Essay on Utilitarianism

Utilitarianism

3. Therefore, we should not eat factory-farmed products. Utilitarianism is an ethical theory with the rule, “act in such a way as to maximize the expected satisfaction of interests in the world, equally considered.” We try to act in such a way that considers everyone’s pains and pleasures. With this in mind, we have to discover what truly makes others happy. We should not ignore those that are affected by our behavior.

Utilitarianism can be generally defined as a way of thinking where one chooses an action based on the amount of happiness that it would produce. In the book Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues, by Barbara MacKinnon and Andrew Fiala, the authors state “Utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism,” and that “John Stuart Mill explained it as ‘actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.’” (MacKinnon 95). This means that utilitarianism focuses on result of an action based on happiness and that decisions can be taken made by looking at possible outcomes of that decision. What Mill stated would be defined as “ the principle of utility or the greatest happiness principle.”( MacKinnon, 95). This principle is one in which could be

Utilitarianism is a practical doctrine that is widely accepted in modern society’s economics, politic, and ethics. Utilitarian is driven by the pursuit of happiness. For a utilitarian, everything that will be helpful in the pursuit is considered good. In utilitarianism, an action is good or evil based on its consequences on the happiness of an individual and the happiness of the community. Similar to other doctrine, utilitarianism is not without a flaw. Bernard Williams, in his paper Utilitarianism and Integrity, voices his primary concern in regard to utilitarianism by providing two concrete examples to demonstrate how utilitarianism is only concerned about the consequences of the action and not about the means used to get there. Williams argues that utilitarianism fails to acknowledge the integrity of a person because the ultimate goal of utilitarianism is to produce the greatest happiness overall.

In Utilitarianism, J.S. Mill gives an account for the reasons one must abide by the principles of Utilitarianism. Also referred to as the Greatest-happiness Principle, this doctrine promotes the greatest happiness for the greatest amount of people. More specifically, Utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism, holding that the right act

Utilitarianism is the system of values stating that maximizing the total happiness of all people is good. Happiness of people should be sacrificed only to bring greater happiness to other people. Psychologically, immediate happiness corresponds to what you want. Pain, including psychological distress, is the opposite of happiness. Actual happiness is not the same as

After reading chapter 7, I wasn't sure if utilitarianism is all that convincing. From the first example from the reading, where the dying millionaire wants to donate his money to the Yankees, but then there is a charity to help people that are starving. To me I am on the fence for which way it should go. First of all, I feel as the person should carry out the man's dying wish and give it to the Yankees, in which he wanted his money to be given to. But, then that charity that could help 100,000 starving people changes things. Utilitarianism from what I understand is the doing of something that causes the greatest amount of people happiness. After re-reading some of chapter 7 and really understanding what utilitarianism means, I finally found

The theory of Act Utilitarianism is a part of consequentialism where presence is more evident of pleasure, and no pain because due to the most amount of utility, or happiness, for the greater amount of people. The actions are compared to how much utility they provide for the greater good. Act Utilitarianism would morally require me to save the five kindergarteners having a tea party on the train tracks because by saving the five children over the two rail workers, you are letting more people live and more families would be impacted by flipping the switch to Branch B. The utility produced by saving the five children would impact them, their friends, and their immediate, as well as distant family, which leads to giving more utility to the greater good of the people involved. The happiness produced by saving the two rail workers would not be numerically similar to if I were to save the five kindergarteners. The utility produced from saving the five kindergarteners would completely outweigh the amount of utility

We are happiness seeking beings. Therefore, everyone’s happiness is just as important as another person’s. Utilitarianism is not choosing what feels good physically, being selfish, or only caring about the majority. Many people often think of utilitarianism as crudely majoritarian. This, however, is not the case. The world we live in is unfortunately selfish. In order to be a utilitarian, you must be willing to self-sacrifice. It isn’t only about what you want. Your decisions affect other people as well. This concept is what some people struggle to realize. Moreover, utilitarianism is pretty straightforward, however it can still be misinterpreted and misapplied in a lot of ways.

Under Utilitarianism, abortion is accepted when it is for the good of the people involved. There are too many circumstances that change with each woman that there cannot be a straight forward yes or no. I agree with this view. Women should have a choice based on their personal life. I don’t believe in a law making that decision for women. Rape is a major factor that plays into abortion. How could the government state that a woman that is raped is not allowed to have an abortion? That is absolutely absurd. Another part to abortion is when a woman is not ready to be a mother. Abortion shouldn’t be a way out, but if a woman is truly not ready to be a mother and not ready to give a child the best life they could give, they should have that choice. A child deserves to be brought up in a way that can be

The United States flag stands to the world as a signal of freedom and most importantly choice. The constitution gives our citizens that right to choose how to live life, how to use our liberty, and how to pursue our own happiness. But what happens when a citizen decides to opt for no life? Is that not a choice? This is the argument for one of the most controversial questions of the past decade, should assisted suicide be deemed legal in the United States? The root of the controversy is the involvement of medical community in such a choice. I will look to find a not an answer but guidance to determine if assisted suicide is an ethical choice. While the issue has no answer that would make both sides of the issue content, Utillitarism and

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.

THEORY--      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.

This theory advocates that the actions worth is determined by maximizing utility (pleasure or happiness).it looks at the consequence of an action as to whether the outcome is good to the majority of people affected by it. According to Bentham, utilitarianism is the greatest happiness or greatest felicity principle. There

Assess the merits of Utilitarianism (24 Marks) Utilitarianism is a theory aimed at defining one simple basis that can be applied when making any ethical decision. It is based on a human’s natural instinct to seek pleasure and avoid pain. Jeremy Bentham is widely regarded as the father of utilitarianism. He