Utilitarianism Essay

produce the reverse of happiness" (Mill, 1863). Utilitarianism is the ethical theory that happiness is the only thing that truly matters, or has intrinsic value to humanity. Importantly, its supporters believe that everyone's happiness matters equally, regardless of social status, wealth, or other superficial values, and in fact, people should always act to maximize overall happiness, or utility, for everyone (Gaskill, 2005). Furthermore, utilitarianism falls under the category of…

Utilitarianism and Kantianism take polarizing views on what we, as humans, should define as morally valuable and morally correct. In this paper, I will argue that Utilitarianism undermines the humanity principle and Kantianism illuminates necessary values when determining action. Additionally, I will argue that both ideologies do fall short when determining in a general sense what is morally valuable. Before arguing for my thesis, however, I will explain both Mill and Kant’s theories…

Connor Bell Professor Jennifer Matey PHIL 1318 14 November 2017 Kantianism v. Utilitarianism For centuries, philosophers have questioned what makes an action right or wrong. Founder of Kantianism, Immanuel Kant asserts that the moral worth of one’s action is dependent on whether or not one is motivated by duty, while founders of Utilitarianism, Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill claim that an action’s moral worth relies on the amount of happiness it produces, and for how many people. It is…

Utilitarianism is a branch of metaethics that focuses on the ideas of consequences, self interest, and unbiasedness. Instead of determining if an action is moral through the immediate effects, Utilitarianism skimps over the short term and instead focuses on the long term effects of actions. Actions are no longer based on intention but, rather the overall effects from those actions determines if the parent event was morally good or bad. Utilitarianism also emphasizes the idea that an individual’s…

Act utilitarianism is a form of utilitarianism that says that an action is right if and only if it produces the greatest amount of happiness, and wrong if it produces more unhappiness than happiness than any other possible outcome. Act utilitarianism says that when faced with a situation one must look at the possible consequences, and act upon the one that you think will bring the most amount of happiness. The problem with act utilitarianism is as follows; this view will justify actions such as…

Foucault argues that there is a critical shift in terms of power associations that is evident in the circumstance where the soul replaces the body as an objective of penal suppression. This form of displacement presents a fresh form of exposing the body to influence informed by information. Thus, the body is no longer considered as an object of punishment but rather as a tool for retribution. If the body is enslaved, the objective is not to impose bodily harm but rather to withdraw persons of…

The proposal of Y and Z’s survival lottery can be seen as being problematic because it follows the principle of utilitarianism. This essay will show how the survival lottery develops the ideas of a utilitarianism/consequentialist argument and will seek to critique it. Firstly I will look at how the survival lottery and utilitarianism see people as merely a means to an end and how this goes against Kant’s categorical imperative. Secondly, I will explore how the survival lottery looks at killing…

The essential comparability between Kant's morals and utilitarianism is that there is a target Good which can be looked for. Kant contended that one should act in a way that can be willed for every other individual. For instance, you shouldn't lie since you wouldn't need every other person to lie, as well. Utilitarianism contends that one should act in a way that creates the best useful for the best number of individuals. Utilizing a similar case, one shouldn't lie if forgoing the lie would…

Utilitarianism and deontological theory have their similarities and differences in the philosophical world. The greatest happiness principle, used by utilitarianism, is that an act is right as far as it tends to produce the greatest happiness for the greatest amount of people. Happiness is equal to the pleasure and the absence of pain. Bentham’s idea of pleasure falls under three points; intensity (how strong), duration (how long lasting), and the propinquity (how soon). Later Mill’s added to…

Utilitarianism V. Pragmatism Over many centuries, ethics helped build the foundation of the laws we abide by today. Ethics are moral principles that control a person’s behavior/actions. Ethics is also known as moral philosophy, which is a branch of philosophy that rises up questions about morality. For instances, questions like is it good or bad, right or wrong, justice or crime. There are many types of ethics, one well-known type of ethic is normative ethics. Normative ethics is a type of…