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.
Utilitarianism is an ethical view that favors actions producing the “greatest good.” The use of utilitarian action is displayed in the case of Joe the janitor, when the doctor faces the problem of saving one hundred lives at the price of one. By killing a single janitor, the doctor would save a large number of people..
Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that insist that the best action is one that generates the most happiness/good. There are two subcategories of utilitarianism, which are act-utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism. Both subcategories of unitarianism theory has led to many debates over its effectiveness in our modern society due to many believing it has too many flaws. Supporters of both utilitarianism views believes that it gives a clear and easy to understand guideline and helps with making tough decisions. Though utilitarianism does give some helpful guidelines with life it still has many flaws that causes it to lose its effectiveness.
a) How do the three theories (Virtue, Deontological, and Utilitarian) differ? First of all it should be mentioned, that Virtue, Deontological, and Utilitarian theories are the tools to justify people, groups or institutions’ behavior. What is wrong and what is right is identified regarding the personal point of view. Due to that, the same situation, action or result can be assessed, particularly based on the moral and ethical background.
Utilitarianism holds a view on the subject of morality of self-interest with the intentions of always doing well for all around. It would have to be a universally accepted action where it would do no harm to all involved. This theory holds a different view on happiness and where everyone’s happiness is equal to one another, there is no hierarchy of happiness among us all. The thought of utilitarianism is a great one, though in a sense that if it was possible we would all hold a similar level of happiness and when deciding on our actions we would consider the happiness of other as much as we held our own happiness. Although with this idea of utilitarianism we come to the problem of most humans being inconsiderate of others and how their intentions would have an effect on others lives.
Ethical theories are philosophical concepts put in place to help justify and evaluate the morality of human actions. These ethics are seen as fundamental principles for decent human conduct when deciding what is right and wrong. Two of the most well known ethical theories are Kantian Ethics and Utilitarianism. Kantian ethics defines morality based on an individual’s rationality and self-control (Warburton pg: 38). Where as Utilitarianism defines morality based upon the ability to express pleasure and avoid pain (Warburton pg:47) Kantian ethics is categorized as a duty-based theory (Warburton pg: 39).
The divine command theory, utilitarianism, Kant’s duty defined morality, natural law theory, and Aristotle’s virtue ethics are the five types of ethical theories. The divine command theory states that what is morally right and wrong will be decided by God. Utilitarianism states that “Action “A” is morally right if and only if it produces the greatest amount of overall happiness. Kant’s duty defined morality states that what is important is acting for the sake of producing good consequences, no matter what the act is. Natural law theory states that people should focus on the good and avoid any evil.
Throughout history many great philosophers have attempted to unravel the origins of virtues by developing moral theories of their own. This document is designed to provide the reader with an overview of some of the more popular theories concerning morals. Three of the most popular moral theories are… Utilitarianism, Kantianism, and Aristotelianism. Though Utilitarianism, Kantianism, and Aristotelianism differ in many ways, they also share similar fundamentals. Utilitarianism is a highly acclaimed theory that is morally based on consequentialism.
However, I strongly believe that if every person works on self-betterment and acquiring good traits, relationships between people will flourish. Furthermore, when compared to Utilitarianism, Virtue Ethics is more flexible. The theory allows people to act based on their own morals instead of forcing them to act based on consequences which are difficult to predict. Aristotle’s ethical theory says that ultimate good is happiness over a complete life. The joy we feel when doing something we like is based only on pleasure, not
Analysis of virtue ethics reveals three types of virtue, intellectual, moral, and theological. He also believes that God confused virtue and Scone modernized virtue ethics and wanted an ethical system based on people. Desiring an ethical system, she that took into account community flourishing; right and wrong are subjective ethics. In Kantian and utilitarianism philosophies have lost sight of morality, and people’s feelings on actions based on a motive. York
Introduction Morality is a guide or a system that distinguishes between right and wrong conduct. Moral theory is a structured set of statements that explain why certain actions are wrong and why people need to act in certain ways (Hampshire, 1977). In this paper am going to examine how various theories view morality and how they are aligned to our cultural identity. 1) Virtue ethics This theory was championed by Aristotle who argued that right or wrong was determined in accordance with traditional virtues, that is making good person.
A moral decision can be defied as a choice made on a person’s ethics, manners, character, and what they believe is proper behavior. Moral decisions made by people are based upon values instilled in them as a child. These values can come from family, peers, culture, and society. The moral decisions that stem from ethics can come from two different theories: ethical egoism and utilitarianism. Having an utilitarianism view on moral decisions is the most ethical way when dealing with moral decisions with strangers.
Essentially, it may be identified as placing emphasis on the virtues and moral character as opposed to deontology which places emphasis on rules and duties, or consequentialism whereby emphasis is placed on consequences as a result of certain actions. However, this is not to say that each of the above approaches cannot all make room for virtues, consequences, and/or rules and duties. In fact, any plausible normative ethics approach will have something to say about all three. Essentially, virtue ethics can be distinguished from consequentialism and deontology as the importance of virtue within the theory itself. Unlike the alternative ethical theories mentioned above, virtue ethics is not associated with a moral imperative.
In summary, these ethical theories are more specified concretely as: consequentialism as ultimately desiring maximization of happiness; deontological ethics as requiring rationality as part of the moral principles and; virtue ethics as an exercising of one’s virtues, a character trait that one needs to flourish and live well with. The difference between these three approaches in morality is based more on the way moral dilemmas are approached and attended to, instead of how moral conclusions are
Utilitarianism is the theory that "The act we should choose is that which produces the best results for the greatest number affected by That choice" (Mosser, 2013). The utilitarian theory is not consistent, but rather it is viewed as "right" since it creates the best used for the quantity of individuals will's identity influenced by the activity or decision. The utilitarian standard was a much-needed refresher in Victorian England l, where many people were looking for a nonreligious, clear, free way to deal with moral quality. It was left to succeed hundreds of years to react fundamentally to utilitarianism. One is the issues with utilitarianism is that it is not conceivable or simple to anticipate the outcomes of your activities.
