Mill's Utilitarian Theory

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Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism, a theory formed and made popular in the 18th and 19th century by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, is a form of consequential theories in which humans believe that our actions are based on our happiness. Happiness is what deters humans from acting in what they believe to be a good or bad manner. According to “Living Under God’s Law: Christian Ethics”, the one goal that is sought out is pleasure. If actions cause harm or do not promote happiness, then the action is considered wrong (Fox, 1912). This theory is a system is one in which actions can be measured on how good or bad it is by how much pleasure or pain is caused from it. The issue that lies within this theory is whether or not people should measure …show more content…
This is the idea that if something must be done, then it is imperative. For example, if a person is hungry, then it is imperative that that person eats. This view can also be separated into two forms, hypothetical and categorical. A hypothetical imperative is an action in which we are clear that we will get our desired result and there is no other possibility. An imperative is categorical when it is always true (Kemerling, 2011). That means, everyone who participates will always act according to that same rule or will receive the same outcome. Instead of focusing on what God wants his people to do for His love, Kant focused primarily on the categorical imperatives to guides a person’s morality. Kant recants the idea from non-Christians that Christianity as a whole is morally harmful because of its constant accusations that it is the reason behind why the world is in disarray because it is not true of all Christians. He believes that people should act in such a way that can be “tested” against the results and then the duty will be universal in the name of God. Utilized universally, this would mean that everyone loves God, we treat each other with kindness and fairness, everything in the world will be positive, and the idea that Christianity carries along with it, conflict and causes society to fail would disappear. However, the fact that being a Christian means that we may fail at times, but the outcome of our failures is considered a lesson learned to do better the next time an opportunity presents itself (Velarde,

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