Jeremy Piven

This essay will respond to the questions regarding whether value is objective or subjective, and whether prices can be “fair” or “unfair.” The writings of Etienne Condillac and John Locke reveal that prices are most often objective, and that prices can be either fair or unfair. This essay will evaluate the works from these men and will use practical examples to illustrate the objective nature of value and the varying fairness of prices. Differing preferences, needs, and supply will show the…

Response to “When Life Asks For Everything” In the feature article “When Life Asks For Everything”, David Brooks explains the four different types of happiness. The four different levels of happiness explain the true delight behind each level. The first level of happiness is considered the lowest level of happiness. This level of happiness is joy that comes from materials. This happiness really does not make ones heart joyful I feel as if it is a cover to real happiness. This material…

What is Utilitarianism? Utilitarianism is a philosophical concept that holds an action to be held right if it tends to promote happiness for the greatest number of people. Utilitarian’s define the morally right actions as those actions that maximize happiness and minimize misery. Many believe that utilitarianism is an unrealistic theory. Arguments and responses to utilitarianism being too demanding have been made John Stuart Mill and Peter Singer. First, I will explain how Mill and Singer…

It is not surprising at all that prisons resemble factories, schools, barracks and hospitals because they all practice discipline and punishment within those walls. People feel watched with in the walls of those organizations and often feel trapped. Panopticon was created to discipline people which is accomplished by knowing that we are being watched. Good thing about is that with panopticon there is less crime, but there are many bad sides to it. With panopticon lack of full freedom and…

Subjective relativism is the moral perspective implying that if an individual approves of an action, it is then directed to be moral. For example, an individual can say “X is right,” and someone else can assert that “X is wrong”. When applying subjective relativism to the situation, it justifies that action X is both right and wrong. Suggesting that it can be right for a particular person but wrong for another. Thus, when deciphering whether something is moral or not, it is correlated to…

Legalization of Medical Marijuana and the Doctrine of Utilitarianism Introduction Utilitarianism is one of the moral theories that is best known and influential. According to this theory, the moral worth of an action is mainly determined its contribution towards utility that enhances happiness and pleasure. It is mainly concerned with the pleasure that people get through the moral actions taken. The focus is on the greatest number of people. In the pursuit of this theory, then legalization of…

In ‘Personal Identity’, Derek Parfit presented the idea that being destroyed and replicated is just as good as ordinary survival. This essay will focus on Parfit’s argument of the Branch Line Case and will examine why personal identity matters, a critical perspective and will discuss an objection and respond to the empty question. Parfit argued that being replicated then destroyed resulted in the same outcome as ordinary survival. From the analogy of the Branch Line case, a human body was…

“The creed which accepts as the foundations of morals, Utility, or the Greatest-Happiness Principle, holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. By happiness is intended pleasure, and the absence of pain; by unhappiness, pain, and the privation of pleasure.” This quote, by John Stuart Mill, about Utilitarianism embodies my ethical decision making process in a way that Relativism, Deontology or any other…

The Flaws of Utilitarianism Utilitarianism can be traced back to late 18th century to the 19th century (utilitarianism). Hedonist philosopher Jeremy Bentham introduced the principle of utility or also called the principle of pleasure. The principle of pleasure acts a method to promote the greatest happiness for the greatest amount of people (Soccio 350). This passage states that an individual ought to decide the most favorable pleasure for the majority of people. As utilitarian philosopher…

Utilitarianism is a theory produced by English philosopher Jeremy Bentham. “Utilitarianism affirms the principle that the right action is the one that directly produces the best balance of happiness over unhappiness for all concerned” (Beginning Ethics). Bentham defined happiness is to be anything that causes pleasure and unhappiness is to be anything that causes pain. Bentham’s theory on utilitarianism is highly influential; John Stuart Mill, an English philosopher and economist, later…