Utilitarianism says that the moral and ethical thing to do is that which provides the most happiness or the least unhappiness to society. Sitting in class listening to the lecture on the moral theory of Utilitarianism it first sounded like the best moral theory ever. However as the classes continued and we learned more and more about this theory my opinion quickly changed. In this paper I will defend the idea that Utilitarianism is a failed moral theory. As stated in James Rachels‚ The Elements
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have some key concepts which point to what the good ultimately is: egoism‚ utilitarianism‚ and deontology. Egoism values the desires of the individual the most‚ and this is most important to the individual. Utilitarianism‚ on the other hand‚ needs to be impartial in order to value each individual’s happiness equally. Deontology also conflicts with both of these other theories because it is not consequentialist like utilitarianism‚ and does not always benefit the individual or anyone else involved. The
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job to be able to financially support your family. Most people would agree that lying or torturing someone is wrong. However‚ some may argue that if you are helping more people than you are hurting‚ then it is okay to lie to or 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
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The two sources of moral guidance are the rivaling theories of Kantianism and Utilitarianism‚ both normative moral theories‚ meaning they deal with how we know what is right or wrong. Kantianism is a deontological theory developed by Immanuel Kant. This means that the theory holds the importance of duty and motives of an act in higher prestige than the consequences of said act. Kant argued‚ what came with is religiosity‚ that we‚ humans are rational‚ moral beings. This meant that we understand intrinsically
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systems debated today are utilitarianism and deontology. These two traditions parallel the sayings “the ends justify the means” or “the means justify the ends”. Inspired by Jeremy Bentham’s philosophies‚ John Stuart Mill applied his ideas to his many pamphlets and short works regarding Utilitarianism. This philosophy considers that the best thing to do ethically for a society is to maximize its happiness‚ interests‚ preference‚ or well-being. In effect‚ utilitarianism focuses on outcomes‚ or the
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non-consequentialist. Consequentialist is considered utilitarianism and the non-consequentialist as deontology that differs in their views. Consequentialism is all about the ‘actions of consequences‚’ which are based on justification. The people that favored affirmative action for consequences‚ for them it works until it produces the greatest happiness for the largest number of individuals. ‘Utilitarianism and Egoism’ are both forms of consequentialist. Utilitarianism is defined as the ‘principle of utility or
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“Utilitarianism works” Asses this view Bentham created utilitarianism and Mill improved it. It main points are that human society exists to create happiness‚ that happiness is the highest goal and that everything needs to fit a purpose. The advantages of Bentham’s theory include a reasonable link between moralities‚ the pursuit of happiness and the avoidance of pain. According to Bowie it seems natural to consider the consequences when deciding our actions. He stated that “Utilitarianism offers
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most amount of people that are in need of the pleasure. With these measurements of pleasure and pain‚ utilitarianism can create the maximum amount of happiness. For utilitarians‚ the utility of happiness is the ultimate purpose to human life. The most important thing for everyone is to incorporate happiness and maximize it whenever necessary and for the most people in all of society. Utilitarianism is not an egoist theory. They do not intend on creating contentment for an individual‚ but rather the
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The concept of Utilitarianism is one of the most influential moral theory. It has another name is The Greatest Happiness Principle. The main idea is you can determine the action is morally right or wrong depends on outcome. If the outcome brings pleasure and happiness to the people‚ it is the morally right choice. On the other hand‚ if the result of your action bring more pain and unhappiness‚ it is morally wrong choice. This ideal is based on assumption that overall good as a judge of right or
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Utilitarianism and Genetic Engineering In the past thirty years‚ humans are witnessing a huge revolution in the genetic engineering industry. Having identified most of the Human Genome‚ gene sequencing has become programmed and extremely fast‚ and laboratory techniques in molecular biology allow for in-vitro fertilization and transfer of genetic material. Gene therapy and repair based on stem cells research allows for replacement of a defected allele in the DNA‚ and even a whole damaged tissue in
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