Bernard Williams Utilitarianism Essay

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In Utilitarianism For and Against by Bernard Williams, Williams has an argument that is based on the value of integrity. Integrity is defined as the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles or moral uprightness. In Williams argument he believes in certain circumstances utilitarianism requires agents to abandon their personal projects and commitments. This lead Williams to claim that utilitarianism is an attack on an agent’s integrity. In my essay I will explain Williams’s argument on utilitarianism and how he is lead to believe it is an attack on an agent’s integrity. I will also explain why he thinks it can force us to abandon our personal projects. Within my essay I will also explain the theory of right conduct explained by Timmons in the book Moral Theory. I will also explain the notions of personal responsibility explained by Williams, as well as the notion of personal projects and commitments and the notion of integrity.
Theory of right conduct for utilitarianism defined by Mark Timmons in the book Moral Theory is that, an action A is obligatory if and only if A has a higher utility than any other alternative action that the agent could perform instead. An action A is wrong if and only if A has less utility than some other alternative action that the agent could perform instead. An action A is optional if and only if (i) A has as high a utility as any other alternative action that the agent could perform instead, but (ii) there is at least one other alternative action that has as high utility as A. (in other words, an action is optional if and only if in terms of utility production it is tied for first place with at least one other action). According to Timmons, an actions rightness or wrongness depend...

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...ed over or ignored. Williams disagrees with this, it simply says what does it mean to be an individual? For Williams, an essential part of what it truly means to be an individual is to have the moral feelings a human being should have. To separate a person from his own moral code or feelings is to claim that agents are irrelevant, or contradict what is essential to being a person.
In conclusion Williams’s argument about Utilitarianism can be looked at in many different angles. Williams believes utilitarianism obstructs humans from the basic human moral of integrity. The word integrity means that you are living your life in way that you act in accordance with your commitments and moral code. If a system like utilitarianism tells you that integrity is not important and denies what is important to an individual has a serious problem in the eyes of Bernard Williams.

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