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Essay On Rule Utilitarianism

797 Words4 Pages

much can be gained from ethical theory utilitarianism, more specifically rule utilitarianism. In this essay, I will explain what rule utilitarianism is and two of its types. I will discuss situations where rule utilitarianism can be looked at as somewhat morally wrong , to show an objection on the theory. I will give an objection to how the general guiding rules are made and also to give an analytical view on the principle of utility. Utilitarianism is a popular type of consequentialism, rule utilitarianism is a form of utilitarianism. Utilitarians think that happiness is the measure to judge the consequences, whether the action is right or wrong depends almost entirely on the good or bad consequences. Rule utilitarianism argues that if you …show more content…

humans are extremely complicated beings, ones own idea of happiness could conflict or hurt other people. no matter how much effort and time we spend contemplating how to save the world, some people can not perform a utilitarian calculation for every decision in their life. ' 'People too easily talk themselves into doing foolish things for the sake of good results ' ' (Gensler, 119). a collective rational set of guidelines set by maybe a government will rule society into a better place , if everyone really knew what needed to be done they would be more understanding of the pleasure and pain impact on their neighbor and more willing to follow the rules for others sake even at the expense of there own happiness. when I think about a rule utilitarian society in modern times, think about a woman in Saudi Arabia and the rules based on religious law and reason. like the ban on a woman getting a drivers license. this forces a preference for higher quality pleasure . with no freedom to drive but the ability to understand and seek that higher pleasure is still available to them in other parts of the world. it is a good consequence that less woman are hurt in car crashes. "The comparison of the Epicurean life to that of beasts is felt as degrading"(Mill, chpt2) this quote relates to the tension between men and woman rights, the man can feel degraded if the rules are being broken. the woman can feel dissatisfied because of the exclusion of there driving rights. North Korea another example of strong rule utilitarianism, all the strong rules in place may not be following the principle of utility because they will cause unhappiness and pain to others, but at the same time it also forces them to be satisfied leaving no room for act utilitarianism , Mill says “it is exacting too much to require that people shall

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