other forms of consequentialism such as egoism as it considers all interests equally. Proponents of utilitarianism have been split about whether individual acts should conform to utility or whether agents should conform to ethical rules. Utilitarian’s additionally remain split about whether utility should be calculated as an aggregate (total utilitarianism) or an average (average utilitarianism). 3. Utilitarian moral theories purport to be in favor of maximizing the well-being of all concerned. In accordance with this principle, several of an agent’s values must receive protection while practicing any form of utilitarianism, considering protection of human rights to be conducive to human well-being. Autonomy would seem to be one such value. In utilitarian theory, however, autonomy appears to have its value only in its existence as a means to the greater end of well-being. This observance raises the question of whether or not a utilitarian...
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...Business Ethics Written Assignment for Module 2 1. Shaw and Barry distinguish two different forms of utilitarianism. What are these two forms. Briefly describe each and use examples. Act Utilitarianism and Rule Utilitarianism are the two different forms of utilitarianism that Shaw and Barry distinguish. Utilitarianism refers to the greatest happiness principle for the most amounts of people. Act utilitarianism “states that we must ask ourselves what the consequences of a particular act in a particular situation will be for all those affected. If its consequences bring more net good than those of any alternative course of action, then this action is the right one and the one we should perform” (Shaw and Barry, pg.60). I look at this as to mean when choosing between two alternative acts in a situation then the right act is the one that brings the best result or the most happiness, basically the consequences of a single act. Rule utilitarianism “maintains that the utilitarian standard should be applied not to individual actions but to moral codes as a whole. The principles that make up that code would then be the basis for distinguishing right actions from wrong actions” (Shaw and Barry, pg.77). I look at this to me at measuring the consequences of the act repeated over and over again as if it was a rule whenever there are similar situations. 2. What do economists mean by the "declining marginal utility of money"? Declining marginal utility of money stated by Shaw and Barry as...
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