Utilitarianism is a consequentialist theory. However like all ethical theories there are strengths and weaknesses of utilitarianism. The strengths of utilitarianism are that it is straightforward and based on the single principle of minimising pain and maximising pleasure and happiness. This system which aims to create a happier life for individuals and groups is attractive to many. As well as this it relates to actions which can be observed in the real world, for example giving to charity which promotes happiness for poor people and is seen to be good where as an act of cruelty is condemned as bad.
Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) then decided to develop his idea of Utilitarianism from this quote and apply it to all areas of social activity. Bentham was a hedonist believing that pleasure was the chief ‘good’ and that all aspects of life should maximize pleasure and minimize pain and those that did were the most moral acts. He created the principle of utility which established whether an action was good or bad according to the benefits to the majority amount of people. This is sometimes described as ‘the greatest good for the greatest number’ of people making Bentham’s theory quantitative. Bentham said ‘the principle of utility aims to promote happiness which is the supreme ethical value.’ In determining how to measure different amounts of pleasure and deciding on the right and good thing to do Bentham came up with the Hedonistic Calculus.
Examine how both deontological and teleological ethical systems can be used to help people make moral decisions. Deontological and teleological ethical systems attempt to provide those who follow them with contrasting moral guides, recommending wrong and right concepts of behaviour. Deontological ethics derives from the Greek word, "Deon" which translates to "duty", for all deontologists, morality is a matter of duty. This ethical theory judges the morality of an action based on the action's adherence to a rule, so essentially, deontology is concerned with the intent behind an action as well as the nature of the action itself. Therefore, deontologists follow the belief that certain actions are inherently good if they follow the stated rules even if the action has bad consequences, it can still be defined as moral.
He saw that an action had to cause the greatest or purist happiness. Therefore in the situation of war, Mill would think what would cause the best amount of happiness for people. The general rules that he would follow is: what would be the consequences of war? Would everyone be happy with this? Who would have the most happiness (qualitative).
This theory allows an individual to make a decision that may increase suffering, as long as the consequences are justified (Rawls, 1999). It praises the law over personal morals of the individual. On the contrary, deontological ethics has a classification of a person’s devotion to moral duty. According to Rawls (1999), a deontologist does what they say they will do and mean what they
All actions are related to an underlying principle. Kantian thought supports the idea that the actions are justified by a set of rules outlined in Kantianism. Utilitarianism is based on the idea of a greater good. Positive and negative consequences are quantified and the most positive consequence for the greatest amount of people is chosen, sometimes at the expense of others. For utilitarian school of thought, an individual strives to do the most good, even at the expense of the minority.
Bentham founded the principle of utility, which states that an action is right if it “produces the greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of people.” Bentham believed good is the maximization of pleasure and the minimization of pain, and that the greatest good is the greatest pleasure that creates the less pain overall for the majority. There are two main types of Utilitarianism act and rule. Bentham is known as the Act utilitarian. Act utilitarianism is when making a moral decision the best or most moral action we can perform is one that will enable to bring the best consequences for the majorities’ happiness. For example a man has the choice to shoot one person and save thousands or walk away and let thousands die.
The two most well known utilitarian’s are Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. They both believed that what is morally good will bring the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. However there views did differ, and this was on what this happiness and pleasure was, Mill made a difference between higher and lower pleasure. Higher pleasures were intellectual ones like reading and lower pleasures were physical like eating. So Mill was all about how much quality the pleasure brings.
Our pets are reservoirs for carrying strains of antibiotic resistance bacteria that can be transferred to humans. For our pets they put antibiotics in their food for better nutritional health. This causes resistance to build up over time and for more resistance genes that are passed along to other animals and humans. The wild bird species carries many different antibiotics resistance bacteria’s. Migratory birds like the water fowl have the potential to spread the resistance bacteria over a large area, like water sources, and our soil.
“Utility is found in everything which contributes to the happiness of every rational being” (Utilitarian Philosophy, 2010). In very simplistic terms, utilitarianism can be described as the balancing of good outcomes over harmful ones for greatest number of people. In other words, it is the greatest happiness for the greatest number of individuals (LaGrone, 2015). The concept of utilitarianism emphasizes the fact that a human being’s actions are right when they increase the good. In one of the abstracts in Bentham’s Principles of Morality and Legislation, Bentham states that the judgement or criterion of good and evil is balanced between the happiness of individuals and the happiness of the community (Utilitarian Philosophy, 2010).