Essays on Utilitarianism

We've found 522 essays on Utilitarianism

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Consequentialist Versus Deontological Ethical Systems

What is “good”? How does a person decide what is good? Over the course of history, various thinkers have tried to develop systems which guide human thought on this question. Some of the most important ethical theories are the “normative” theories — that is ethical …

DeontologyMetaphysicsUtilitarianism
Words 87
Pages 1
The Financial Crisis

In the context of ‘stakeholder theory’, it can be argued that large profits and concomitant bonuses as a reward for productivity are by no means a negative thing. As stakeholders in societies where successful business operate, all stands to gain provided business are willing to …

BankCorporate Social ResponsibilityUtilitarianism
Words 1457
Pages 6
Explain Bentham’s Utilitarianism: (30 Marks)

Explain Bentham’s Utilitarianism: (30 Marks) A man called Jeremy Bentham had a theory called the ‘Utilitarianism theory’. He was born in London at the time of the great scientific and social change and wrote ‘The Principles of Morals and Legislation’ in 1789. Bentham had the …

MetaphysicsUtilitarianism
Words 801
Pages 3
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Philosophy Essay Deontology

Deontology Immanuel Kant’s deontological moral theory provides a strong base for making correct decisions and is a better ethics system than Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill’s utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that is attributed to philosophers John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham. Utilitarianism …

DeontologyMetaphysicsMoralityPhilosophyUtilitarianism
Words 1287
Pages 5
Express Luxury Lines

Empress Luxury Lines Angela D. Davis Strayer University Management 500 Dr. Prakash Menon April 29, 2012 Abstract This critical analysis case of Empress Luxury Lines is based on circumstances of ethical dilemmas and challenges of top level managers and their employees faced with decisions on …

Decision MakingEssay ExamplesIndividualismUtilitarianism
Words 1962
Pages 8
Have Gun, Will Travel…to Work

Question 1: Assume that either the Second Amendment or state law gives you a legal right to keep a gun in your car. Do you also have a moral right to do this? Do you have a moral, not only a legal, right to own …

JusticeUtilitarianismWork
Words 1212
Pages 5
To What Extent Are Ethical Theories Helpful When Considering the Issues Surrounding Homosexualit

To what extent are ethical theories helpful when considering the issues surrounding homosexuality? Many ethical theories can be used to discuss and interpret the issues surrounding homosexuality. I shall begin by outlining some relevant views, from the perspective of Virtue, Utilitarianism, Natural Law, Christian Ethics …

ChristianityHomosexualityTheoriesUtilitarianism
Words 1073
Pages 4
The Sole Remaining Supplier

Although the liability of a malfunctioned transistor is on he manufacturer, Justifying the manufacturer’s acts of deception would be utilitarianism because of Its moral reasoning. In this paper, I shall discuss the general utilitarian issues of the case. In addition, I will apply the different …

EmploymentEthicsUtilitarianism
Words 1532
Pages 6
Explain Benthams Utilitarianism

Explain Benthams Utiliarianism (30 marks) The theory of utilitarianism was put forward entierly by Jeremy Bentham, who wrote about Ethics and Politics. He was a social reformer keen to improve the lives of the working class. Many of the improvements made in the treatments of …

MetaphysicsUtilitarianism
Words 107
Pages 1
My Sisters Keeper Persuasive Essay

An Ethical Discussion of My Sister’s Keeper Trudy German Wayland Baptist University An Ethical Discussion of My Sister’s Keeper Introduction and Thesis: Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) to provide a genetically matched donor for an older sick child and to use the organs of the younger …

EthicsPhilosophyUtilitarianism
Words 2284
Pages 9
Ethical Issues with Stealing

Case- Study Method 1. Identify the ethical issues * she is being paid double * she has not reported it after 2 and a half months * the money is not hers * she can get in a lot of trouble * she looks bad …

Ethical IssuesUtilitarianism
Words 332
Pages 2
Killing a disabled infant is not morally equivalent to killing a person

According to the Utilitarian Philosopher, Peter Singer’s final paragraph in his article entitled, “Moral Maze”, “Killing a…person. Very…at all” (Singer, 2001). In support to his aforementioned claim, he argues that: First of all, he utilizes kids who suffer from a condition technically referred to as …

ChildhoodInfantUtilitarianism
Words 1169
Pages 5
Is the ‘Philosophy of Swine’ Objection a Telling Criticism of Utilitarian Theory?

