Preview

Case Study: Rule Utilitarianism or Act Utilitarianism?

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
512 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Case Study: Rule Utilitarianism or Act Utilitarianism?
This paper examines the procedure that were followed that it is a common sight to see on the street, children and sometimes old, physically handicapped, beggars and sickly people begging for food and some money. It critically examines these procedures in the moral dilemma with reference of applying the concepts: rule and act utilitarianism. Should we give these beggars money or not? In deciding whether we give or not, the answer for that is we should give. Why? Act utilitarianism basically states that an action is moral if it produces the greatest happiness for the most people. This reason alone the act of giving them would be a good idea, because it would benefit the most amount of people. At a first glance in the problem, by just wishing them to just go away, ignoring and disappear from our sight is directly immoral. You’re giving them pain despite the rule of greatest happiness and pleasure - utilitarianism. However in the contrary it is really right that by giving it encourages them to become lazy and to be dependent on us, but what we are looking here is our act how we respond to them. That is our focal point giving them or not giving them by the prospect of utilitarianism in which we should act in such way that our actions produce the greatest happiness or pleasure. Whatever will be the consequences on how they used the money were out of that. If we reflect off of the act utilitarianism it is all about happiness the pleasure that is produced by the action. If we don’t give them even the smallest amount of money, we feel guilty and there is no pleasure. Here is that we will be viewed and judged as being moral through our actions. With this case, it was stated that is it not true that these people need the money more than we do, right here and right now? The truth is it is really true that they need the money more than we do because why would they be asking money if they didn’t need it? And see? The effect of giving them is pleasure. In terms of my own

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    The essential part of utilitarianism, whether it is Act or Rule, is to promote the greatest overall utility for the given situation. If we look in terms of Utilitarianism, one would be in favor of killing Tom to save the other four children. Even though, Tom would be killed, he would promote overall utility by saving four people through his one body. This reminds me a lot of the Trolley problem we studied in Unit five. They killed one man to save multiple. This may be considered immoral in a way, but according to Act Utilitarianism, the correct choice and the one that promotes overall utility would be to kill Tom and use his body to save the four siblings. In an Act Utilitarian’s mind, they would first think “In what way could I promote the greatest utility for every single person in the situation?” They must then think about the situation. The mother and father could either lose Tom, or they could lose their other four children. The Doctor could either kill Tom and save the four children or let Tom live and watch the others die…

    • 462 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In his article “Famine, Affluence, and Morality,” Peter Singer outlines his argument for helping those in need in the global community. His main argument is that humans can stop suffering based on our moral decisions.1 Singer calls for the definition of ‘charity’ in our society to have moral implications. People should give governmental and privately. all need to give to charity and all at the same time.…

    • 662 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Ethics has been used as a basis of human morals from Greek times to today’s hectic and fast paced society culture; it is based on a number of factors both of a personal and cultural aspect focusing on a people’s conception of right and wrong. Either way philosophers use logic, critical thinking, and reason to find the answers to a wide variety of non-empirical human questions to what is morally right and wrong. Below I have provided information on three ethical concepts of utilitarianism ethics, virtue ethics and deontological ethics.…

    • 724 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Pleasures and pain contribute in determining the classification of one’s actions. In Mill’s Utilitarianism, he examines what determines an action to be considered right or wrong, his own version of the hedonistic utilitarianism argument. He claims that these qualities, including the quantity, are an important factor in determining, when included in the consequences, the criteria of an action. The consequences are significant in determining the results of one’s actions.…

    • 932 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This essay aims to argue the views of two different theorist, Jeremy Bentham and Immanuel Kant, with regards to their views on moral worth of an action. The idea of good and bad creates heated debates among many, but this essay will successfully unravel the layers of Bentham’s theory of Utilitarianism and his belief that all our motives are driven by pleasure and pain. While arguing Kant’s opposing argument that moral worth of an act revolves around democratic attitudes, and that moral truths are founded on reasons that is logical to all people. When one breaks down both theories, it occurs that Kant’s theory comes out to be the more sensible one in numerous aspects.…

    • 281 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The ethical teachings and values of utilitarianism and Christian ethics are similar in some aspects, yet however are diverse in others. Utilitarianism is a generally teleological ethical system, where the outcome is said to justify the act. The act is considered ‘good’ if it brings about the greatest good for the greatest number. Christian Ethics, however, can be quite different. Many aspects of its ethics are deontological, for example, the Decalogue and Natural Law. There are other differences and indeed some similarities which will be considered throughout this essay.…

    • 824 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Act and Utilitarianism

    • 677 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Assess the view that a religious concept of love is the most difficult to put into practice. (20 Marks)…

