Utilitarianism, originally introduced by Jeremy Bentham and extended by John Stuart
Mill, (Mark Timmons, 2006) is an ethical theory which states that to be good is to deliver the
greatest amount of happiness to most of the people based on the consequences of the action.
Utilitarianism considers the good for the majority is the final solution rather than everyone
severing only their own interests. Utilitarianism mainly focuses on the possible consequences of
a decision. When facing more than one option, utilitarianism allows you to judge what is right
and wrong by weighing the outcomes of the actions according to the “Greatest Happiness
Principle” (John Stuart Mill, 1861) that is to achieve the greatest amount of happiness for most
people. (Michael Vlach, 2012) In utilitarianism, there is only one right solution. A utilitarian
would consider only the action which generates the most possible net happiness to be right and
the others to be wrong even there is more than one way of benefitting the majority. (Stephen O
Sullivan and Philip A. Pecorino, 2002)
Utilitarianism is based upon the mechanism of consequentialism. It is one of the subfield
of consequentialism and it coexists with perfectionism. Under utilitarianism, there are two
branches, which are act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism. (Mark Timmons, 2006) Each of
them has a different guideline to follow. Act utilitarianism pays more attention to the
consequences of a single action. Nevertheless, rule utilitarianism looks in the long-term
aftermath from the result of following a rule of conduct under certain circumstances whenever it
happens. (Sulliva...
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...eristics of people and the relationship
between them into account. People have emotions, and this factor affects our moral decision and
consequences of the actions significantly. Their emotions are influenced in many ways, and their
characteristics and relation with the other people involves in the dilemma could greatly affect
their emotions. Moreover, happiness is one kind of the emotional feelings. Therefore, it is vital to
consider the characteristics of people and the relationship between them when judging how much
amount of happiness would produce from each outcome.
Conclusively, when facing a dilemma in real life, it is much more complex than the
theoretical case. Thus, we need to make wise decisions by applying our knowledge and
following the moral guidelines; and at last, be reasonable and rational.
Utilitarianism is a moral theory that seeks to define right and wrong actions based solely on the consequences they produce. By utilitarian standards, an act is determined to be right if and only if it produces the greatest total amount of happiness for everyone. Happiness (or utility) is defined as the amount of pleasure less the amount of pain (Mill, 172). In order to act in accordance with utilitarianism, the agent must not only impartially attend to the pleasure of everyone, but they must also do so universally, meaning that everyone in the world is factored into the morality of the action.
...f it is unrecognizable to the eye. The standard that he is referring to is the principle of utility, which is also referred to as the “greatest happiness principle.” Mill makes it clear that utilitarianism has had great impact in shaping a moral basis of principles.
First, Mill establishes the foundation of his theory by addressing how we should seek happiness in our lives. He says, “The happiness which forms the utilitarian standard of what is right in conduct is not the agent’s
One way is that your actions should benefit most amount of people, in another words is that the balance of happiness must be more then the unhappiness. For example, there are two group of people, the first group, there are two people who are happy and zero people who is unhappy, second group has fifty people who are happy and forty-nine people who are unhappy. Then the first group wins because in total, the first group has two people who are happy, but the second group only has one person who is happy. And another way is that we must always choose the action that will bring about the most amount of happiness. [3]
Happiness has always been a desirable goal throughout our lives, but each actions we take might just affect the happiness of others. When humans seek happiness, we always seek for things that make us feel alive, or things that brings us the greatest comfort. Our contentment comes with the act of selfishness since we choose to prioritize our happiness above all other. We willingly classify happiness in two different types of meaning, both physical and mental happiness. People ought not be in title to happiness because it is classified in general as a physical desire by many people. Contentment is always known to be a physical satisfaction in life instead of a self-inducing satisfaction for life.
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).
John Stuart Mill (1808-73) believed in an ethical theory known as utilitarianism. There are many formulation of this theory. One such is, "Everyone should act in such a way to bring the largest possibly balance of good over evil for everyone involved." However, good is a relative term. What is good? Utilitarians disagreed on this subject.
Examining the case with the Utilitarian mindset, we consider the overall positivity of the action vs the positivity of the alternative. In this case, what is the measure
According to (Moore & Parker, 2009, p. 441) Utilitarianism is the view that says “if an act will produce more happiness than will alternatives, it is the right thing to do, and if it will produce less happiness, it would be wrong to do it in place of an alternative that would produce more happiness”.
John Stuart Mill claims that people often misinterpret utility as the test for right and wrong. This definition of utility restricts the term and denounces its meaning to being opposed to pleasure. Mill defines utility as units of happiness caused by an action without the unhappiness caused by an action. He calls this the Greatest Happiness Principle or the Principle of Utility. Mill’s principle states that actions are right when they tend to promote happiness and are wrong when they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. Happiness is defined as intended pleasure and the absence of pain while unhappiness is defined as pain and the lack of pleasure. Therefore, Mill claims, pleasure and happiness are the only things desirable and good. Mill’s definition of utilitarianism claims that act...
Utilitarianism can be defined as: the right action is the one that produces the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people. Utilitarians seem to believe that humans only have two desires, or motivations: happiness and pain. They want as much happiness as possible and the least amount of pain as any other action. Utilitarianism is a consequentialist theory, meaning that whether it is right, depends solely on its consequences.
It seems that the greatest-happiness principle does not only represent men’s nature in the best way10 but also serves as the best alternative to other moral guides.
In “Utilitarianism”, Mill argues how the pursuit of happiness can actually benefit greater society. He argues that pursuing
One of the major players in ethical theories has long been the concept of utilitarianism. Utilitarianism states that in general the ethical rightness or wrongness of an action is directly related to the utility of that action. Utility is more specifically defined as a measure of the goodness or badness of the consequences of an action (see quote by Mill above). For the purposes of this paper, Utility will be considered to be the tendency to produce happiness. There are two types of Utilitarianism; these are “act” and “rule”. An act utilitarian uses thought processes associated with utilitarianism (i.e. the principle of utility) to make all decisions, this requires a lot of thought and careful calculation. For example, an act utilitarian deciding from a list of possible day trips would sit down and calculate out the utility of each possible decision before coming to a conclusion as to which one was preferable. Contrary to an act utilitarian, a rule utilitarian uses the principles of utility to create a set of rules by which they live. Rule utilitarians are not incapable of calculating a decision; they just do not see a need to do it all the time. For example, a rule utilitarian might have some rules like this: in general do not kill, in general do not steal, in general do not lie; but if they found a situation that might except the rule they would do the cal...
This principle promotes a life of more pleasure than pain by choosing actions that produce more happiness. These are conscious actions made that follow a life of utility and act in accordance with the “Greatest Happiness Principle.” Though Mill’s critics would argue that Utilitarianism is not a reasonable foundation for morality by not fulfilling a life of happiness, creating selfish or expedient people, and reducing human experience to animals, I would have to disagree. This principle promotes happiness and pleasure for all, along with aiding individuals to be less selfish, and an even slate for people of all characters. I find the “Greatest Happiness Principle” to be a relevant and altruistic foundation of morality. There is an emphasis on lives containing more pleasure than pain under the rule that one person cannot put their own happiness above others. I think a type of morality such as this would be more successful than other forms of morality because it wants every human life to be a life filled with more pleasure than pain. I see this as an appropriate foundation because it promotes good over bad, which is ultimately the function of morality as a whole. As written by Raymond Plant, “Since the principle of the individual is to try to satisfy his desires…the principle of society should be to try to advance the satisfactions of those who belong to the society…”