Immanuel Kant's Theory Of Utilitarianism

Utilitarianism is stated as, “Utilitarianism is the theory that an action is right if and only if it results in at least as much well-being as any alternative action.” While Kant described Kant’s moral theory as, “ right actions have moral value only if they are done with a ‘good will’.” Both theories attempt to reach positive results that benefit others; however, Kant focuses on doing whatever it takes to help others and not use them. While utilitarianism is when someone may do whatever it takes to earn or increase happiness. It does not matter whatever the action is as long as there is a result of happiness Most utilitarians think that sometimes people are not to blame for performing actions that we generally think of as very

Bernard Williams’ essay, A Critique of Utilitarianism, launches a rather scathing criticism of J. J. C. Smart’s, An Outline of a System of Utilitarian ethics. Even though Williams claims his essay is not a direct response to Smart’s paper, the manner in which he constantly refers to Smart’s work indicates that Smart’s version of Utilitarianism, referred to as act-Utilitarianism, is the main focus of Williams’ critique. Smart illustrates the distinction between act-Utilitarianism and rule-Utilitarianism early on in his work. He says that act-Utilitarianism is the idea that the rightness of an action depends on the total goodness of an action’s consequences.

“Kant's criticisms of utilitarianism have become famous enough to warrant some separate discussion. Utilitarian moral theories evaluate the moral worth of action on the basis of happiness that is produced by an action.” “The utilitarian theories are driven by the merely contingent inclination in humans for pleasure and happiness, not by the universal moral law dictated by reason.” “His ethical theory has been as influential as, if not more influential than, his work in epistemology and metaphysics. Most of Kant's work on ethics is presented in two works.

Utilitarianism is a framework that helps the individual in living a fulfilled and good life. The reason for this can be based on Aristotle’s theory of eudaimonia. He believed that, for an individual to achieve a good life, they must first be

Utilitarianism is defining an action as wrong if there are other available acts that benefit everyone affected more. Utilitarian’s decide whether an action is right or wrong based on how much joy or happiness it brings to an individual and everyone else. This can be tricky because an action may not actually be considered right just because it brings you joy. Robbing a bank could bring someone a lot of joy and money but that does not make it morally right, and it would affect those around you in a negative way witch would cause an unequal balance of happiness. They believe that the standard of right or wrong comes from happiness or pleasure, so if happiness is good then it must be right.

In this essay, I will explain the moral theory utilitarianism and outline its main claim; then I will present the most serious objection to utilitarianism: that it does not value justice; next, I will present utilitarianism’s refutation to the critique; lastly, I will evaluate utilitarianism’s reply and argue that utilitarianism can sufficiently answer this objection. While there are different schools within utilitarianism I will be focusing on its most common version: act utilitarianism (from this point on I will refer to it simply as “utilitarianism”). Utilitarianism is a moral theory that tells us what we should and should not do—more specifically, what is a virtuous or vicious action. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy states that

Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that declares that what is right or good is that which brings the greatest happiness for the most people. This view is often known as the “Greatest Happiness Principle,” since it focuses on what brings the most happiness to the most people. The two founders of Utilitarianism are Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) and John Stuart Mill (1806–1873). With Utilitarianism, the focus is upon the potential consequences of an action. When faced with a dilemma in which there are two or more choices, Utilitarianism instructs us to choose the course of action that would produce the greatest amount of happiness for the most people.

Utilitarianism is the moral theory that the action that people should take it the one that provides the greatest utility. In this paper I intend to argue that utilitarianism is generally untenable because act and rule utilitarianism both have objections that prove they cannot fully provide the sure answer on how to make moral decisions and what will be the ultimate outcome. I intend to do this by defining the argument for act and rule utilitarianism, giving an example, presenting the objections to act and rule utilitarianism and proving that utilitarianism is untenable. Both act and rule utilitarianism attempt to argue that what is right or wrong can be proven by what morally increases the well being of people. Act utilitarianism argues that

Utilitarianism is an ethical doctrine explicitly formulated in the late eighteenth century and since then has had many supporters, particularly in the Anglo world. As its name suggests, its substance is to define the correction of any action by its utility, ie, for the results or consequences resulting from it. Hence this doctrine is also known by the name of consequentialism.

General Remarks In the first chapter of the essay utilitarianism by John Stuart Mill begins by observing something of a crisis in moral thinking: essentially, people have been unable to come to any agreement on what philosophies the notions of "right" and "wrong" are based on. Having portrayed this problem, Mill introduces utilitarianism as a prospective solution. He argues that it is already indirectly used as a standard, and that it achieves the requirements of being a first principle. It is imperative to note that Mill explains morality 's purpose as bringing about a specific state of the world.

Traditional Utilitarianism was generally considered to be founded by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. Utilitarian principles assumes that we can measure and add together the quantities of benefits made by a certain action and then measure and subtract from those benefits the quantities of harm the action will produce. Utilitarian principles states that the right act in a given situation is the one that produces the greatest utilities than another act. The act will only be right if it produces the most utility for all the persons affected by the action, including the person who performed the act. It also states, that not only direct and immediate consequences must be taken into consideration, but also all foreseeable future cost and benefits each alternative will have on each individual.

Utilitarianism is an ethical theory founded by Jeremy Bentham. It attempts to justify moral rules and principles and holds that the best moral action is one that maximizes utility. John Stuart Mill refined and wrote a book on this theory, in 1863. ‘What Utilitarianism is’ is the second chapter of the book, ‘Utilitarianism’. Below is the summary and critical evaluation of his writing.

After all the reading and carefully thinking about what Mr. Lasken had requested from his physician it left me with the decision that Dr. Brody should not grant Mr. Lasken request to help end his life. In my discussion, I spoke about the Kantian Ethics and how it applies to the dilemma Dr. Brody was up against. To help end someone’s life purposely, regardless of their involvement, should not be done in the hands of someone else nor should anyone be placed in that situation. I considered both views, and found no favor into helping Mr. Lasken end his life and would be wrong on Dr. Brody behalf. As a physician you are sworn in by Hippocratic Oath and under that you are required in doing right by the patients; make sure all possible attempts

It states that an action which is deemed right is one that has not merely some good consequences, but also the greatest amount of good consequences possible when the negative consequences are also given due considerations. According to the utilitarian principle, the righteousness of an action is solely judged on the basis of its consequences. Classical utilitarianism determines the balance of pleasure and pain for each individual affected by the action in question as well as the amount of utility for the whole

Commonly, ethical systems are categorized into two major systems. The deontological approaches or normative ethical position which judges an action based on the adherence of the action to certain rules and the teleological approaches which judges primarily based on the consequences of an action (Hare, 1964). The Utilitarianism is assigned to the teleological approaches, as it does not evaluate an action by itself but by it’s