“Is the ‘philosophy of swine’ objection a telling criticism of Utilitarian theory? Why or why not? ” Philosophy of swine. This was mentioned by Mill criticizing Bentham’s utilitarianism. Before looking at Mill’s criticism, historical background of the birth of utilitarianism should be discussed ahead. Utilitarianism …

LiberalismMetaphysicsPhilosophyUtilitarianism
Words 1189
Pages 5
Ethics in layoff decision

For an owner whose employee’s performance has been superb or even exemplary, it would be very difficult task to tell them face to face that they have been laid off. However, if a company faces liquidity crunch or financial crisis, the most preferred remedy is …

DeceptionEthicsUtilitarianism
Words 1664
Pages 7
Moral Reflection

Everyday in our lives we are forced into making moral decisions about anything under the sun. There are situations that make such process difficult, and there are situations where the answer appears to be just right in front of our faces. I believe it would …

EthicsHuman NatureUtilitarianism
Words 572
Pages 3
Moral/Ethical Implications of Euthanasia

Euthanasia refers to the act of removing support systems for the maintenance of life of a person suffering from a terminal or grave illness. Despite the negative arguments put forward against euthanasia, at least four ethical philosophies support the practice of euthanasia. Among these are …

EuthanasiaHappinessMetaphysicsUtilitarianism
Words 1077
Pages 4
Explain the importance of environment for SLC

Explain the importance of the environment in supporting speech, language and communication development Environment is very important in any setting, in supporting speech, language and communication development. The environment which we provide for the children will contribute a lot in their development. A poor environment …

EnvironmentUtilitarianism
Words 132
Pages 1
Argumentative paper

The aim of the paper is to look at the problem of forced elf labor from the viewpoint of the two different moral theories – Kantian and Utilitarian. It is essential to argue, whether forced elf labor is supposed to be moral or immoral in …

AutonomyEssay ExamplesMoralityUtilitarianism
Words 1210
Pages 5
A.V Lundstedt- Scandinavian Realist

Brief Historical Background of A V Lundstedt Lundstedt (1882-1955) was a Swedish jurist and a proponent of Scandinavian Legal Realism. He was also a professor of Law at the University of Uppsala in Sweden, from 1914 to 1952. Similarly to Haegerstrom, Ross and Olivercrona, he …

JusticeMetaphysicsUtilitarianism
Words 1376
Pages 6
Making the World a Better Place Philosophy 1001, Dr. Cara Nine

Making the World a Better Place Philosophy 1001, Dr. Cara Nine ‘Better Place’? ‘Making the world… ’? Making the world a better place There are two sets of philosophical questions: 1. What is ‘good’ or ‘better’? (That is, what does a ‘better world look like …

MetaphysicsPhilosophyUtilitarianism
Words 2453
Pages 9
Outline the Main Principles of Utilitarianism

Outline the main principles of utilitarianism Utilitarianism is a teleological theory. Three main philosophers have come up with different types of utilitarianism these being: Bentham, Mill and Singer. Bentham introducing the idea of Act Utilitarianism, Mill adapting the ideas of Bentham and trying improve the …

MetaphysicsUtilitarianism
Words 670
Pages 3
Justice with Michel Sandel

Justice with Michel Sandel Silvia Molina University of Texas at El Paso Justice with Michel Sandel Harvard university professor Dr. Michel Sandel introduces two lecture episodes that discuss a number of philosophy related issues. In the first episode “The Moral Principles” Dr. Sandel begins the …

Essay ExamplesJusticeUtilitarianism
Words 2005
Pages 8
Response Paper to The Invention of Lying

Response Paper One Joseph Leemon For my analysis of the movie The Invention of Lying as it pertains to our class, I have selected two parts from the IPC book, where I can apply some of what I have learned so far. The first part …

InventionMetaphysicsUtilitarianism
Words 712
Pages 3
Reflection The Boondock Saints

Reflections on “The Boondock Saints” Directions: In three paragraphs write your reflections of the Movie “The Boondock Saints”, answering the following: 1) What are the ethical issues you see in the movie? List several and describe their ethical or moral concern. 2) How does the …

Essay ExamplesMetaphysicsUtilitarianism
Words 346
Pages 2
Deontology and the Categorical Imperative

First, let us examine what it means to act in a deontological manner. Demonology is “the normative ethical position that Judges the morality of an action based on the action’s adherence to a rule or rules” (“Ethics-virtue”, Standard Encyclopedia of Philosophy). For someone to act …

DeontologyMetaphysicsMoralityUtilitarianism
Words 1182
Pages 5
Is war ever justified

Wars can be justified through the utilitarian theory and cost benefit analysis. These are dependent on whether the intention of the war is right and the cause for the war is just. Further, wars are only justified when other forms of conflict management have been …

