Jefferson says, “We hold these truths to be self-evidence, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” (Jefferson, 80). He states how having these natural rights mean happiness to the citizens. We were created to use our ability to reach what we desire happiness should be. In “The Aim of Man” Aristotle has his own views when it comes to material and spiritual happiness. Aristotle argues that material is what an object consist of and this matter we could not live without.
Aristotle focuses on courage and temperance as the two typical moral virtues which can be described as a mean, then discusses a whole range of minor virtues and vices which can be described as a mean, and only then discusses justice and the intellectual virtues. Aristotle places prudence amongst these intellectual virtues. Aristotle emphasizes throughout all his analyses of virtues that they aim at what is beautiful, effectively equating the good, at least for humans, with the beautiful. Aristotle's analysis of ethics makes use of his metaphysical theory of potentiality and actuality. He defines happiness in terms of this theory as an actuality; the virtues which allow happiness are dynamic-but-stable dispositions which are developed through habituation; and this pleasure in turn is another actuality that compliments the actuality of happy living.
Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) developed his ethical system of utilitarianism around the idea of pleasure. John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) later furthered and many believe he improved Bentham’s theory (Mill is often linked to Rule Utilitarianism) but still followed many of his original ideas. The theory is based on ancient hedonism, which pursued physical pleasure and avoided physical pain. Hedonism saw human beings as “Under the governance of two sovereign masters of pain and pleasure.” So a key concept that Bentham developed was the belief we are controlled by the desire to seek out pleasure and avoid pain bringing about the greatest happiness principle which is choosing the path that gives the greatest amount of people the greatest amount of happiness and the least amount of pain. This makes the theory eudaimonic.
A: Explain the principle of utilitarianism giving reference to both act and rule utilitarianism. Utilitarianism comes from the Latin word “utilis” which means usefulness. Utilitarianism is a theory in normative ethics holding that the proper course of action is the one that maximizes utility, specifically defined maximising pleasure and minimising pain. Act utilitarianism focuses on the individual person and the quantity of the happiness instead of the quality. Act Utilitarianism is a utilitarian theory of ethics which states that a person's act is morally right if and only if it produces at least as much happiness as any other act that the person could perform at that time.
EXPLAIN HOW BENTHAM’S VERSION OF UTILITARIANISM MAY BE USED TO DECIDE ON THE RIGHT COURSE OF ACTION. (25 marks) Utilitarianism is the ethical theory that determines the reasons for a person choosing to carry out an action - it justifies an action being for the greater good. Utilitarianism is a teleological theory which looks at the consequences of an action, rather than the process of the action itself - to decide whether it is consequently right or wrong which therefore also makes it a consequentialist theory. The theory of Utilitarianism began with Jeremy Bentham when he believed in 'the greatest good for the greatest number'. Jeremy Bentham first proposed is theory of Utilitarianism on the basis for social reform.
Describe and evaluate two or more theories of the formation of romantic relationships (9 marks + 16 marks) January 2011 One theory that outlines the formation of relationships is the reward/ need satisfaction theory that was developed by Byrne and Clore (1970). The theory suggests that we form a relationship because the presence of a particular individual is associated with reinforcement. This is because rewarding stimuli creates positive feelings and these stimuli may be people. These people therefore make us happy, so, due to operant conditioning, we seek to adopt behaviours that lead to a desirable outcome and avoid those that lead to an undesirable outcome. Therefore, the presence of an individual produces positive reinforcement as they have a more attractive appeal.
Since the true path to happiness, according to Epictetus, is the attainment of virtue, we can all become happier by improving ourselves, whether morally or intellectually. Furthermore, Epictetus' philosophy of happiness would lead us to live less stressful lives if we came to worry about only that which we can control. Still, while I admire Epictetus and his philosophy, I do not believe that most of us could be happy purely through the attainment of virtue. I believe that social support and some level of material possessions are necessary for happiness; we cannot forever strive only for virtue. I do, however, believe that Epictetus had a strong point when he asserted that we should only, rationally-speaking, worry about what we can change -- what good is there in worrying about things we cannot
In retrospect, they provide criteria for evaluation of choices over decisions taken. Consequentialism According to the theory of consequentialism, an action, policy, and institution, is considered right, so long it produces good consequences. Consequences include the action itself and whatever the action causes. Consequentialism aims to spread greatest good of greatest number of people thereby bringing freedom, happiness and pleasure to humanity. John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham are two well-known consequentialists.
If the action produces happy and good consequences versus bad, then it’s the morally right action to follow. “But our calculation is not yet over, for the utilitarian principle tells us that in order for the action to be right, it must produce the greatest good for the greatest number of those affected by it.”(De George, page 47) We would need to drill down into almost every person affected by an action to completely render it morally right, the decision would need to produce the greatest amount of good. Ultimately, for Bentham there was no better man. Everyone had the opportunity in creating the greatest amount of happiness and pleasure. In his eyes, men could produce happiness for anyone involved in any
The principle of utility also advocates that, the correctness or incorrectness of a deed is dependent on the ability for the action to lead to joy or sadness. If an action aims at supporting pleasure and preventing pain, then it rhymes to this principle, and it is morally right. On the contrary, if it does not aim at promoting happiness or preventing pain, then it does not match to the principle of utility, and it is morally incorrect. This principle is argued to be the morally correct principle of deeds at all situations. The principle of utility continually states that morally right actions produce happiness for all the affected people whose concerns are involved in the picture.