    • 677 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    act and rule

    • 777 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Throughout this essay I will be comparing the Act and Rule variations of Utilitarianism to uncover the difference between the two. Utilitarianism is teleological or consequentialist approach to ethics, which argues that something is good or bad according to its benefit for the majority of the people. Jeremy Bentham formalized this theory through his principle of Utility, “the greatest good for the greatest number”. Act Utilitarianism is often linked to Jeremy Bentham’s principle of Utility as it follows the one rule – “the greatest good for the greatest number”. So an individual action is only right if it promotes happiness. Rule utilitarianism argues that moral rules, also based on the principle of Utility, should be kept by everyone in similar circumstances.…

    • 777 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Peter Singer Famine

    • 1945 Words
    • 8 Pages

    In “Famine, Affluence, and Morality” Peter Singer argues the importance of giving to those in need, especially as those of us in affluent nations have an overabundance of resources. In this paper, I will exposit Singer’s argument and explain the methods and points that he makes. Specially, I will show that through his assumptions and implications, as well as how he refutes counter arguments…

    • 1945 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The writings of John Stuart Mill, the father of modern liberalism, promotes ideas of democracy, saying that the interests of the majority is important. One of these ideas is Utilitarianism, which suggests that the correct moral choice is the one that maximizes utility. One example of this being that the death of one person to save multiple lives instead of letting many people die is the best choice in most cases, since it benefits the most people. Peter Singer goes even further and suggests that people are morally obligated to help and give to others above all else until doing so would harm yourself. I will be examining these two beliefs in this essay and ultimately deciding if maximizing utility is always the correct moral action.…

    • 837 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Shaw and Barry

    • 932 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Two different forms of utilitarianism are described in our text. The first is called act utilitarianism. According to Shaw and Barry, act utilitarianism states that we must ask ourselves what the consequences of a particular act in a particular situation will be for all those affected (p.60).…

    • 932 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    For example, according to James Rachels, “A faithful adherence to the utilitarian standard would require one to give away his or her wealth until they’ve made themselves as poor as the people they’ve been helping” (116). According to utilitarianism, individual happiness and wealth is outweighed by the happiness and wealth, or lack there of, of every citizen in the world. Mr. Rachels continues to say, “The problem is not merely that utilitarianism would require us to give away most of our things. It would also prevent us from carrying on our lives” (117). We all have goals and projects that make our lives meaningful, but an ethic that requires us to promote the general welfare of everyone on Earth would force us to abandon those endeavors. Additionally, Mr. Rachels states, “Utilitarianism disrupts our personal relationships. In practice, none of us are willing to treat everyone truly equally, because that would require giving up our special ties to friends and family” (117). We think of our friends and family as special— not just members of humanity. All of this is inconsistent with impartiality. When one is impartial, he or she misses out on intimacy, love and friendship. Given the problems that utilitarianism faces, it is not a shrewd ethical theory. Now that we have examined deontology’s antithesis, utilitarianism, and have shown it to be a faulty and contradicting ethical theory, we will examine deontology’s doctrine, starting with a few common…

    • 1714 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Examples Of Utilitarianism

    • 1246 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In this paper, I will argue for the truth of utilitarianism. In my opinion, the most interesting version of utilitarianism is hedonistic utilitarianism. It is the most interesting because it defies logic and rationale in favor of impulsion decision making. Hedonistic utilitarianism is the most interesting version because it is tied more intrinsically into the wellbeing of an organism, specifically humans, than any other alternatives of utilitarianism. Other forms of utilitarianism are wide-ranging and in my opinion not applicable to everyday decision making processes for one’s actions, whereas embracing a hedonistic decision making process is simple by conforming to ones desires based on impulse and therefore more applicable to everyday scenarios…

    • 1246 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Utilitarianism is a theory of justice whose highest principle is to maximize happiness and utility: “The basic idea of utilitarianism is simple: the right thing to do is what produces the most good” (Mill, 15). The “most good” can be understood in terms of happiness, or the greater amount of pleasure than of pain. Therefore, utilitarians measure the consequences of actions by how much the results bring happiness to the greatest amount of people. The best alternative to any situation is the one that produces the greatest net utility. According to John Stuart Mill, “”Utility” or 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” (16). Therefore, whatever produces the most good is considered to be just.…

    • 583 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Virtue Ethics

    • 503 Words
    • 3 Pages

    If a person is in need it might be obvious that they should be helped. In this situation a utilitarian will point out to the fact that the consequences of doing so will maximize well-being, a deontologist to the fact that, in doing so the agent will be acting in accordance with a moral rule as “do unto others as you would be done by” and a virtue to the fact that helping the person would be charitable or compassionate (Hursthouse).…

    • 503 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays