“The creed which accepts as the foundation of morals, Utility, or the Greatest Happiness Principle, holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness” (11). That quote is from “Utilitarianism” written by John Stuart Mill. Mill is noted in history as a man who pushed for radical change of social and legal principles using Utilitarianism as his guide. That quote sums up his belief in that theory. In this essay I will be discussing Mill, the theory of Utilitarianism and how that theory relates to contemporary ethical issues.…
1A. According to Kant, good will is the only thing that is absolutely good without qualification. Good will is the only thing that is unconditionally good. Good will is what makes all other good things truly good. Things can be good, but not without qualification. The will is good because the intention itself is good, rather than a desired result or some outside reasoning. All in all it is the honest and unselfish intention of a will.…
Philosophers Emmanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill both have different views on moral worth and Utilitarianism, which states that an action is morally right if it produces more good for all people affected or suffering from the action. Mainly, the question is how much of the morality of an action is predicted by its outcome. Both men have moral theories that differ on this topic.…
In determining an individual’s will one must understand that the intention behind the action must be moral excluding all inclinations. However, intentions and will, good or bad, play the role in finding the reason for portraying the person’s action. Actions fall into four categories to represent the relation of reason within a good will. If the will of an action is good it must show obedience to the duty. A good will is composed of a concrete good yet the reason utilized in performing actions is responsible for making the good tangible. Acting according to maxims because you must complete your duty in order to achieve good will.…
Immanuel Kant's belief in good will was known as the Kantian Ethics. "The only intrinsically good things is a good will; an action can only be good, therefore, if its maxim." Every action or decision has to have the same conditons in order it for it to be universalisability. Each decision we make will be based off of which will deliever the ultimate happiness. Kant believes there is a moral code that constructs…
Immanuel Kant, disagreed with the Utilitarian principle that maximized happiness for the greatest number of people. In chapter 2 of his book, Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, Kant theorizes an external critique that we don’t always act for desires but duty instead. Kant really has this worry and he wants to find a firm foundation for our moral laws. According to Kant, Act only on that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law. Universal moral law is not empirical, not based on experience because then it is not justified and can take on different meanings. Once you strip away everything empirical, contingent, subjective about you will be left with a rational (form of the action itself). When…
A Kantian standpoint does not look into consequences like the Utilitarian standpoint; instead it looks at categorical imperatives. According to founder Immanuel Kant, “the rightness or wrongness of actions does not depend on their consequences but on whether they fulfill their duty.” A Kantian belief is not based solely on what is for the greater good, but if something is seen as right or wrong to do. A good person is good because of the intentions that they have, whether enjoyable or not.…
With this general happiness for everyone’s well-being, a persons priority or rights can’t take a lead or be more important over the general happiness of everybody (chapter II, p.17). This agrees with Aristotle’s, that the political functioning in a society through virtuous character are to benefit the community. Mill argues against Aristotle by claiming that because having security is the definitive right that is deserved by all people through law, certain actions, such as torture, are just in order to ensure that a person has security (Chapter 5, p.54). With this being said Utilitarianism follows a concept that is focused on the general happiness of everyone in the community, but also the happiness that comes to them through security. Mill states that there are certain qualities that show justice and injustice, and some of these qualities are that it is unjust for a person to be deprived of their legal and moral rights, but it is just that everybody should get what they deserve. According to this, torture of a person, can be justified because it will overall give people assurance of security and happiness. But, it is also unjust because it violates a person’s moral and legal rights. This is where the General Happiness Principle comes into play. The Greatest Happiness Principle holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness and wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness, which is pain (Chapter 2, p. 7). Happiness is the absence of pain or freedom of pain, which is the only thing that should be desirable as an end and people will always choose the end that is overall more desirable in pleasure (Chapter 2, p. 8). Mill clearly states, “…laws and social arrangements should place the happiness or the interest of…
1. Why are Christian ethics and theology inseparable? What did Francis Schaeffer mean when he said that not all things are the same to God?…
Good Will: A will by which we desire to live upright and honorable lives to attain the highest wisdom…
Good will according to Kant, is attempting to do the right thing in all situations. Kant believes that in every situation one encounters, there will always be good. I believe that although in some instances, there can be goodness; I also believe that there are certain situations in which only the bad can occur. For example, on the day of the terrorist attack on 9/11 in New York, the terrorist act was not morally correct in anyway. On his prime…
Kant believes that a good will is based on the attitude you have towards what you are doing; meaning that doing the right thing based on the fact that it’s the right thing to do is what makes up good will and doing what you think is good doesn’t mean that the act is actually good. This tides over…
Mill’s Utilitarianism states that in order to be moral, one must make decisions based upon the greatest happiness. In…
“The Golden Rule”, is it a universal rule or a rule to another hippie-saying? The Golden Rule is to “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Before I read this piece of writing I was a strong believer of the Golden Rule, but as I read this section I slowly changed my outlook on life pertaining to the Golden Rule.…
Mill's is a utilitarian who believes in the theory of Utilitarianism which is more of an ethical theory compared to Kant's and his breakdown of the fundamental metaphysics and the use in proving what is” right and what is wrong”. Kant employs his views and thought of metaphysics as a discipline in his ethical philosophy. "if a law is to have moral force. Two of the greatest well known philosophers have thoughts on it and they are Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill. Immanuel kant and John Stuart Mill consider the death penalty is fairly right ,but they gives totally two different opposite thoughts and reasons on why it should be. Immanuel kant has very…