¶ … Utilitarian perspective on ethics
Utilitarian ethics proposes that actions are considered right or wrong according to the greatest amount of people that they help and/or make happy. The two foremost pioneers of the theory were Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill although Utilitarianism, in some form, always existed started off with hedonism and Aristotle (each of whom advocated different forms of eudemonia / contentment / happiness).
Branches of classical utilitarianism are 'Ideal utilitarianism'; act and rule utilitarianism (where rules are involved); two-level utilitarianism (that differentiates between act and rule); and preference utilitarianism (where the actual act of choosing depends on the preferences of the individual). Still other strands include Negative Utilitarianism (that focuses on what not to do); and motive utilitarianism (where acts are chosen according to those which give the greatest deal of felicity).
A recent case in the news perfectly showcases the principle of utilitarian ethics in practice. At the same time, it shows us the difference between deontological ethics and utilitarian approach. (Deontological ethics place the focus on obligatory principles of right and wrong; practicing certain principles because you are morally obligated to do so. Kantian imperative and the Biblical commands are examples of this.)
Jason Ellsworth, a U.S. commander, was killed whilst serving in Iraq in 2005. His father wished to make a memorial for him and, therefore, asked Yahoo for access to his e-mail correspondence whilst in Iraq. Yahoo refused citing their contract of privacy with users. The case was brought to court, and Ellsworth won. Controversy ensued that made front lines in many papers. On the one hand, readers argued that Yahoo was right: it had promised confidentiality to its users and...
against Voluntary Euthanasia on Life Support In his essay, Voluntary Euthanasia: A Utilitarian Perspective, Peter Singer reviews ethical arguments regarding voluntary euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide from a utilitarian perspective. Thesis: Singer establishes a solid grounding for the ethicality of legalizing voluntary euthanasia by arguing that the human right to pursue their notion of the good should be respected. Also, he satisfactorily disposes of common objections to legalization by showing them
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
The utilitarian perspective focuses on the broad impacts of the actions, rather than just how the actions affect specific individuals (Andre & Velasquez, 2010). From the utilitarian perspective, genetic testing has the potential to do great harm to many, and to benefit many. The utilitarian arithmetic points out that the benefits to the companies in utilizing genetic testing is that profits increase. The argument can also be made that
The virtue ethics supporter would know that harming innocent animals and people is wrong and that that kind of behavior does not make a good world. Aristotle believed that the one of the biggest and most important aspects of virtue ethics was reasoning. If one is to take time to reason about the situation with the make-up company, she is to know that one cannot allow animals and people to
There are several ways that BP could have chosen to respond, all of which were "open" to them (i.e. they had free will), yet those chose to take paths that were less moral. Kant's universal law would have them put their responsibility to humanity as the motivator, however, their motives have not proven to be driven by doing what is genuinely good for humanity. Blackburn (2009) states that it is
However, if it were the case that the Chinese legal system protected the innocent and executed only those criminals who have been properly, duly, and fairly convicted and sentenced for crimes appropriately punished by execution, it is much harder to argue against the use of their organs to benefit society. From an objective point-of-view, once a person dies, it is wasteful not to use his or her organs to
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