The morality of the act can be defended by the Utilitarian principle that the number of deaths (250,000+) caused by dropping the weapons of mass destruction over Hiroshima and Nagasaki was less than the deaths that would have been caused by a land invasion of Japan ("John Stuart Mill").
However, despite the considerable improvement and sophistication provided by Mill to the philosophy of Utilitarianism and the practical usefulness of the 'greatest happiness principle' the theory still suffers from serious flaws.
Dr. Ruut Veenhoven, a professor of Erasmus University, Rotterdam, for instance points out in an article that the 'greatest happiness principle' is particularly problematic when applied at the level of individual choice. This is because we cannot usually foresee the consequences of our actions or whether they would produce happiness or pain but paradoxically the Utilitarian theory deems well-intended behavior to be a-moral if it happens to pan out adversely. He gives the example of a loving mother who saves the life of her sick child who grows up to be a criminal and wonders how could she be condemned for such an act,...
Ethics: Utilitarianism Utilitarianism is one of the most common forms of moral reasoning. Rooted in normative ethics, the notion of utilitarianism essentially asserts that an action is morally right if it maximizes utility or happiness for everyone (West, 2004). In other words, as long as a course of action generates the greatest benefit for everyone affected, then the means utilized to generate the benefits (such as coercion, manipulation, or lies) do
Insider Trading from a "Utilitarian" ethical point-of-view. The paper discusses types of insider trading, the Utilitarian theory of Ethics and the arguments for and against insider trading. Ethics of Insider Trading Insider Trading generally refers to the buying or selling of financial instruments (usually in the stock market) on the basis of privileged information that is known to a restricted group of people. Debate has raged among economists, traders, businesspersons, philosophers
Philosophy and Morality INSTRUCTIONS The exam consists essays. Please essays document. Please plagiarize. Be paraphrase verbatim language authors putting quotation marks. You document sources, -text citation ( footnotes) a reference page. Philosophy John Arthur's "Morality, Religion, and Conscience," A concern on the relationship between morality and religion is an ancient argument that continues in philosophy in the present times. The argument is mainly on whether morality emanates from an institution or religious background. Theologians
Mill agrees that the mischief a person does to himself can affect others, and he finds that it is right to bring to bear moral disapprobation, Whenever there is a definite damage, the case moves out of the province of liberty and into that of morality or law. With reference to that which is merely contingent, however, society can afford to bear the inconvenience (Magid 799-800). Mill in his work on
Utilitarianism John Stuart Mill believed in the subjugation of individual interests for the sake of society as a whole, but only when necessary. Of course, determining when such subjugation is necessary is not at all simple, and this is the task in which Mill distinguished himself as a philosopher. In his treatise on moral philosophy, "Utilitarianism," Mill proposed the "greatest-happiness principle" a sort of pseudo-mathematical, economic equation to determine the desirability
Ethics and the Legal Environment George Mackee has a problem. His wife is after him, his boss is after him, and one day soon, the whole community of Hondo, Texas may be after him. George has one very large, very simple problem: He works for Ardnak Plastics, Inc. Ardnack Plastics is a small manufacturing company making small parts for small machinery, yet its corporate problems are far larger. In the wake
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