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Difference Between Utilitarianism And Absolutism

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Utilitarianism and absolutism are both ethical theories that try to define what is right, but they diverge on the basis of intentions. These two ideals follow that you should do what is right and produces a specific amount of happiness. They differ though on moral standards, utilitarianism says do whatever it takes to produce an outcome that produces the most utility, in this case the ends justify the means. Absolutism takes the opposing stand, it does not agree with the ends justifying the means. Various examples from works of Mill and works of O’Neil provide different insights into this dilemma of what is actually morally “right”. For the general good, utilitarianism is the position that one should adopt to produce the greatest amount of happiness for an entire society. …show more content…
Mill describes that a true utilitarian does what would maximize the totally utility for everyone. An elementary explanation of this is if you were on a run with some friends and you were the only one who brought a bottle of water. If you drank this bottle of water, you would get two utiles on happiness. If you took this water and shared it with your four other friends, giving them each a utile of happiness, then the five joined utiles would be greater than the two only you would get. This idea supports Mills beliefs in the way where he believes that maximizing the total amount of utility in right, because you are not being selfish and you are producing the most amount of happiness for everyone rather than yourself. This is a simple version of utilitarianism that seems acceptable, why not help out others than just being

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