Examples Of Derek Parrfit's Argument On Perfectionism

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In this essay, I will show that Derek Parfit is wrong to think that without perfectionism we cannot avoid the repugnant conclusion. My first step in defending this thesis will be to review Parfit’s argument on the repugnant conclusion and the way perfectionism helps us avoid it. I will then try to undermine his view by showing it supports implausible claims. For example, the premise of Parfit’s argument is that perfectionism does provide a full means of avoiding the repugnant conclusion. However, what perfectionism values is the total sum of happiness in a population. Thus, I argue that although perfectionism does give value to happy lives, it does not show the value that we should give to lives that are not worth living.

Parfit’s repugnant …show more content…
This is because the lives in B are better than A and the lives in B are less good than A but there are twice as many people in B that are living. So, population B is better than A, C is better than B and C is better than A as there is a greater total happiness. Therefore, it would make sense for the best things in life to be enjoyed by a larger number of people rather than for there to be a smaller …show more content…
Perfectionism denotes that lives at a very high level of welfare have greater value than lives that lack the best things in life. However, perfectionism is also coherent with the view that lives at a low positive level of welfare may also contain some of the best things in life. For example, lives at a low-levels can also contain good things in life if they only contain them to a certain extent. The low-level lives contain some of the good things in life and a certain number of them also contain a high number of the best things in life. If we value the amount of the best things for lives in a given population, then we should accept that these lives although barley worth living, would be better than a very large number of lives at a very high welfare level. Therefore, a certain number of the low-level lives that contain some of the good things in life would contain a higher quantity of the good things in life than a smaller number of lives at high welfare level, which shows why perfectionism does not provide a sufficient answer as it values the total number of the best things in

The Value Of Moralism In John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism

He suggests these people are more qualified to judge a pleasure’s overall quality rather than someone who has only experienced the low pleasures in life. Mill declares these people, who are more familiar with those higher pleasures, then undoubtedly have an increased value for high intellect, feelings, imagination, and moral sentiments that are included with the higher pleasures. Mill states, the remarkably lower pleasures only take into account the pure physicality of the pleasure taken part in, unlike higher pleasures. Therefore, higher pleasures are far more superior in quality and naturally more desirable to…

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The Effectiveity Of Total Happiness Vs. Huemer

This conclusion should not follow because Huemer uses subjective criteria to analyze the scenarios. It is reasonable to suppose that people can be happily contented with an objectively bad life, even though the entire world is not better of in regard to welfare. I also challenge the importance of total happiness because it is possible that the world can possess greater totals once a sufficient mass is reached and yet consist of marginal lives. Clearly, it is not reasonable to still claim that the larger world is better because the state of its inhabitants is not correlated with the increases in total happiness. As a result, worlds should be compared on objective measurements consisting of average individual happiness in order to account for the discrepancy between total happiness and individual…

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John Stuart Mill And Moral Utilitarianism

Mill tried to provide evidence for his theory of moral utilitarianism and refutes all the arguments against it in his book. He states that "actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness" (Mill). According to his words, utilitarianism as a theory is based on the principle of happiness. He calls this the “greatest happiness principle.” He claims that people usually seek pleasure and reject pain. In other words,…

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The Concept Of Happiness According To John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism

Pleasure is conceived as quantifiable, and can be measured in both duration and intensity. This means, that when we look at pleasures quantitatively, longer pleasures are better than shorter ones; and more intense pleasures are better than less intense ones. Mill argues that some pleasures are superior to others not because they are longer or more intense (quantitatively better), but because they are qualitatively better. There are higher pleasures (usually associated with intellect) and lower pleasures (usually associated with the body), and according to Mill, pleasures that come from a higher faculty should be considered more valuable than lower ones. An example of this would be that the pleasures of helping others are much more valuable than the pleasures of eating.…

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Perfectionism Article Analysis

The present study reproduced similar conclusions as the previous studies. It turns out that adaptive perfectionism is positively correlated with higher self-esteem, broader racial views, lower depression levels, and higher GPAs. On the contrary, maladaptive perfectionism was positively associated with lower self-esteem, distorted racial views, and higher depression levels. Throughout the study, the non-perfectionist group tended to fall in between the adaptive and maladaptive score range. Despite the inconsistent GPA variable in both the previous and the present studies, the adaptive perfectionists did tend to fare better off than both the maladaptive and non-perfectionists in an academic setting.…

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My Personal Myth: Understanding The Rollercoaster Of Life

Some people who have nothing or are in debt are far happier than the rich or wealthy, why is this? Are the happy and upsetting parts of life really more dependent on perspective and mental health? The saying "one mans trash, another mans treasure." I think really applies here, one person may want something more than anything while someone else couldn’t care less about it. In short I think perspective plays a large role in overall happiness, and therefore what is perceived as the good and bad parts of…

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Comparison Of Aristotle Ethics And John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism

John Stuart Mill said that “Utility, or the Greatest Happiness Principle, holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.” This just backs up what I said before, that John Stuart Mill strongly believes that something is positive only if it causes happiness and that something is negative if it doesn’t bring happiness to anybody. When he says this, he is suggesting that a good deed will help give us more happiness and that a bad deed will not bring us any happiness. John Stuart Mill also states “these supplementary explanations do not affect the theory of life on which this theory of morality is grounded-namely, that pleasure, and freedom from pain, are the only things desirable as ends; and that all things desirable…are desirable either for the pleasure inherent in themselves, or as means to the promotion of pleasure and the prevention of pain.” Mill believes pleasure and freedom from pain are some of…

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Plato Vs. Aristotle's Views Of Plato And Aristotle

It brings satisfaction and true happiness. Therefore if you look at the bigger picture once, one overcomes these imbalances in their life, they will reach happiness, this is otherwise know as the transition from Vice to Virtue. Another pro of their views is that, it controls want and self intrest. Humans who act only by want cannot achieve virtue because true justice is only found by what is moraly right and not by what one wants or what they think is…

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Complications Of The Mill's Theory Of Happiness

The challenge with Mill’s view was the appeal to standards other than happiness in order to differentiate between different kinds of happiness and that if there is another value besides happiness, then he abandons the idea that happiness is the only good thing. In this theory, happiness seems to be over-socialized and is seen to direct humans into obeying a system of…

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Moralism By Emmanuel Kant

One question regarding this ethical theory revolves around what is happiness to the utilitarian? The higher intellectual pleasure and the lower pleasure related to our senses. It’s not just how much pleasure one receives but the quality. In utilitarianism the intellectual pleasure is more valuable than the sensual pleasure. Happiness is communal and there is no room for discrimination therefore the action that you do that gives the most amount of people happiness is the best action that you can do.…

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Examples Of Derek Parrfit's Argument On Perfectionism

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