Utilitarianism: A Closer Look
Utilitarianism is an old political theory. It has been put forth in one form or another by many political philosophers over the years as the basis for a good political system. Epicurus was one of the early proponents of utilitarianism, though he did not call it by that name. However, he did promote the idea that happiness or pleasure was a good indicator of moral decisions. Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, and Henry Sigwick, all well-known political philosophers, also put forth utilitarian ideas in their political philosophies. While a utilitarian political philosophy may have some uses in making decisions that affect a large number of people, such as the decision to go to war or the decision to raise taxes to pay for health care, utilitarianism does not take into consideration the distinctions between people. There is no room for individual thought or action in utilitarianism, as each person's actions must be taken in context with the amount of pleasure or pain those actions will bring to others. This paper argues that utilitarianism is not useful as an individual philosophy, as it does not take the differences between individuals into consideration.
The political philosophy of utilitarianism is highly impersonal in nature. It focuses on what is good for humans as a whole, rather than what is good for one human. As people are different from each other by nature, each with different interests, likes, dislikes, and beliefs, the philosophy of utilitarianism can not be effectively used where individuals are concerned. A government operating under a utilitarian philosophy would be required to take into consideration the relative pain or pleasure that...
Teleworking: The Employee Impact Within the Organization Telework (or telecommuting as it is normally referred to), has been around for quite some time now. More so, this is a work option that is bound to grow and increase in the future. Teleworking is known as a specified work option that provides an employee the ability to work and undertake tasks away from a central office base, for instance from a home
The New York case though does not come near this because clearly the means initiated by the government are just and proper. The end or overall utility is not only to prevent non-smokers from the ill effects of second hand smoke but lessen the smoking of smokers. Overall, the end result sees a healthier population and between the rights of the smokers and their health and well-being, the goodness
Utility Ethics: Enron Utility Ethics at Enron Why utility ethics is a valid way of deciding right and wrong Utility ethics are considered to be universal, growth-driven, and offer service to the organization with the only consideration of the right and the wrong. Utility ethics is a valid way of deciding the right and wrong because growth does not always mean that it is right. The same perspective does not apply to failing:
Ethics: Green's Dilemma Identifying Logical Fallacies Fallacy 1: Circular Definition (The definition includes the term being defined as a part of the definition, it is assumed because something is a rule it must be obeyed without saying why) "I believe that all rules should be strictly obeyed," the officer told himself. Fallacy 2: Conflicting Conditions (The definition is self-contradictory) "But this is a special circumstance. Don't all rules have exceptions? Fallacy 3: Argument from emotion.
These logistical problems are only one source of error in Levin's argument, however. The idea of establishing guilt with certainty before using torture fits the utilitarian ethic; it ensures that any reduction in happiness or good to the terrorist is more than compensated for by the increased happiness in the terrorist's would-be victims. The other part of Levin's argument, that torture should only be used as a preventative and not
Ethics of Legalizing Marijuana In recent years, there has been a significant amount of debate as to whether or not the possession and usage of marijuana should be legalized. Several issues revolve around this topic, not the least of which are the perceived and actual effects of this particular narcotic in a psychological, physical, economic, and even social sense. Perhaps one of the best methods for determining a prudent choice of
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