THE DIVINE COMMAND THEORY Introduction Divine Command Theory is an ethical theory which claims that God’s will is the foundation of ethics. Based on Divine Command Theory‚ things are morally right or wrong‚ compulsory‚ allowed or disallowed if God or deities commands it. In Divine Command Theory‚ what makes an act moral or immoral is that God commands or prohibited it. Apart from being commanded by God to do certain thing‚ some other aspect of Divine Command Theory‚ also hold that an action is moral
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Outline the theory of Utilitarianism Utilitarianism is the theory that an action is better if it produces the greatest good for the greatest number. The 18th and 19th century saw rise to the theory of Utilitarianism which can be traced back to Jeremy Bentham. Francis Hutcheson put forward the initial principle of Utilitarianism ’The greatest happiness of the greatest number’. Utilitarianism is a teleological theory where depending on the consequences of the action‚ that action will either be good
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human life? Is doing so ever morally legitimate? What would an utilitarian say about placing a monetary value on human life? (View the Sandel-video very‚ very carefully‚ generate your own notes on Jeremy Bentham’s and John Stuart Mill’s utilitarian theory and only then answer the question.) (2) The maxim of Ford’s action might be stated thus: “When it would cost more to make a safety improvement than not‚ it’s all right not to make it.” Can this maxim be universalized? Does it treat humans as
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The theories of Utilitarianism and Ethical egoism differ in many ways‚ however‚ they are both similar in the aspect of making choices and having the best outcome for those choices. Ethical egoism claims that an action must be morally right and completely maximize ones own self-interest or interests. The “opposing theory” Utilitarianism‚ states that an action must be one that produces the most good overall or to all those affected. Utilitarianism and Ethical egoism are forms of consequentialism in
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Ethical Egoism and Utilitarianism are considered consequentialism theories because they both focus on the outcome of conduct as the primary motivation of that action and whether or not that conduct is ethical. Consequentialism is a moral theory that states that the consequences of one’s actions are the basis of any morality or judgement toward that action. The major difference between the two theories is where those acts are directed. Utilitarianism focuses on the idea of the greater good or to
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torture someone. Utilitarianism is the ethical theory that the action you choose to perform should result in “the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people” (MacKinnon and Fiala). It is a form of consequentialism that focuses on the consequences of actions that affect everyone rather
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Utilitarianism versus Egoism Taken from the ideals of normative ethics‚ traditions stemming from the late 18th and 19th centuries‚ John Stewart Mill and Jeremey Bentham conclude that an action is right if it in turn promotes happiness and an action is bad or wrong if it produces the opposite effect of happiness. They both conclude that the actions of these individuals will affect not just the individual themselves but it will affect that of everyone involved by the decision made. Utilitarianism
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Paper #1 In A Critique of Utilitarianism‚ Bernard Williams argues that when following a Utilitarian approach for moral dilemmas‚ Utilitarianism might have us sacrifice or modify our moral integrity. Williams explains this argument with a hypothetical execution situation with protagonist Jim. Jim‚ who is a botanical expeditionary‚ accidentally wanders in the central square of a small South American town. There‚ he finds twenty Indians tied up in a row‚ with several armed soldiers standing in front
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the surplus over pain and everything we do is motivated by a desire to maximise pleasure and minimise pain. Preference utilitarianism‚ on the other hand‚ is the view that what is good for a person and what is good overall is determined entirely by people’s preferences. In what follows‚ I will argue that Preference utilitarianism is not more plausible than Hedonistic utilitarianism. Hare‚ a preference utilitarian‚ view is that human logic applies to moral assertions and that moral judgements can be
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The moral theory of divine command theory is when a person morals depends upon God’s command. If God believes that something is right then a person would also believe it is right‚ if God believes that something is wrong then a person would also believe it is wrong. Whatever God says is valuable to that individual. An objection to this theory would be the argument of different religious views. If an individual was Muslim and another was Christian‚ the Muslim would argue that the command of God isn’t
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