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John Stuart Mill Utilitarianism

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The third and final ethical examination this paper will make is that of John Stuart Mill and utilitarianism. Book definitions can be somewhat confusing on this. The basic idea behind utilitarianism is the right or wrong of an action is determined by the level of happiness or unhappiness it brings about. The only desirable ends in life are pleasure and freedom from pain. For something to be desirable it is either inherently pleasurable or is a means to promote pleasure and will keep pain from happening.
John S. Mill
John Stuart Mill was born early in the 19th century in England and along with Jeremy Bentham, led what we know now as classic utilitarianism. Utilitarians were social reformers who supported things like women's suffrage and an abolition …show more content…

If an action results in the best outcome possible from a list of choices then it is right. The basic idea of consequentialists is that an action is right when it brings out the most good. Good is defined as pleasure with no pain. Robyn and “Little John” LJ Robyn is dating a man who goes by the name “Little John” or LJ. He is someone who is into a street gang and deals drugs on the street. Robyn wants to be a part of the gang and agrees to an initiation. One evening she is supposed to go with LJ to a convenience store and drive the vehicle they will make their escape with. During the robbery, Robyn witnesses LJ commit robbery and turn to leave the store. Unbeknownst to LJ, the clerk aimed a weapon at him as he began to leave. Robyn, seeing this, drove the vehicle she was sitting in through the store front and killed the clerk instantly.
Ethical Views After reading some background information this week, in my opinion there is not any arena in which Robyn’s actions might be considered ethical. Under the rules of virtue ethics, Robyn would have to commit only virtuous acts in order to be or become a virtuous person. Robyn should not have killed an innocent person in order to save her boyfriend who should not have been stealing anyway. This leads to my next

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