The Pros And Cons Of Utilitarianism

806 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Deontology vs utilitarianism pdf

Through the molding of the idealistic philosophical nature that coincides with the enlightenment era, the two most influential moral teachings of the time are deontology and utilitarianism. One plays a leading role in the ethics behind socialism and communism, and that would-be utilitarianism and the other seems to correlate well with an anarchic type of system relying on the morality of one’s own subjective believes. In a way precursor to the new ideological political believes of the 19th century, therefore being dominate ethic resolutions for a growing world. By following either set of believes there is only one possible outcome if each was following by the majority, a utopian utilitarian or a utopian deontological one. However, the sense …show more content…

They differ in the sense that act utilitarianism is applying the principle of utility directly to every act, then the right action to take would be the one that helps the greatest number of people. So, in the hypothetical utopian world of only utilitarian’s every decision is made by only seeing what is the best outcome (or least bad). The only downside would be the fruitlessness of a moral code because every action could be relative so nothing is considered bad if there was a possibility of it being the best possible outcome. For example, if someone were to be a murderer but also a world renown scientist that is the next influential genius then this world would be completely okay with actions because his murder is less bad than not letting him help the world through his inventions. Further, it is also too hard to predict the best possible outcome because there could also be some unforeseeable outcome not …show more content…

In the hypothetical scenario, this would be the most likely outcome of how utilitarianism can be developed into a state ethics system, being able to develop laws that help regulate the type of actions that would be deemed unworthy of being for the best of utility, such as lying, this is also a negative as well as a positive. With these types of laws, it would be likely that there would be virility no crime, while also being very strict in terms of pubic freedom, it would not exist, because by letting the state have the power of choosing the best possible outcome for the greatest number of people it would then be able to make excuses for atrocities. Also, if thinking about rule utilitarianism without the scenario of a state but just as a singular person then by adding too many rules for the utility it would digress back into what act utilitarianism is in the first

Show More
Related

  • Ethics of Suicide: A Comparative Analysis

    901 Words  | 2 Pages

    One constant between all cultures is the understanding that all lives will come to an end. Throughout one’s lifetime, virtue, character, and morality are sought, through different ideals and methods, with the overall endgame being the most ethical and desirable outcome possible. There are times, however, when an individual may feel like there is no hope of reaching a successful existence; therefore the act of suicide becomes a viable option. The decision to voluntarily take one’s life has always been a topic of discussion on ethical grounds. Whether or not the decision to die is an ethical one can be argued depending on from which ethical theory the act is being evaluated.

    Read More

  • Virtue, Utilitarianism And Deontology Research

    561 Words  | 2 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • Kant's Haystack: Pros And Cons Of Utilitarianism

    915 Words  | 2 Pages

    When applying utilitarianism, one must choose the action that produces the most amount of good to society, which in this case, Mill would not be in favor of the app Haystack. By discontinuing this app, the urban community as a whole would benefit since there are inequalities among the socioeconomic status’ of the people living in the densely populated cities. While some drivers are willing to pay for a spot each day, such as the upper or upper-middle class, others such as the lower or lower-middle classes might not be able to. Utilitarianism is concerned about the happiness of everyone. In regards to the concept of paying for parking spots, the poor and even the lower-middle will not be happy spending money each day for something that is traditionally

    Read More

  • Ethical Issues Of Utilitarianism

    327 Words  | 1 Pages

    Utilitarianism is an ethical study often associated with “politics of interest” because the ideas of utilitarianism are set on maximizing utility and efficiency. This idea focuses on individualism and aggregating what is best for society as a whole, specifically the economic aspect of society. Deontology is an ethical study that is almost the complete opposite of utilitarian beliefs. Deontology is an ethical study often associated with “politics of conscious” because it approaches issues with the idea of right vs. wrong on mind. This ethical viewpoint is rooted in fulfilling God’s laws and focuses on equal rights. An ethical dilemma case that revolves around the utilitarianism view is The Yellowstone National Park case. The controversy in

    Read More

  • On Utilitarianism

    1122 Words  | 3 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Ethical Egoism And Utilitarianism

    1135 Words  | 3 Pages

    Philosophy has been a field of study for centuries. Some philosophers have developed ways to determine what is ethical and what is not. This has led to several normative ethical theories describing how people are ought to live a moral life. Some of the most prominent of these theories have set the criteria for morality in very unique and peculiar ways. Two of which are the ethical egoistic theory and the utilitarian theory, each seeing morality in its own distinctive way. By comparing and contrasting the view these theories pose on morality and by analyze how each stands in some of the world’s most modern day issues, one can understand why utilitarianism is a

    Read More

  • Utilitarianism

    2011 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Ethical Arguments Against Utilitarianism

    1143 Words  | 3 Pages

    Owing to its simplicity and flexibility; corruption, cruel regimes, racism, and other forms of societal deviances would be uprooted if the principle is applied efficiently. Utilitarianism’s key goal would be to ensure societal happiness at all cost, even by wiping out corrupt rulers and tyrants. The flexibility of the utilitarianism concept makes it easy to apply in any situation. Despite its highly documented strengths, utilitarianism also presents some weaknesses.

