This just means that the act is correct as long as it brings happiness to the greatest amount of people. Sidgwick and Bentham believed in similar views and are seen as act utilitarians. Act utilitarianism is when you have to decide what action would bring about the greatest good so it depends on the consequences of the action so the rightness or wrongness of something can be changed. Rule utilitarianism believes that rules should be created by using utilitarian principles
We also become attracted to people who are associated with positive events through classical conditioning. These positive events can include compliments or laughter, or anything else that can cause a positive mood. These people do not need to evoke these positive stimuli, but they should be present when these stimuli occur. These positive stimuli will be positively valued, and hence the people who are associated with these stimuli acquire positive value and we become attracted to them. For a relationship to commence & succeed, positive feelings should outweigh negative feelings.
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. Augustine’s primary moral
Byrne et als model of relationship formation suggests that we find relationships rewarding in some form or that in the absence of relationships we find life unpleasant and unrewarding. This theory is based on the principles of Classical and Operant conditioning. Through operant conditioning people may reward us directly by meeting our psychological needs. Individuals that are helpful, cheerful, attentive and supportive may also provide this direct reinforcement and therefore are liked more. Alternatively we may be rewarded indirectly through classical conditioning as relationships with some individuals may provide pleasant circumstances or pleasant events occur around them.
Happiness and Pleasure The first and most important question that must be asked is what does Plato mean by happiness? The word used to describe it most often in the text is eudaimonia , which may also be translated as ‘flourishing’ 1. This implies a process or form of activity, whereas ‘happiness’ tends to suggest a state of mind or an emotion ranging from satisfaction through to absolute joy. However, it would be a mistake to focus too much on this distinction as Plato uses the word more or less interchangeably with ‘pleasure’, and eudaimonia also carries the same hedonistic connotations as the English word ‘happiness’. In accordance with the central analogy of the Republic between the state and the soul, however, eudaimonia can be equally well applied to both.
Mill explains that utility can be understood in terms of pleasure and the absence of pain and not just by the usefulness of something (Module 7.1). Utilitarianism at its root is maximizing happiness for as many people as possible. “The Greatest Happiness Principle holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness (Mill 14). Meaning Mill’s ethical theory of utility evaluates the moral worth of an action on whether it increases or decreases happiness (Module 7.1). Mill roots the Greatest Happiness Principle in his theory of life.
He is saying that human beings try and steer away from pain and drive toward getting as much pleasure as possible. Bentham saw this as a moral fact. The word utilitarianism comes from the word utility meaning usefulness. Bentham theory of utilitarianism may have been influenced by this as he believes in the greatest happiness for the greatest number. This theory is related to utility as he is saying that if more people are happier this will be more useful across the world.
PHI-112-003 Essay #1 03-01-13 Aristotle Nichomachean Ethics After reading the Nichomachean Ethics, we come across three questions: Why does Aristotle say that happiness is the ultimate goal of human activity? What does Aristotle mean when we meet the “mean” between excess and deficiency in the virtues? And what is the distinction between prudence and scientific knowledge? These three questions correlate with each other. Yes, Aristotle did say that happiness is complete in itself; he is saying that the ultimate goal in the end is happiness, but in order for us to reach this final goal we must exercise virtues because happiness depends on the cultivation of virtue.
Introduction Whether reason or emotion is equally necessary in justifying moral decisions is a highly controversial topic. In order to come to a conclusion I am going to analyse and evaluate two important approaches from Immanuel Kant and Jeremy Bentham. I will partially focus on these two important figures, as one presents good will as the only thing that is capable of producing morally justified decisions, if that will conforms to practical reasoning. The other one states that a moral decision is a decision that increases the "Greatest Pleasure for the Greatest Number of People” thereby focusing on the importance of an emotional state of happiness for making morally justified decisions. In order to come to a conclusion of whether Kant's or Bentham's idea of reason and emotion in moral decisions are justified, I will focus on the building blocks on which their theories are built.
Self-esteem is an individual’s awareness of him/herself and can be a means by which individuals are motivated to take action. People who view themselves in a positive light tend to exhibit better communication, connecting and dealing with others more effectively . This means that individuals with high self-esteem are likely to have higher emotional intelligence and a greater Interpersonal communication satisfaction. Thus a possible way of increasing emotional intelligence would be to deal with an individual’s low self-esteem and working ways to improve their self-image.