Living forever is something only thought of in fairy tales, but it is becoming a reality. People are living longer and longer with each generation. My great grandmother did not die till she was one hundred and one years old where her mom died at the age of sixty eight. The moral theories I think work the best to explain why life extension is permissible is Utilitarianism and Virtue theory. Utilitarianism states that the right action is one that permits pleasure in the absence of pain. Virtue theory’s right action is what a virtuous person would do in the same circumstances. A virtuous person is someone who has traits society values like honor, honesty, dependability, and bravery. With these theories in mind life extension is morally permissible …show more content…
No one knows how technology is going to advance in the next thousand years, but we do know that with in the past hundred years we have invented some amazing things such as television and computers. A Utilitarian would agree with life extension because it allows a person to do pleasurable things longer thus increasing over all happiness, and with a technological increase it will allow the discovery of new pleasures. Virtue theory would have a different approach when it comes to extending one’s life and the new technologies it brings, and that is it would make available more chances for virtuous acts. At the moment there are hundreds upon thousands of projects underway for advancements in technology and in our current life time there is a chance we will not even see half of them. With life extension we would all have a chance to live long enough to enjoy all the new …show more content…
The “Necessary Boredom Theory” states that at some point in an extended life you will become bored with what you are doing and your interest will die off. However Tallis, Raymond wrote in his paper “On Not Choosing the Alternative” “one does not need to hold the same interest forever, they can allow their previous self to die off and give way to a new version of yourself.”(Tallis) Along with developing new likes and dislikes new technology and intellectual opportunities will arise as they always have in the past. Anything you can do now travel, learn, meet new people, or play and enjoy new technology. With the ability to live forever you can travel far away in to space and not worry about time because that cannot kill you. On the same type of note learning the biology of different thing of those planets will take time and as far as scientist can tell the universe is never ending thus endless possibilities. With the unlimited space the universe brings about having children won’t stop because everyone loves babies, and this will also lead to different civilizations which will no doubt have some amazing cultures to
Utilitarianism says that the right action is the one that brings about the most overall happiness. No other moral rule has universal validity. According to Rachels, Utilitarianism is known as “we should always do whatever will produce the greatest possible balance of happiness over unhappiness for everyone who will be affected by our action” (Rachels). Utilitarianism has three main principles. Consequentialism says that the actions are to be judged right or wrong solely by virtue of their consequences. Hedonism states that in assessing consequences, the only thing that matters are the amount of happiness/unhappiness that is caused. The Equality Principle states that each person’s happiness counts the same. The two most important objections to utilitarianism are Consequentialism and the Equality Principle. The replies to Consequentialism and the Equality Principle, shows that Utilitarianism is not a plausible moral theory, therefore, Utilitarianism should be rejected.
In this scenario, Jim’s morally thinking does follow the act utilitarianism theory. Jim weighs his options, of whom he should consider for the job. Jim is using the consequentialism formula to try and figure out what will be the best solution that he can live with morally. But does Jim practice all of the theories that go along with act utilitarianism? Just like in the case Jim believes that he should be acting impartially. Therefore, he is dismissing one of the most important part of the act utilitarian theory. Let’s first examine the formula for consequentialism and see if Jim has followed all of the steps.
The Virtue, Utilitarianism, and Deontological concepts all have something in a common. Each one of these three concepts concentrates on an individual’s actions leading to various options, in addition to how the options affected others. The variations within each of these concepts are who engaged and was impacted by those options. The Virtue concept concentrates on an individual's character. One could stay in their lifestyle by seeking quality in everything they and others do (Boylan, 2009). The Utilitarianism concept considers that an activity, which is created to the advantage of a team, is fairly appropriate, if it delivers the biggest advantage to that team (Boylan, 2009). Utilitarianism is frequently known through the motto, “The biggest excellent for the biggest variety (Boylan, 2009).” between the three theories, Deontology is the most different. This concept moves around ones choice to control. Deontologists create options depending on understanding that something is right without concern to the higher excellent of others (Boylan, 2009).
Wonder Woman just wake up this morning , and learn from the news that a boat is sinking in the Odra. and 30 people are in life threatening. She is almost outside of the window ready to go to save some lives when she realizes that in the park next to her home some friends are doing a barbecue. As she really would like to go the barbecue she starts to have an internal struggle. What ought Wonder Woman do? Spend an hard day leading to the shore people and saving lives or enjoying the amazing sunny day while doing a barbecue in the park? Utilitarian ethic and philosophy can answer to Wonder Woman's struggle. But first let's see what Utilitarianism is.
