¶ … Good Life
What is Good Life?
The Consequentialism Debate
Utilitarian reasoning is regarded as "consequentialist." The other approach of human actions' analysis is called "deontologist" reasoning. Utilitarian and deontological reasoning have very little in common. They are similar only in the sense that they both attempt to establish which human actions are appropriate and which ones are not. Apart from that, there is no other similarity. The differences arise in their adopted approaches in attempting to establish and distinguish the right actions and behavior from what is wrong (van Staveren, 2007).
As the term implies, judgments of "consequentiality" are founded on the consequences of an individual's actions. Here, an action is categorized as right or wrong based on the results of actions. Its ethics have nothing to do with whatever the individual intended to do. Taking an extreme case, assume that I am driving and I notice a person I truly dislike strolling on the sidewalk. I make up my mind to run him over. He, however, notices me coming and moves out of the way. I unintentionally end up running over somebody behind him who possessed an automatic rifle and was on the way to kill five individuals. In accordance to utilitarianism, since I stopped five people from getting murdered, my action is regarded as good. The fact that I accidentally saved them while attempting to kill somebody else is not relevant; of importance is what actually came about as a result of my action (van Staveren, 2007).
Deontological reasoning, however, assumes the diametrically opposite approach. Here, our actions are either right or wrong based on why we do them. If certain things are done out of good intents, then the action is regarded as morally good regardless of the outcomes. If we think about the case illustrated above, from a deontological perspective, my action would be regarded as wrong. I drove my car up onto the sidewalk; I did that with the intention of killing an innocent individual. The fact that I ended saving five lives by accidentally killing a bad person has totally nothing to do with my action's morality. My action shall be regarded as immoral since I was attempting to do a bad thing (van Staveren, 2007).
Bentham deems that the calculation, comparison, and measurement of pain and pleasure produced by actions is actually possible according to several (seven) criterion. He referred to this as "felicific calculus." This implies that each action we plan to carry out ought to be measured by the quantity of "units of pleasure" it generates, or is anticipated to generate. Amongst the seven groups, the most ethic/correct action shall be the one that provides the highest sum of points (Rachels & Rachels, 2010). Conversely, Mill recognizes the challenges of making these particular quantitative measurements, and the emphasis is altered from "quantity" of pleasure to "quality" of pleasure. He differentiates "lower" pleasures (linked with the body, which produce "contentment") and "higher" pleasures (linked with the mind, which produce "happiness") (Rachels & Rachels, 2010).
In its political beliefs, Utilitarianism bases the government's power and the sanctity of individual rights on their utility, hence giving an alternative to the theories of natural rights, social contract, and natural law. The best type of government therefore turns into a question of the type of governance that has the best consequences; an evaluation which calls for factual arguments concerning human behavior and nature. As an abstract moral principle, Utilitarianism has developed itself as one of the few live alternatives that need to be considered and either accepted or rejected by any philosopher assuming a position of normative morals (Clark, 1992; Hooker, 2000).
2. Virtue ethics and care ethics
The moral theory referred to as "the ethics of care" suggests that there exists moral importance in the basic constituents of relationships and reliance on human life. Most frequently described as a virtue or practice rather than a premise such as, "care" entails sustenance of the world of, and satisfying the needs of, all involved including ourselves. It develops the drive for caring for those individuals that are vulnerable and needy. Abiding by the sentimentalist practice of moral theory, care ethics confirms the significance of caring emotion,
Life Span Lifespan development is a field of study that involves growth patterns stability and change in one's behavior in the whole stretch of life. The definition does not fully capture the intricate process of the study. The study employs scientific approaches to establish these trends. We need a close examination of the elements of the definition above. In examining stability, growth and change, lifespan development checks the assumptions about the
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