In 1958, two men created an invention that would change the world as we know it. This invention, called “Tennis for Two” was the first ever video game and sparked a revolution in new media. Since then, the popularity of video games has risen at an extraordinary rate, with over 1.2 billion people reported to be playing games as of 2013 (CITATION: venturebeat). Even more extraordinary is that, according to a report by the Entertainment Software Association, consumers spent a total of $21.53 billion on the games industry in 2013 (CITATION: esa). With so many people spending so much money on the games industry, it is only natural that it has attracted countless game developers seeking to make an easy profit. Unfortunately, this has also resulted
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One unique characteristic of utilitarianism is that it completely discounts the intentions of actions; the only thing that matters is the outcome. Therefore, an action with bad intentions may still be considered ethical if it benefits the majority of the people involved. Although the 17th-century English moral philosopher Richard Cumberland is considered to be the first to hold a utilitarian philosophy, it was not until a bit later that Francis Hutcheson, another 17th-century English philosopher, presented a more clear utilitarian view, stating that the best action “procures the greatest happiness for the greatest numbers.” However, it was not until the late 18th century and 19th century that two influential utilitarians would surface. The first, Jeremy Bentham, wrote philosophical works and began a reform movement that would examine whether policies and institutions were acceptable based on their utility. The second, John Stuart Mill, was heavily influenced by Bentham’s work, using utilitarianism to argue for women’s suffrage, public education, and freedom of speech, among many other ethical issues. In this time, utilitarianism became one of the most popular ethical theories among the people and it still stands as a significant theory in the modern
One unique characteristic of utilitarianism is that it completely discounts the intentions of actions; the only thing that matters is the outcome. Therefore, an action with bad intentions may still be considered ethical if it benefits the majority of the people involved. Although the 17th-century English moral philosopher Richard Cumberland is considered to be the first to hold a utilitarian philosophy, it was not until a bit later that Francis Hutcheson, another 17th-century English philosopher, presented a more clear utilitarian view, stating that the best action “procures the greatest happiness for the greatest numbers.” However, it was not until the late 18th century and 19th century that two influential utilitarians would surface. The first, Jeremy Bentham, wrote philosophical works and began a reform movement that would examine whether policies and institutions were acceptable based on their utility. The second, John Stuart Mill, was heavily influenced by Bentham’s work, using utilitarianism to argue for women’s suffrage, public education, and freedom of speech, among many other ethical issues. In this time, utilitarianism became one of the most popular ethical theories among the people and it still stands as a significant theory in the modern