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Theories Of Utilitarianism

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1.Utilitarianism decides what is morally right and wrong based off the amount happiness a decision creates compared to the unhappiness is caused by the decision. So if a majority of people would benefit and a minority would not then the decision is still morally right. Utilitarianism is also based more in facts then divine or religious codes. This does mean that what is and is not morally right can change as more facts are known.
2. The basic theory of utilitarianism is easy to understand. Basically the morally right decision is the one that has the biggest benefit. This simplicity is a pro for this theory making it quick to understand compared to some other theories. While this theory prioritizes happiness it also uses all of the facts available …show more content…

I think all the arguments made against this theory do convince me that utilitarianism is a flawed theory. The backward-looking reasons argument says that even though we should think of the consequences of a decision sometimes a past event like a promise is more important than the happiness gained from breaking said promise. This kind of obvious because if you break a promise then people will stop trusting you. The second argument in the book that utilitarianism is too demanding also makes sense to me. We can’t expect people to give away all their money and possessions to charity. If this was true then people would not be able to enjoy life in the way that they enjoy. They would have to give away most of their money and only keep enough to sustain themselves and their jobs. The final argument that it disrupts personal relationships is also a good one. While most people agree that everyone should be treated equal very few people treat strangers the same as loved ones. This is because that honor is usually saved for people we know personally and have experiences with. If we treated everyone the same as a loved one then that would ruin any personal relationship because you would be treating any person you meet like family.
4. If society was based more on utilitarianism our beliefs and practices would be factual based. Instead of religion influencing our beliefs and practices people would instead use both the pros and cons of a decision to decide what is right. But I do think this wouldn’t be a completely good thing. Utilitarianism says decisions should benefit the majority over the minority. This could lead to an oppressive majority that would only make decisions that benefit them without caring at all about the effects on the

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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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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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A number of problems surround the second question; the most obvious of which are limited time, the limited capacity of human foresight to calculate the maximum number of happiness, and the inability of the theory to advise on the time frame utilitarianism is to be applied to; how do you know the maximum number of happiness for the next 10 years doesn’t mean greater overall unhappiness in the next 50 years, so what time period should one keep in mind when considering an issue from a utilitarian stand point, 1 year, 5 years, 10, 20? This lack of clarity further adds to the impractical nature of the ideology. There are a myriad number of situations which seem very difficult to resolve without employing utilitarian principles and a very good example is the widespread use of utilitarian principles in bioethics. The best example here would obviously be the famous case of the conjoined twins Mary and Jodie. The facts in front of the court indicated that Mary was the parasitic twin who shared a heart with Jodie.

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The movie mostly showcases the latter form. Utilitarianism comes from the word ‘utility’ or usefulness. The idea is that as long as something done is useful to society at large, it is a moral act no matter what had to be done to achieve it. It is the view of the best consequences for the most amount of people. Utilitarianism can be seen in how the Pre-Cogs are sacrificed to attain the best consequences for the most number of people.

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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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When discussing both act and rule utilitarianism, it is important to understand that both of them agree in terms of the overall consequence of an action, because they emphasize on creating the most beneficial pleasure and happiness in the outcome of an act. Despite this fact, they both have different principles and rules that make them different from each other. Act utilitarianism concentrates on the acts of individuals. Meaning that if a person commits an action, he/she must at least have a positive utility. The founders of utilitarianism define positive utility as happiness and pleasure and consider it to be a driving force of all positive and morally right acts.

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Utilitarian suggest that we make our moral decisions from the position of a benevolent, disinterested spectator. Rather than thinking about

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Utilitarianism would endorse this action as morally justifiable because the majority had survived because of this. Another example that is more relevant in today’s society is the requirement to vaccinate children against diseases even if it is considered against their individual religions. Some argue that this is a violation of an individual’s rights but utilitarianism would see this as a morally justifiable action because even though it is restricting an individual’s right to religion, it serves to help prevent diseases that could potentially be dangerous or fatal to many individuals thus providing the most benefit to the greatest number of people. Utilitarianism has been applied to global problems like poverty as well.

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The utilitarianism is common approach to make ethical decisions. The main point of this approach is that you have to make that decision which comes with the most utility. The utility in this approach can be described as „The good”, and the opposite of this is „the bad”. This means that in Computer Science you have to produce a computer programme or a hardware, which produces the largest amount of good , and during the producing phase, it makes the least amount of bad, for all who are affected: customers, employees, and even the enviroment. With the utilitarian viewpoint people can make right, and ethical decisions, for instance if you produce a programme which can make life easier for millions of people, you should not sell it for extremly

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Utilitarianism is a very controversial theory. Many people disagree with this idea because it disrupts our personal relationships, it is too demanding, it promotes that the consequences are the only thing that matters, and shows that pleasures are the only things that are important. Classical Utilitarianism is based on three points; that morality of actions are only bases on consequences, the consequences only matter if it creates more or less happiness, and everyone gets equal considerations when it comes to happiness. The classical Utilitarianism was made and defended by three philosophers from 19th century England; John Mill, Jeremy Bentham, and Henry Sidgwick. These people help this theory to be highly influential in the modern era.

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