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We have Foucault, Guenther, and Camus and going to be talking in the perspective of Utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is defined as the morality of an act as judged by its utility, the greatest utility that it has for the most people. The greatest usefulness and act has for the most people. If I commit an act and it benefits a lot of people, if it has great utility for a lot of people, the most people, then it’s a good act. Utilitarianism has three parts one is only the consequences matter, two pleasure/happiness should be maximized, and three each person counts (impartiality). Utilitarianism is not ethical egoism because utilitarian seek the happiness of everyone, not just oneself.
Foucault as a utilitarian would say punishment could be justified.
As Stephen J. Freeman explains, consequentialism is the belief that "actions and/or rules are right as long as they produce the most favorable consequences for those affected by the actions or rules" (Freeman 63). Consequentialists view the morality of a consequence in two aspects. One aspect is what is called ethical egoism. Ethical egoism is "the idea that morality is defined as acting in one's own interest and in such a way as to maximize the consequences of good over bad" (Freeman 49). In contrast to ethical egoism is utilitarianism. Utilitarianists view morality as when an action promotes the greatest balance of good over bad for all people. "Utilitarianism is a teleological, goal-directed theory emphasizing happiness as the end result of human action" (Freeman 49).
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).
Great literature displays the world as it is and its possible futures. A type of literature that does this is the dystopian genre. Novels of the dystopian genre always show a future where humanity has gone down the wrong path. When depicting this future, authors of dystopian novels use specific characterization. Their use of characterization often shows the audience qualities that are apparent in every individual but are often not noticed by oneself. Authors of dystopian literature use their main characters to demonstrate the weakness of an individual when he goes against society.
In other words, ethical egoism states that there are objective moral facts and an action is morally good if and only if it promotes my personal happiness and it is morally wrong if and only if that action hinders my personal happiness. Apart from Ethical Egoism there is another topic to be known clearly, it is called Psychological Egoism. Psychological Egoism It is the claim that each person, in fact, pursues his/her own happiness.
The utilitarian faces many problems because he loses any ability to live a personal life. By this is meant that in making decisions the utilitarian must consider the steps which lead to the highest level of goodness in society. The utilitarian reaches for the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Two main aspects dominate the light of utilitarian beliefs. The consequentialist principle explains that in determining the rightness or wrongness of an act one must examine the results that will follow. The utility principle is that you can only deem something to be good if it in itself will bring upon a specific desired state, such as happiness or fulfillment. There are two types of utilitarians: Act utilitarians and Rule utilitarians. An act utilitarian believes that a person must think things through before making a decision. The only exception to this idea applies with rules of thumb; decisions that need to be made spontaneously. The right act is the one that results in the most utility. Rule utilitarians believe that an act is only deemed appropriate if it fits in line with the outline of valid rules within a system of rules that target the most favorable outcome.
Egoism is a theory that can be used to solve personal and interpersonal dilemmas using consequentialist criteria to assess the “moral rightness of an action” (Shaw et al., 2013, p.62). Roth (2005) explains that with egoism there is “no obligation to others and that altruistic behaviour is justified only as a means to self-interest”
• Once more, the ordinary science’ proves itself as the master of classification, inventing and defining the various categories of Egoism. Per example, psychological egoism, which defines doctrine that an individual is always motivated by self-interest, then rational egoism which unquestionably advocates acting in self-interest. Ethical egoism as diametrically opposite of ethical altruism which obliges a moral agent to assist the other first, even if sacrifices own interest. Also, ethical egoism differs from both rational and psychological egoism in ‘defending’ doctrine which considers all actions with contributive beneficial effects for an acting individual
“Utilitarianism is the creed which accepts as the foundations of morals utility of the greatest happiness principle holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.” (Mil, 90). Utilitarianism ethics is based on the greatest good for the greatest number meaning that the moral agent does what he/she thinks will be
In conclusion, it is apparent that universal ethical egoism has many arguments. Moreover, it is clear that this theory tends toward solipsism, a person's view that only he or she exists, and the omission of many of the deepest human values, such as love and deep friendship. In addition, it violates the principle of fairness and it prohibits altruistic behavior, which one would perceive as morally permissible.
Utilitarianism is the view of considering everyone’s benefit as equally important versus only considering my own. For any action, the morally correct thing to do is cause the greatest amount of happiness or pleasure or benefit for the greatest number possible; while at the same time causing the least amount of pain or unhappiness for the smallest number possible.
Ethical Egoism is an idea that we should only care about ourselves and not about anyone else. Many philosophers and ethicists disagree with this idea because it has many issues with it, especially morality. Even though many people disagree with this theory, there are people that think that it is true. The three statements that they say to agree with this theory is; that altruism is self-defeating, Ayn Rand’s argument, and that ethical egoism is involved and explains commonsense morality. However, many philosophers have counterarguments with all of these explanations and they have their own arguments that contradicts the idea of Ethical Egoism. The three arguments they have are; Ethical Egoism supports wickedness, Ethical Egoism is inconsistent,
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
As human beings, we often have desires that are not always consistent with yielding the greatest good for the greatest amount of people. Utilitarianism would argue that putting one’s own desires first and pursuing one’s own interests is wrong and immoral behavior. While some moral theories acknowledge that pursuing one’s own interests can be morally optional, in Utilitarianism, it is always forbidden (Moral Theory, p. 135). This makes the theory overly demanding because one is constantly forced to consider others. Utilitarians can respond to this objection by challenging the claim that pursuing one’s own desires cannot ever be consistent with the greatest good for the greatest amount of people. Certainly there can be times when pursuing one’s own desires is also consistent with producing the greatest good for the greatest amount of people. Utilitarians might also point out that moral theories are meant to be demanding because they are teaching individuals how to act morally and acting morally is not always the desirable course of
The answer to that question is that the man should act in a way that produces the best consequences possible. Under the utilitarianism discussion, an act is right if it promotes happiness and wrong if it produces the reverse of happiness – this not only includes the performer of the action, but also everyone that can be affected by it. The connection of utilitarianism between one another is the following of morals, whether they be right or wrong. A utilitarian will state that it is possible for the right thing to be done from a bad motive. This theory is the opposite of egoism which, like the name suggests, is supported by the view that the performer of an act should simply pursue his own interest, even at the expense of others (Encyclopædia Britannica,
Utilitarian faces the issue of deciding between objective or universal good. An objective good would be one that is not tied to a particular human interest. A universal good is for all people at any given moment. The theory of Utilitarianism continues with a division into two different parts the first is hedonistic utilitarianism, which is the focus on if something is universally pleasurable to determine if something is good. Then there is preference utilitarianism, which is to try and satisfy as many singular people as possible.