Utilitarianism concerns itself with promoting the best outcomes for the greatest numbers in order to be ethically acceptable, utilitarianism is a consequentialist approach which aims at results of actions regardless of how they are carried out. Utilitarian monsters, a term coined by R. Nozick, are those who “get enormously greater gains in utility from any sacrifice of others than these others lose. For, unacceptably, the theory seems to require that we all be sacrificed in the monster’s maw, in order to increase total utility”.(The Utility Monster, 2011)
The Theory of Utility teaches that we make our decisions in life based on the basic principle of maximizing happiness – which can be measured in pleasure and pain. Morality can also be defined as that which brings about the largest amount of happiness, and the least pain. Unlike other theories, however, Utility states the happiness of all is to be considered over the happiness of one. When faced with a choice, one must choose the option that will cause the greatest pleasure and the least pain. Applying this part of the Utilitarian argument to the supplied scenario, it would seem that Utility would say stealing the ice cream and breaking the law are the morally right course of action. However, Utility continues on in its teaching stating that
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 is that which yields the greatest net utility, or "the total amount of pleasure minus the total amount of pain", for all individuals affected by said act (Joyce, lecture notes from 03/30).
In the Essay, “ A Reunion with Boredom” Charles Simic argues that our unhealthy dependence on technology has disconnected us from the healthy benefits of being bored. This realization comes to him amid a few day power blackout as an after effect of Hurricane Irene, when Simic was left without access to any mechanical gadgets. What strikes Simic most is the way that society looks for always to be possessed and subsequently have put some distance between the individual reflection that originates from encountering quieter moments. However, I believe that that the earlier times did have its own distractions such as how technology was slowly progressing which made people more entertained and led to them not being bored. In addition, today’s distractions
Utilitarianism is zdefined, as the right way to act is one that maximizes your happiness, (pleasure and happiness is the absence of pain) while the wrong way is one that produces the opposite i.e. pain. Unhappiness here is defined as pain or the opposite of happiness. This is the basis of utilitarianism or what Mill calls the “greatest happiness principle” and it is the best ethical theory by which humans should follow. The argument for the above is as follows
The most important question of all is what should one do since the ultimate purpose of answering questions is either to satisfy curiosity or to decide which action to take. Complicated analysis is often required to answer that question. Beyond ordinary analysis, one must also have a system of values, and the correct system of values is utilitarianism.
One of greatest moral issues facing society today is that of freedom. Freedom is a principle that this country was founded on at the start of its inception. Freedom is still a cause that requires our attention. The great debate on simple liberties such as the right to decide what happens to one’s body is still an issue that society has failed to resolve. It is a moral quandary that will continue to be discussed and a deliberated on as long as humankind are free moral agents with personal moral preferences. The question is do we allow our personal preferences to impede the decisions of other individuals? If we have the right to have our set of moral preferences do, other individuals deserve that same entitlement?
There are many essays, papers and books written on the concept of right and wrong. Philosophers have theorized about moral actions for eons, one such philosopher is John Stuart Mill. In his book Utilitarianism he tries to improve on the theories of utilitarianism from previous philosophers, as he is a strong believer himself in the theory. In Mill's book he presents the ideology that there is another branch on the utilitarian tree. This branch being called rule-utilitarianism. Mill makes a distinction between two different types of utilitarianism; act-utilitarianism and rule-utilitarianism. Rule-utilitarianism seems like a major advance over the simple theory of act-utilitarianism. But for all its added complexity, it may not actually be a significant improvement. This is proven when looking at the flaws in act-utilitarianism and relating them to the ways in which rule-utilitarianism tries to overcome them. As well one must look at the obstacles that rule-utilitarianism has on it's own as a theory. The problems of both act and rule utilitarianism consist of being too permissive and being able to justify any crime, not being able to predict the outcomes of one's actions, non-universality and the lose of freewill.
1. Utilitarianism was described by J. Bentham as the greatest happiness of the greatest number. Utilitarianism is a holding that the proper course of action is the one that maximizes the amount of happiness. It is therefore a form of consequentialism, which means that the moral value of an action is determined only by its outcome, so one can only weigh the morality of an action after thinking about all its potential consequences. Utilitarianism focuses more on the happiness of the greatest number whereas Aristotle focuses more on the happiness of the individual person Virtue ethics developed by Aristotle which is a moral theory that focuses on the development of virtuous character. In virtue ethics, character is the key to the moral life, for it is from a virtuous character that moral conduct and values naturally arise. Aristotle believes that the highest goal of humanity is the good life or Eudaimonia which means happiness and human flourishing. Developing virtues is the way to achieve a rich and satisfying life. According to him, virtues make
Utilitarianism is an ethical theory proposed by Jeremy Bentham and defended by James Mill. The theory says, that all the activities should be directed towards the accomplishment of the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. Utilitarianism is impractical and very unrealistic because, it refuses to focus on the individuals values, morals, and happiness. Utilitarianism endorse risking ones life for the sake of other is not and in fact it rewards such behavior. Utilitarianism mentions that if the outcome of the one persons death saves many lives then therefore it is obligated to do so.
Would you want to live forever ? My position on this topic is equal upon