    Read More

  • Utilitarianism

    1254 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Is rule-utilitarianism preferable to act-utilitarianism

    1769 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...ough its own capacity as a theory of both decision making and moral judgement, and by default- as act-utilitarianism has been proved too demanding and often immoral by our common sense intuition- I conclude that rule-utilitarianism is indeed preferable to act-utilitarianism.

    Read More

  • Utilitarianism in Government

    1664 Words  | 4 Pages

    In its political philosophy utilitarianism provides an alternative to theories of natural law and the social contract by basing the authority of government and the sanctity of individual rights upon their utility, or measure of happiness gained. As an egalitarian doctrine, where everyone’s happiness counts equally, the rational, relatively straightforward nature of utilitarianism offers an attractive model for democratic government. It offers practical methods for deciding the morally right course of action - “...an action is right as it tends to promote happiness, wrong as it tends to diminish it, for the party whose interests are in question” (Bentham, 1780). To discover what we should do in a given situation, we identify the various courses of action that we could take, then determine any foreseeable benefits and harms to all affected by the ramifications of our decision. In fact, some of the early pioneers of utilitarianism, such as Bentham and Mill, campaigned for equality in terms of women's suffrage, decriminalization of homosexuality, and abolition of slavery (Boralevi, 1984). Utilitarianism seems to support democracy as one could interpret governments working to promote the public interest and welfare of citizens as striving for liberty for the greatest amount of people. While utilitarianism at its heart is a theory that calls for progressive social change through peaceful political processes, there are some difficulties in relying on it as the sole method for moral decision-making. In this essay I will assess the effectiveness of utilitarianism as a philosophy of government by examining the arguments against it.

    Read More

  • Advantages And Disadvantages Of Act Utilitarianism

    896 Words  | 2 Pages

    Utilitarianism is defined as a theory asserting that the morally right action is the one that produces the most favorable balance of good over evil. There are two major types of utilitarianism: act-utilitarianism and rule-utilitarianism. Act-utilitarianism asserts that the morally right action is the one that directly produces the most favorable balance of good or evil. A rule-utilitarianism asserts that the morally right action is the one covered by a rule that if generally followed would produce the most favorable balance of good over evil. The difference between act-utilitarianism and rule-utilitarianism is that act-utilitarianism is the belief that it is fine to break a rule as long as it brings a greater good, while rule-utilitarianism

    Read More

  • Arguments Against Utilitarianism

    1464 Words  | 3 Pages

    As a philosophical approach, utilitarianism generally focuses on the principle of “greatest happiness”. According to the greatest happiness principle, actions that promote overall happiness and pleasure are considered as right practices. Moreover, to Mill, actions which enhance happiness are morally right, on the other hand, actions that produce undesirable and unhappy outcomes are considered as morally wrong. From this point of view we can deduct that utilitarianism assign us moral duties and variety of ways for maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain to ensure “greatest happiness principle”. Despite all of moral duties and obligations, utilitarian perspective have many specific challenges that pose several serious threats which constitute variety of arguments in this essay to utilitarianism and specifically Mill answers these challenges in his work. These arguments can be determinated and analyzed as three crucial points that seriously challenges utilitarianism. The first issue can be entitled like that utilitarian idea sets too demanding conditions as to act by motive which always serves maximizing overall happiness. It creates single criterion about “being motived to maximize overall happiness” but moral rightness which are unattainable to pursue in case of the maximizing benefit principle challenges utilitarianism. Secondly, the idea which may related with the first argument but differs from the first idea about single criterion issue, utilitarianism demands people to consider and measuring everything which taking place around before people practice their actions. It leads criticism to utilitarianism since the approach sees human-beings as calculators to attain greatest happiness principle without considering cultural differ...

    Read More

  • Jeremy Bentham's Utilitarianism

    1702 Words  | 4 Pages

    Utilitarianism is a movement in ethics which began in the late eighteenth centaury and is primarily associated with the English philosopher Jeremy Bentham and was later adapted and fully developed by John Stuart Mill in the ninetieth century. . The theory states that we should try to achieve ‘the greatest good for the greatest number’. Utilitarianism is a teleological theory of ethics. Teleological theories of ethics look at the consequences to decide whether an action is right or wrong. Utilitarianism is defined as a doctrine that the useful is the good and that the determining consideration of right conduct should be the usefulness of it consequences: specifically: a theory that the aim of action should be the largest possible

    Read More

  • Utilitarianism vs Deontology

    674 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...on the other hand, seeks to promote happiness as an end in itself. Reasonable and moderate versions of both theories really warrant the same action in most cases; for example, giving to charity and avoiding unfairly produced goods. The differences in suggested action only emerge in a few unique situations; the real distinction is in the underlying beliefs supporting the two theories. Deontology promotes a fair opportunity at happiness and self-advocacy, whereas Utilitarianism’s objective is the promotion of happiness. While happiness is indeed a great thing, I worry that by only looking at the result of an action Utilitarian actions could far too easily infringe upon one’s right to self-determination. I prefer Deontology for this reason and for its objective of respecting human autonomy and mandate to treat humanity always as an end and not as a simple means.

    Read More

More about The Pros And Cons Of Utilitarianism

Open Document