Arguments against Act Utilitarianism Essay

One of the most agonizing decisions a medical professional can make comes when viable internal organs become available for transplant, because the current system of transplant lists often necessitates a time-sensitive evaluation of several candidates to determine who should receive the desperately needed operation. The ethical dilemma presented by the activity You Decide, in which three individuals coming from vastly different circumstances are eligible to receive a heart transplant, represents an all too common situation within the medical profession, and despite the intense emotional stakes involved, the most effective and efficient decision making process is one based on careful consideration of the ethical ramifications involved. Due to the enormous pressure involved in the transplantation of vital organs, a process which must be undertaken with immediacy, medical professionals often rely on the predetermined structural boundaries of respected philosophical tenets. The utilitarian ethical philosophy advanced by the work of Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, each of whom argued that deciding the most morally acceptable course of action required the clinical application of logical reasoning, is epitomized by Bentham's famous axiom that "it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong" (1776). By applying the fundamental precepts of Bentham and Mill's concept of utilitarianism to this morally sensitive medical dilemma, it is

The USSR has been accidently bombed by the US and now the President of the USSR is deciding whether to bomb New York City in the United States and cause the same damage of 7 million plus deaths in the US or declare a full-scale nuclear war against the US, which would cause over 100 million deaths in the US and the USSR. I will argue that using extreme deontology mindset is the more plausible response than act utilitarianism for the given situation.

Does human life have intrinsic value? When considering the value of human life, I think it is very important to understand that the value of life is inherent and cannot be determined by how it is used. Due to this, we cannot use the value of life as a standard to judge upon because the value of human life is equally intrinsic. Therefore, the organ’s value must be highly considered as well as preserving the greatest amount of life. In this paper I will contend that the God Squad’s system is flawed because it fails to consider how the resource could be used most effectively through establishing instrumental value of human life. I will also argue that the essential value should be the prosperity of the organ and patient in order to ensure the organ is not wasted. Therefore, I propose that Rhonda Ryder should be put on the list.

Classical utilitarianism is a normative ethical theory which holds that an action can only be considered as morally right where its consequences bring about the greatest amount of good to the greatest number (where 'good' is equal to pleasure minus pain). Likewise, an action is morally wrong where it fails to maximise good. Since it was first articulated in the late 19th Century by the likes of Jeremy Bentham and later John Stewart Mill, the classical approach to utilitarianism has since become the basis for many other consequentialist theories such as rule-utilitarianism and act-utilitarianism upon which this essay will focus (Driver, 2009). Though birthed from the same

Utilitarianism is an ethical theory which acts as a guideline on how people should act in certain situations and was first introduced by a hedonist (pursuer of pleasure) named Jeremy Bentham who put forward the ‘Principle of Utility’ which said “The greatest happiness for the greatest number”. Utilitarianism is a theory which bases on the end purpose (teleological) of achieving pleasure, our decisions should be based on consequences in pursuit of the principle of utility (consequentialist) and is a theory which judges each situation independently (relativistic).

At this point, a better means to explain the transplant case is required, and for that, preferably we will only use the fundamental tenets associated to utilitarianism. One of the major solutions for this case will be simply ignoring the intuitive answers and to assert that an operation for transplant will indeed be a moral

I will discuss some reasons why act utilitarianism might be an appealing moral theory. I will then discuss the objections to act utilitarianism. I will close by considering how

In this essay, I will argue that classical act utilitarianism can meet the injustice objection, but ultimately is weakened by the same argument. Classical Act utilitarianism is a branch of consequentialism, a type of ethical theory which dictates that the rightness or wrongness of an action stems purely from the consequences of that action. In particular, classical act utilitarianism places ‘utility’, namely pleasure as the sole intrinsic good, and states that each action should be considered individually to decide which one results in the greatest aggregate utility. One of the main objections towards act utilitarianism is that of injustice. The basic argument is that since utilitarians focus on the net utility created by an action,

Going off of these videos, one can judge the actions of the characters through various philosophical lenses. These actions include when V kills a man, when V commits suicide, and then when the other members commit suicide.

Deborah's utilitarian arguments for deception are lying and withholding information about the defect of debugging in the software to the project provider for the better and further interest of the company. However, in terms of deception someone should not lie or withhold or hide any information of the project or work to the provider because it may cause an immense of problem to diagnosis the problem or the whole system might end up with remaining a defect in the system. In this Deborah’s situation, Wayne Davidson found some debug in the system. The problem wasn’t that crucial but need more time to fix it. When Wayne discussed about the issue with Deborah, she found that the time what Wayne wanting could way too exceed the submission date and which could cause a massive uncertainty of getting more projection from the provider ‘Federal Aviation Academy (FAA)’. The consequence of that issue might bring a huge disaster on the company. So, she was argued to hide the defect and insist to Wayne to submit the project with the debug. In terms of utilitarian argument Deborah’s perspective as would be a deceiver. Because she’s hiding the debug which the provider or contractor must need to be known. Hiding or withholding information and lying could lead to a massive defect on the project which also could arise a huge disruption or hazard when the software or technology would officially release.

Utilitarianism is a moral theory that has long been the subject of philosophical debate. This theory, when practiced, appears to set a very basic guideline to follow when one is faced with a moral dilemma. Fundamental Utilitarianism states that when a moral dilemma arises, one should take action that causes favorable results or reduces less favorable results. If these less favorable results, or pain, occur from this action, it can be justified if it is produced to prevent more pain or produce happiness. Stating the Utilitarian view can summarize these basic principles: "the greatest good for the greatest number". Utilitarians are to believe that if they follow this philosophy, that no matter what action they take, it

1. Utilitarians believe that “one should so act as to promote the greatest happiness (pleasure) of the greatest number of people” (Angeles 326). However, within the utilitarian community there are major splits in how we are to determine which action brings us the greatest amounts of pleasure. Today I will be focusing on two ways to determine which actions bring the greatest amount of pleasure to a situation: act and rule utilitarianism. I will define both act and rule utilitarianism, give a situation where both can be applied, and respond to an objection of utilitarianism. I will also be discussing why I believe act utilitarianism helps more people than rule utilitarianism, in turn, becoming ‘superior’ to rule utilitarianism.

The theory of Utilitarianism states that actions should be judged as right or wrong depending on whether they cause more happiness or unhappiness. It weighs the rightness and wrongness of an action based on consequences of that action.

The theory of Utilitarianism is based on the concept of utility, a theory of usefulness. Utilitarianism is a system of morality that generates us with what the most useful thing to do in different situations and outcomes. Different Utilitarian approaches to morality have emerged each with their own theory of good and community of concerning individuals. Featuring the main influential contributors to this theory are Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. There are two types of theories, teleological and deontological theories.

The importance of human life, is really relative to the person is evaluating it. It differs from person to person. To me, I value life dearly, because everything which has happened to me is pleasant so far. But to some other people, it may not have been such an enjoyable experience. And in some cases, people change their view of human life, as incidents happen which affects the way they evaluate the importance of their lives. Such as people who experienced near-death, or people who attained freedom after long periods of hardship and torture. These people would definitely view their lives, and those who went through the same experiences, in a different light.