Taking a Look at Utilitarianism - 655 Words

Introduction Living as a utilitarian is more easily expressed than done. Thinking about the betterment of humanity is not something everyone wants to cerebrate or worry about. Ideally, utilitarianism would be prosperous if the view was shared among the world. Coming in from a thoroughly nescient perspective, I was unsure of the possibilities, and unsure of the impact I would have on a topic I knew nothing about. Explanation of Utilitarianism Utilitarianism is the subsistence of pleasure and the absence of pain; both being the substructure of everything that people desire, and as the foundation of morality. Pursuing ones own happiness at the expense of convivial ecstasy would not be moral under utility. Additionally, there are different degrees of Utilitarianism. You have the Jeremy Bentham-style utilitarianism, and then you have a more subtle concept of John Stuart Mill’s philosophy. The more utilitarian a person is, the less the person is consummated. Living as a true utilitarian comes at a great cost, you lose the exhilaration and adventure of life. There are other types of Utilitarianism; including act and rule utilitarianism. The difference between act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism is that, with act utilitarianism, one must evaluate each act individually to see if it will maximize net happiness. With rule utilitarianism, one first tries to determine which rules would maximize net happiness, then acts according to those rules. Act utilitarianism says: anShow MoreRelatedAct Utilitarianism And Rule Utilitarianism978 Words   |  4 Pagesamount of pleasure to a situation: act and rule utilitarianism. I will define both act and rule utilitarianism, give a situatio n where both can be applied, and respond to an objection of utilitarianism. I will also be discussing why I believe act utilitarianism helps more people than rule utilitarianism, in turn, becoming ‘superior’ to rule utilitarianism. 2. To begin, I will be defining both act and rule utilitarianism. In act utilitarianism, you determine the morality of an act by measuringRead MoreMaking Decisions about Ethical Matters1742 Words   |  7 Pagesvarious systems put in place to provide rules and guidelines as to how to ensure that what is decided is morally right. Here, we will take a look at the view of utilitarianism, and discuss an important flaw it presents us with. Many articles include discussions that look at this in great depth, where it appears the once highly renowned system of utilitarianism has revealed to us various hidden flaws and complications. Under the wing of the utilitarianistic view, to determine something to be morallyRead MoreShould Justin Ellsworths Parents Have Been Given Access to His Email?1102 Words   |  5 Pagesinto utilitarian ethics, I discovered there are many different types of utilitarian ethics, rule utilitarianism, act utilitarianism, two-level utilitarianism, motive utilitarianism, negative utilitarianism, average utilitarianism, and total utilitarianism. Although there are a lot of different types of utilitarian ethics, I will look at this problem using rule and act utilitarian. Act utilitarianism states that, when faced with a choice, we must first consider the likely consequences of potentialRead MoreMill s Utilitarianism : Utilitarianism1251 Words   |  6 PagesMill’s Utilitarianism For centuries philosophers have attempted to explain morals, creating ideas that break this ethical system down into basic components. 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(Clifford G., John C. 2009) In act utilitarianism, when people have to make choices, they should consider the consequencesRead MoreUtilitarianism : Theory And Contemporary Issues1350 Words   |  6 Pagesproblems by taking the path that best benefits us. The theory of utilitarianism provides a solution to this but at what cost? What are the benefits and disadvantages of utilitarianism? Is utilitarianism an idea one should live by? What is utilitarianism? I plan on answering these questions within this paper and understand how they relate to everyday life. I will also look at arguments for and against utilitarianism. Then analyze the appealing and unappealing features to determine if utilitarianism shouldRead MoreHow Can An Injustice Be Changed?1186 Words   |  5 Pageslife†. Global climate change refers to the alteration of the Earth’s atmosphere temperature (Glossary). Utilitarianism is a theory to find alternatives to combat global climate change. 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In a point in time people began to look at their own philological teachings on theRead MoreEffectiveness of Utilitarianism as a Modern Moral Theory927 Words   |  4 Pageshuman understanding of the world. While a number of moral theories exist, none of them is more well documented that Utilitarianism, which focuses on the maximization of total utility. I will discuss the theory initially, and then identify the major problems associated with it. I will conclude with a rationale as to how effective Utilitarianism is as a modern moral theory. Utilitarianism is quite a broad theory, with different constructs. However, the underlying agenda is the same: actions should beRead MoreA Look At Ethical Egoism Essay933 Words   |  4 PagesA look at Ethical Egoism Introduced in 1874 by Henry Sidgwick in his book The Moral of Ethics, Ethical Egoism is an ethical theory that states that one ought to do what is in their best long term interest. This theory states that a morally correct being must in all cases do the thing that will give them the best result for their long term being. [1] Ethical Egoism stems from the idea that the self is the most important thing and that an ethical being has a moral obligation to do what is in the