Utilitarianism as it Relates to Sports
There are many philosophies that make up the social and political structures of nations around the world. Many of these philosophies can also be applied to sports and sports related activities. The purpose of this discussion is to explore the concept of Utilitarianism.
We will begin by defining the philosophy and addressing the beliefs of Utilitarians. We will then discuss how Utilitarian beliefs relate to sports.
Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism stems from the teachings of John Stuart Mills and Jeremy Bentham. The philosophy asserts, "that an action is right if it tends to promote happiness and wrong if it tends to produce the reverse of happiness -- not just the happiness of the performer of the action but also that of everyone affected by it."(West) Utilitarianism holds that even when the motivation behind an act is bad the consequences can be good. The founding fathers of the philosophy are said to be hedonist, meaning that they measured happiness as a balance of pleasure over pain. (West)
Utilitarians have strong beliefs about politics, law, and economics. Most Utilitarians believe that the best form of government is a democracy because it allows individuals to have liberty to make their own decisions.
Utilitarians assert that the individual is best suited to determine his own welfare.
It is also believed that the best form of government is the form that has the best consequences. (West)
Utilitarianism holds the belief that laws are very important. The utilitarian believes that purpose of punishment is to prevent criminals from carrying out more crimes and to deter future criminals. John Mills explains it best,
With many, the test of justice in penal infliction is that the punishment should be proportioned to the offence; meaning that it should be exactly measured by the moral guilt of the culprit (whatever be their standard for measuring moral guilt): the consideration, what amount of punishment is necessary to deter from the offence, having nothing to do with the question of...
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