Essay ExamplesGlobalizationIraqTerrorismUtilitarianism
Words 1188
Pages 5
Main Strengths of Mill’s Utilitarianism

A) Explain the main strengths of Mills Utilitarianism? With rule utilitarianism you first have to agree to the general rule then after you apply it to specific cases. Some people see Mill as a rule utilitarian, which means that you act in accordance with those …

MetaphysicsUtilitarianism
Words 1083
Pages 4
Ethical Theories Persuasive Essay

 Introduction Ethics is system of moral principles, the way individuals conduct themselves with respect to the right and wrong of their actions and to the good and bad of any motives and ends of such actions. Ethics are instilled in individuals since they were children …

MetaphysicsTheoriesUtilitarianism
Words 574
Pages 3
Managerial ethics – term paper

It’s the sure looks positive in this way, as part of the deal, Sara Lee Corp. loaded up the apparel maker with billions in new debt, then paid itself a big, fat dividend — money it’ll use to trim its own debt and buy back …

EthicsMoralityUtilitarianism
Words 701
Pages 3
Ethical Obligation Of Wal-Mart

The focal point of the paper is to analyze if Wal-Mart have an ethical obligation to increase wages and improve health care benefits for its employees or is Wal-Mart simply an ethically legit business operating within a capitalistic society? For the purpose it is important …

UtilitarianismWalmart
Words 1576
Pages 6
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Find extra essay topics on Essays on Utilitarianism by our writers.

Utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for all affected individuals.
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Purpose

Utilitarians believe that the purpose of morality is to make life better by increasing the amount of good things (such as pleasure and happiness) in the world and decreasing the amount of bad things (such as pain and unhappiness).


Father

Jeremy BenthamJeremy BenthamBentham defined as the "fundamental axiom" of his philosophy the principle that "it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong." He became a leading theorist in Anglo-American philosophy of law, and a political radical whose ideas influenced the development of welfarism. Jeremy_BenthamJeremy Bentham - was a philosopher, economist, jurist, and legal reformer and the founder of modern utilitarianism, an ethical theory holding that actions are morally right if they tend to promote happiness or pleasure (and morally wrong if they tend to promote unhappiness or pain) among all those affected by them.


Origin

The origins of Utilitarianism are often traced back to the Epicureanism of the followers of the Greek philosopher Epicurus. It can be argued that David Hume and Edmund Burke were proto-Utilitarians. But as a specific school of thought, it is generally credited to the English philosopher Jeremy BenthamJeremy BenthamBentham defined as the "fundamental axiom" of his philosophy the principle that "it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong." He became a leading theorist in Anglo-American philosophy of law, and a political radical whose ideas influenced the development of welfarism. Jeremy_BenthamJeremy Bentham - .


Key features

As explained in Chapter 1: Introduction to Utilitarianism, the core idea of utilitarianism is that we ought to act to improve the well-being of everyone by as much as possible. Utilitarian theories generally share four elements: consequentialism, welfarism, impartiality, and additive aggregationism.

Frequently asked questions

What is utilitarianism in your own words essay?
Utilitarianism is the belief that the best course of action is the one that maximizes utility, or happiness. This can be achieved through a number of means, including providing people with basic needs like food and shelter, or by giving them pleasure. The ultimate goal is to produce the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people.
What is the main idea of utilitarianism?
Utilitarianism is the ethical theory that holds that the best course of action is the one that maximizes utility, or happiness. Utility can be defined in many ways, but is usually taken to mean something like pleasure or satisfaction. Thus, the utilitarian strives to promote the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people.
Why is utilitarianism important to human being?
Utilitarianism is important to human beings because it is a moral theory that can be used to help us make decisions about what is right and what is wrong. Utilitarianism is based on the idea that the right thing to do is the thing that will produce the most happiness for the greatest number of people. This means that when we are trying to decide what to do, we should try to figure out what will make the most people happy. One of the reasons that utilitarianism is so important is that it takes into account the consequences of our actions. Many other moral theories focus on what our intentions are, but utilitarianism focuses on what will actually happen as a result of our actions. This is important because our intentions don’t always match up with what actually happens. For example, we might intend to help someone, but if our actions end up harming that person, then we have not done the right thing. Another reason that utilitarianism is important is that it is a very practical theory. It can be applied to all sorts of different situations and it can help us to make difficult decisions. Utilitarianism is not a perfect theory, but it can be a helpful tool for making moral decisions.
What is the reflection about utilitarianism?
Utilitarianism is the belief that the most morally good thing to do is the thing that maximizes utility. Utility is often defined as happiness, but it can also be defined as anything that is good for someone. So, a utilitarian would believe that the most morally good thing to do is the thing that will make the most people happy.

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