Eric Singer

Philosophical theories of well-being can be divided in subjective and objective theories of well-being. Subjective theories of well-being claim that well-being is dependent on the subject’s attitude of favor and disfavor while objective theories deny that. In this paper, I will discuss two subjective theories of well-being: theory of authentic happiness and hedonism. First, I will point out some important differences between these two theories. Then I will try to criticize hedonism from the…

Utilitarianism is a moral doctrine that implies that the right course of action is the one that produces the greatest balance of benefits over harms for everyone affected. Bentham, the founder of Utilitarianism defined happiness is to be anything that causes pleasure and unhappiness is to be anything that causes pain. John Stuart Mill, an English philosopher and economist, took Bentham’s moral theories on Utilitarianism and developed them farther. Mill formed all of his ideas off of Bentham’s…

Mavis Staples made an impact on the civil rights movement as a singer. Mavis was in a singing group with her father, brother Pervis, and her two sisters Yvonne and Cleotha.(Family Circle) The family band was created after her father gave up his job as a cotton picker in Illinois. Mavis, at only age ten became the lead singer of the Staples Singers. Her voice sounded a lot older and much bolder than a singer her age should. This group was just the start of the impact that Mavis had on the Civil…

There is no doubting the fact that animals do not have rights in the conventional sense, or in any other sense for that matter. The reason is because they are not moral agents; they cannot do things out of a sense of right or wrong and cannot reason, as opposed to humans. Without reasoning, they are unable to have rights and therefore, are not responsible. Does that mean humans have the right to treat animals badly? Of course not; but that is for humans to decide, because animals cannot decide…

Utilitarian Consequentialism basically surrounds itself based off the idea that an action can be evaluated in terms of pleasure and pain in causes. With Utilitarian it attempts to weigh out the options, in which they will arrive at a moral decision and the decision will be that will cause the least amount of pain possible but will have the happiest outcome in the end of it all. The utilitarian consequentialist viewpoint on human water is arguable to be valid because to be able to allow human…

Utilitarianism The utilitarianism is a great moral theory that can be applied to solve moral issues such by interrogating a terrorist and violating their human rights. We can take as an example the use of torture such as sleep deprivation in the interrogation to a terrorist or some war prisoner, in utilitarianism that action is being justified because it can help to save a lot of people for a future attack from an enemy, or to help to get in jail more terrorists that are involved in the…

Not often does a decision made by a director due to lack of funds create an end result that critics will continue discussing for nearly a century. However German director Fritz Lang, made such a decision for his 1931 film, M. Partly due to monetary constraints, and partly due to feelings that his own artistic vision would be compromised by including sound in his piece, the end result was a film with roughly a third in total silence. No film, as of yet, quite encapsulates the deafening power of…

Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that says morality is related to the amount of happiness moral acts produce. Although there are many forms of Utilitarianism, in this paper I am concerned only with Act Utilitarianism, a form of Utilitarianism that places moral emphasis on particular acts. For purposes of simplicity, I will be referring to Act Utilitarianism short-hand as Utilitarianism. Further, Act Utilitarianism can be interpreted through a lens of either practical or theoretical ethics.…

What is the great happiness? According to John Mills, the greatest happiness is when “actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness; wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.” The greatest happiness principle is the most fundamental claim that he discusses. So, what exactly is happiness itself? Mills defines happiness as pleasure in the absence of pain. Therefore, to be unhappy is to be in the presence of pain and “the privation of pleasure.” Mills believes that…

Final Essay Questions- “The Art of Letting Go” “Introduction to My View” Are humans innately good or bad? I believe humans are innately good, as Jean-Jacques Rousseau believed. He believed that individuals were born with an intuitive understanding of what’s right or wrong. I believe people want to be good and do what is right. As a counselor in training, this is my view of human nature and our society. I truly believe that people want to move in a positive direction in their lives and careers.…