“The end may justify the means as long as there is something that justifies the end.” - Leon Trotsky. This quote closely relates to a philosophy that became popular in Russia in the 1860’s- utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is a philosophy defined as the idea of the moral worth of an action is determined only by the contribution to the overall utility‚ the contribution of happiness or pleasure among all people. Meaning‚ the moral worth of an action is solely determined by its outcome. Moral choices
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CLASSICISM Classicism surfaced in the late eighteenth century. This was basically in response to the capricious and brutal forms of punishment that ruled the pre-modern structure of crime control and justice. Social contract theories disputed the political influence declared by the nobility and projected that all humans were liberated to act in whatever way they choose. Human beings act as free agents to make contracts with other humans to fulfill their civic and social duties. The utilitarian approach
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On Ethics and Economics Amartya Sen Blackwell Publishers‚ 1987‚ pp. 148‚ Rs. 271 ‘On Ethics and Economics’ by Amartya Sen centres on a particular phenomenon that the author considers unfortunate to the discipline. In this book‚ Amartya Sen talks about the continued and ever increasing distancing of economics from ethics. This book has three chapters and under each chapter‚ there are sub topics. That makes the book more structured and easy to understand even for a person who is not so competent
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Examination of Mill and Dworkin Looking at the legal status of drugs‚ and one’s own liberty for that matter‚ I examined the works of Mills and Dworkin. There are many different views‚ and in the end‚ as in all philosophical issues‚ there is no one answer. It then boils down to which one‚ if either‚ of these two different points of view is correct. Each of the works is presented in the book Contemporary Moral Problems by James White. After careful examination of both views‚ I will discuss each and
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Who is Robyn Blumner? Perhaps she is simply your everyday editorialist for a daily newspaper. Or‚ as the former executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida (ACLU)‚ could she possibly have her own agenda? One of Blumner’s columns entitled "Let’s stand up for liberty" was published in a well known editorial writers magazine called "The Masthead". In summary‚ it focuses on freedom of speech‚ and how we tend to lose sight of it‚ or even have it taken from us during national hardships
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Utilitarianism In his book‚ J.S. Mill attempts to build on Jeremy Bentham’s original idea of Utilitarianism. His definition of the moral theory is one that is grounded in Bentham’s original work but also extends to include remarks to criticisms of Utilitarianism. Mill believes that‚ like Bentham‚ utility is what is valuable to society. Utility‚ according to Mill‚ is the promotion of pleasure or the absence of pain. He defines this as happiness‚ which is why he refers to utility as the Greatest
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The question of seeking ‘happiness’ is what every individual looks for in his or her life. This essay will weigh arguments whether the thesis for the identification of happiness is aligned with pleasure. I will be using Daniel Hybron and Wayne Davis’s ideas to support my arguments to answer the question presented. When trying to analyze and answer the question one must understand what the terms and definitions of pleasure and happiness really means. The first ideology to examine will be Wayne Davis’s
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Berlin describes the search for status as “being recognized as belonging to a particular group or class by other persons in my society‚” (9) which will also come with some conditions. Isaiah Berlin too states that our “material life [is what] depends upon interaction with other[s]‚” (9) not our emotional or mental lives. Status deals with the emotional state of a person. When thinking of status‚ one often assumes that a person would want to be recognized as an individual‚ but according to Berlin
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The ability to make a choice grants one with many options of future events depending on their notion of happiness. The meaning of Epicurus’ statement is that humanity’s decisions need to be inspired by the innate good of pleasure and should reflect a clear conscience. The first step is to comprehend the attractive pleasures that ease one’s soul and the negative indulgences one should avoid‚ which may diminish from it. When their foundation of what’s acceptable or not is formulated‚ one will make
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When answering a question such as this‚ one has to ask themselves their definition of a "free society." The most common response would probably fall along the lines of a society in which their citizens posses the inalienable right to excersize unlimited freedom whenever‚ however‚ and wherever they please. For instance the worldwide women’s marches that took place early this year was a positive display of dissent for Trumps presidency. The march brought not just women but men together while conveying
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