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Act Utilitarianism

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. Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism is an ethical framework that leads us to act taking in consideration what is useful, beneficial and make the majority of people happy. It takes in account the consequences of our behavior and not the act or the means by itself. There are two types of Utilitarianism: The Rule-utilitarians and the Act-utilitarian. The Rule-utilitarians stablish that every person should follow rules that have been implemented for the good and happiness of the society. The Act-utilitarians do not focus on implementing rules but rather on the single actions and their consequences.
Utilitarianism is useful for developing ethical arguments that justify the suffering of some for the happiness of the majority. For example public policy …show more content…

(Johnson p. 42) that is the intention of the actions. It does not consider the consequences of an act, and it does not matter if the consequences benefits one person or many. Kant’s categorical imperative- “Treat people as an end, never merely as a means to an end.”( Johnson p. 44)-emphasizes the responsibility of treating people as a “moral” and “rational” ( Johnson p.44) beings that should not be used to our own benefit but as a people that have their own desires.
Deontology is useful for developing ethical arguments that exalt individuals as an intelligent, and capable of taking correct moral decisions (Johnson p.43)
c. Rawls ' Social Justice
Rawls ' Social Justice is an ethical theory that define justice as “what people would choose when they are rational, self-interested and behind the veil of ignorance” (Johnson p. 48). Rawls’ theory of justice has two main ideas: first, everybody has the “equal right” to liberty, and second, “social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are both (a) reasonably expected to be to everyone 's advantage, and (b) attached to positions and offices open to all”( p. 48). The main purpose of this rules is to give “liberty and opportunity” (p. 48) to everybody in our society.
Rawls ' Social Justice pretend to build a society where every individual deserve to have liberty and opportunities to advance to a better socioeconomic

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Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that determines right from wrong when looking at the outcomes. It believes that the most ethical choice is the one that will produce the greatest good for the greatest number. Consequentialism is found in utilitarianism; consequentialism is largely thought about during war. When you fight for your life in war, you end up taking another person's life. While this may be good for your country, it is hurting a different country.

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As we know consequentialism is the focus of an action that does more intrinsically good than bad, one kind of consequentialist theory is utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is an action that produces consequences that are more good over bad for everyone involved. In order to produce an action that is the best one a utilitarianist would consider both long and short term effects. Two sub categories of utilitarianism include act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism. act utilitarianism bases an action on the overall well being produced by an individual.

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nature are hedonistic, this means that people given the opportunity would avoid painful situations at all costs, while vigorously reaching out for pleasurable moments. An example of reasoning in act Utilitarianism can be found in the biomedical ethics book (Mapes&Gaize pg. 10). A severely ill infant who has zero chances of survival has contracted a deadly virus, the physician and parents now must make the decision to treat the virus with antibiotics or allow the infant to simply die. In this case it is clear that those involved would be best served by allowing the child to simply die, since the infant has nothing to gain and everything to lose from a painful prolonged life. The anguish and distress of the parents cannot be eliminated regardless

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A main objection to act utilitarianism is that it can be impossible to determine the scope, intensity, and/or the duration of the action. People cannot possibly predict every single outcome that will come from an action and the affect it will have for sure. Another objection to act utilitarianism is that it makes people rely to heavily on morals when making their decision. This turns even the simplest decision into some complicated process that is not needed. For example, people do not need to look at the intensity when they are deciding what chips to buy at the grocery store, they can simply just choose the one they like best.

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Bernard Williams’ essay, A Critique of Utilitarianism, launches a rather scathing criticism of J. J. C. Smart’s, An Outline of a System of Utilitarian ethics. Even though Williams claims his essay is not a direct response to Smart’s paper, the manner in which he constantly refers to Smart’s work indicates that Smart’s version of Utilitarianism, referred to as act-Utilitarianism, is the main focus of Williams’ critique. Smart illustrates the distinction between act-Utilitarianism and rule-Utilitarianism early on in his work. He says that act-Utilitarianism is the idea that the rightness of an action depends on the total goodness of an action’s consequences.

