Act Utilitarianism Essay

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This essay aims to demonstrate that the demandingness objection has probative force against the theory of act utilitarianism. I will be arguing that act utilitarianism is false because it requires the agent to make very great sacrifices in order to maximise utility. This essay will be exploring Brink (1986) and Sobel’s (2007) response to the challenges faced by act utilitarianism. I will be using Williams’ (1973) argument to demonstrate the various problems act utilitarianism encounters when attempting to show that the theory does not require the agent to make very great sacrifices. I do not intend to offer an alternative form of utilitarianism, but aim to show how the theory itself is implausible. All of this will lead me to conclude that …show more content…
Primarily, I will begin by elucidating the theory of act utilitarianism and illustrate arguments that accompany Premise 1. Act utilitarianism is a formulation of utilitarianism, which defines an act to be right iff its consequences maximise utility in comparison to any other alternative action, impartially considered. It seems that the act utilitarian implies that if an act does not generate the maximum amount of utility, then these actions are morally wrong. Nevertheless, this view seems implausible. For example, if a teenager has the option of spending money to buy expensive festival tickets or donating this money to charity, the act utilitarian would judge buying the festival tickets as morally wrong. The act utilitarian suggests that an agent could always be doing something better with their resources to maximise utility in an unbiased manner. Act utilitarians believe that agent-centred action is morally wrong, even when these actions are morally permissible. The concern does not reside in how or whose utility is produced, just as long as these actions maximise utility. If we refer back to Premise 1, the utilitarian requires the teenager to make very great sacrifices for the sake of others. This could result in the agent leading a life below the normal threshold of a decent

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