Ethics and Morality Essay

     Lying is something that comes naturally to some people at different degrees over time. Mrs. Freeman had lied about her interest in Mrs. Hopewell's business so that Hulga could have time away from her mother. Hulga had lied about her age just so she could have sex. Manley Pointer lied about his career and his personal life

Mill states that the “utility or the greatest happiness principle holds that actions are right in portion as they tend to promote happiness…by happiness is intended pleasure” for “pleasure and freedom are desirable ends” (Mill, 7) He talks more about the utilitarian perspective, that is, we increase the levels of happiness for others. Following this logical equation, when pleasure is achieved it increases the intensity of happiness that was intended for others which constructs man’s dignity as a caring human being. Additionally, we attain the internal pleasure that renders power.

Through utilitarianism, John Stuart Mill explained that the most moral action is the one that provides the greatest happiness for the greatest number. Some say this encouraged selfishness and he invited

David Edmondson of Yahoo and Scott Thompson of RadioShack were just two names in the long and confounding list of prominent people who had embroidered or falsified their résumés and were felled for doing so. This list includes a former Notre Dame Football coach, chief executive of Bausch & Lomb, a director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and an MIT admissions director.

Explain in your own words the logic of Mill’s argument, and critically discuss whether happiness should be the criterion of morality.

In regards to morality, Mill anchors its definition on the premises of the greatest happiness principle stated above. Unlike Aristotle who puts emphasis on the agent (the person themselves) in regards to acting morally, Mill is very indifferent and states that the character of the person and their motives do not matter only the consequence of those actions matter. For Mill, the morality of the action only depends on whether that action will produce pleasure for greatest number of people. As state before, he explains that pleasure leads to happiness, and happiness is the ultimate goal of each individual. However, morality is “the rules and precepts for human conduct,” and not simply the causes of human behavior. Desire may drive human actions, but that doesn’t mean that desire should propel human actions. Morality is the ideal, not the reality.

Before Mill could analyse the concepts of Utilitarianism his first action was to break down any barriers that caused people to turn away from its insights. All actions exist as a means to promote a particular end; thus an action may only be deemed right or wrong based on the desired outcome of said action. If the sought out ends cause suffering towards others, the actions will be considered to have been bad; just the same as if an end causes happiness, the actions that caused this result will be deemed as good. Therefore, having a standard as to how humans can be judged between good and bad is necessary. Mill argues that “particular truth precedes general theory” (p. 2), unlike the rules of applicable sciences we know of, ethics demands ‘general laws’ in order for

According to Mill, good actions lead to pleasure and define good character. Mill can be characterized as an act utilitarian in regard to the theory of objective rightness, but as a rule utilitarian in regard to the theory of moral obligation. He defines morality as a system of rules that is

Mill claims that morals find their root in Utility, otherwise called the Greatest Happiness Principle.(513) The essence of this is that actions are right in proportion to how much happiness results from them and wrong in proportion to how much they cause the reverse of it.(513) In defending this, he claims that

Philospher Mill, believes that the moral law or golden rule is utilitarianism. He uses the greatest happiness principle, and states that everyone wants to and ought to be happy. So, what is each person’s pleasure? If one has things that bring them pleasure, then there must be things that also bring them pain. Both elements must be considered when making a decision, otherwise those involved will not be able to achieve the greatest happiness. Furthermore, there will be consequences of these pleasures and pains. The consequences will affect more than just me or them, they will affect all interests surrounding the situation. But, who are the interests and should they all be weighed upon the same? Do interests, have interests apart from my own? According to Mill, all interests must be treated the same and in order to do so we have to look at situations from an outside perspective. In doing this, it allows for us to provide the greatest good for the greatest number of people, again satisfying the greatest happiness principle. For example, let us use the train tracks. On one side, there are 20 random individuals whom you have never met. On the other side,

He says that for one to act virtuously they must be moral and to achieve complete happiness they must be a “good” person and have a balanced life. Therefore, for one to achieve happiness they must act a certain way and be the “right” kind of person. A utilitarian, such as Mill, views happiness very differently. For Mill, in Utilitarianism, he defines happiness as the presence of pleasure with the absence of pain. He recognizes happiness to be an emotion that comes from preforming any kind of actions that make a person happy whether these actions are virtuous or not. Mill believes that you don’t have to be a certain way or live a certain way to achieve happiness. Mills concept of happiness is for the betterment of mankind instead of just a few select people in society as an Aristotelian would

Utilitarians believe that an action that makes more people happy than it makes sad is good, this is not a true belief because this has consequences that Christians don't agree on. The conscience is disregarded when making an decision that will affect the happiness and pain of many people. The circumstances surrounding an action must be taken into consideration according to the Catholic Church but not according to Mill. He believes that all decisions that are good for many are truly moral when the action being taken can be immoral but it is justified by the end result, which is happiness, the end goal of all Utilitarians.

Immanuel Kant has a different point of view.He believes lying is not Ok.He believes there are consequences for lying and remove any effort to distinguish among lies.Also he thinks lying will hurt mankind individually.He also believes when you lie the lie harms the liar himself or herself.

John Stuart Mill, in his Utilitarianism, turns morality into a practical problem. His moral theory is designed to help one evaluate his moral principles and senisibilites and be able to ajudicate conflictions in moral conflicts. Mill postulates that actions are right so far as they tend to promote happiness and minimize pain. This theory manifests itself as an impartial promotion of happiness. Morally "right" actions are ones which promote the greatest happiness for the greatest number number of people and reduce pain. Utilitarian moral theories need to be coupled with theories of well-being, so that we can point to what is being maximized through the moral theory's operation. Mill's moral theory is

What is utilitarianism according to Mill? “In any moral theory that claims that actions are good only insofar as they increase the amount of happiness in the world.” (Solomon, Martin and Vaught). This is based on principle of utility, which is do the action which provides the greatest happiness for the greatest number” (Solomon, Martin and Vaught). Mill 's principle of utility has two sanctions to be known, external and internal. “External being the law, social, disapproval, and punishment. Internal being one’s conscious.” (Solomon, Martin and Vaught). These sanctions have positive and negative feels to them. Being social and doing good is the positive side, while doing the bad included the