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Utilitarianism is one of the best-known theory under the consequentialism, and its idea is the Greatest Happiness Principle(GHP). According to the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “Utilitarian believe that the purpose of morality is to

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9. How does utilitarianism determine right and wrong? Give a brief example of utilitarianism being used in public policy today. Utilitarianism determine right and wrong by the end result for the moral choice that produces the greatest good for the greater number of people or the course of action that produces the greatest number of consequences than harmful ones.

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The main principle of utilitarianism is happiness. People who follow this theory strive to fulfill the “ultimate good”. The “ultimate good” is defined as ultimate pleasure with out any pain. It is said that the pleasure can be of any quantity and any quality, but pleasures that are weighted more important are put at a higher level than others that are below it. This ethical theory also states that if society would fully embrace utilitarianism then people would naturally realize their moral standing in the

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It states that an action which is deemed right is one that has not merely some good consequences, but also the greatest amount of good consequences possible when the negative consequences are also given due considerations. According to the utilitarian principle, the righteousness of an action is solely judged on the basis of its consequences. Classical utilitarianism determines the balance of pleasure and pain for each individual affected by the action in question as well as the amount of utility for the whole

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The three different versions of Utilitarianism are, Act, Rule, and Preference Utilitarianism. Act Utilitarianism states that a person’s act is right if and only if it produces as many

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Utilitarianism is an ethical theory whose principal architects were Jeremy Bentham(1748-1832) and John Stuart Mill (1806-1873). It derives it 's name from utility, which means usefulness. The utilitarian says that an act is right (moral) if it is useful in “bringing about a desirable or good end. " It has been more characteristically stated, however, as "Everyone should perform that act or follow that moral rule that will bring about the greatest good (or happiness) for everyone concerned. (Thiroux & Krasemann, 2009)The reason for mentioning both acting and following rules is that utilitarianism generally is found in two main forms: Act Utilitarian and Rule utilitarian.

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Utilitarianism Justification of Exam Cheating Utilitarianism is one of the best ethical approaches that can be used to justifying a right action from a wrong action by focusing on the outcome of the path taken. The most important thing is that the action taken to achieve a certain outcome has to be of the greater benefit of the society at large. Whether the outcome is bad, it can be used to morally justify some deeds regardless of how inhumane they can be. On the other side, utilitarianism also does not justify everything because it is difficult at time to predict whether the actions taken will be good or bad at the end. Additionally, values cannot be accounted for.

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This is because the consequences of the utilitarian mentality can’t be applied in all situations due to the dangerous outcomes it can lead to. Kantian ethics is concerned about practical reason and motives rather than the consequences of the action. In most cases, the utilitarian will base their actions on what the best result is for the greatest number of people, while Kant argues that a goodwill “is good only through its willing” (Kant, 2008, p. 106). In fact, Kant argues that even “with the greatest effort it should yet achieve nothing, and only the good will should remain…yet would it, like a jewel, still shine by its own light as something which has its full value in itself. Its usefulness or fruitlessness can neither augment nor diminish this value” (Kant, 2008, p. 106).

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The morality of an action is determined by the outcome of that action. At an initial glance, Utilitarianism seems as if it would be a superior way to live a life full of good will, as it is focused on doing the most

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Utilitarianism is a teleological ethical theory based on the idea that an action is moral if it causes the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people. The theory is concerned with predicted consequences or outcomes of a situation rather than focusing on what is done to get to the outcome. There are many forms of utilitarianism, having been introduced by Jeremy Bentham (act utilitarianism), and later being updated by scholars such as J.S. Mill (rule utilitarianism) and Peter Singer (preference utilitarianism). When referring to issues of business ethics, utilitarianism can allow companies to decide what to do in a given situation based on a simple calculation. Many people would agree that this idea of promoting goodness

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