Utilitarianism Theory Essay
Utilitarianism is an ethical movement that began in 18th century. It dictates that the best course of action is the one that benefits majority. Here, you will discover an essay about utilitarianism.
Utilitarianism theory argues that the consequence of an action determines whether that particular action is morally right or wrong. Philosophers behind this theory include Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, R.M. Hare and Peter Singer. All these philosophers evaluate morality of actions depending on overall happiness or well-being. Thus, they see utilitarianism as a consequentialist ethic.
Consequentialist ethics holds that in determining whether an act, policy, rule or motive is morally right, we should check whether it has good consequences for all affected persons. Rather than asking if an action has good consequences for a person, we should just inquire whether that action adds to the person’s happiness.
Therefore, utilitarianism is an ethical theory that centers on happiness, not just the happiness of one person, but happiness of many people. Thus, the greatest happiness principle is synonymous with the principle of utility. The principle of greatest happiness states that a person should do things that will have the most happiness for all involved persons.
Critics of utilitarian ethics argue that because utilitarianism emphasizes on results, utilitarian theorists should agree that the theory of ethical relativism solves the problem of relativism. These critics claim that since utilitarian theorists argue that morality of an action depends on what the product of the action will take to all affected persons, then almost every action is moral. That is to say, utilitarianism is a consequentialistic ethic and thus, we cannot know whether an action is immoral until we see its bad consequences.
Given that, utilitarian ethics in some ways holds morality of an action hostage to the result, morality of the action appears relative. However, we refute ethical relativism since utilitarian ethics is a type of universalism, given its grounds in trust in universal human nature. Utilitarian theorists say that all people have altruistic and egoistic elements, and all people seek to evade pain and augment pleasure. Then, instead of ethical relativism, they support a liberal ethics that acknowledges there are universal principles and values.
The utilitarian perspective that ethics is more inclined to our feelings and not our rationality may seem to give evidence that utilitarianism is a type of relativism. Obviously, people have different outlooks about different matters. However, description of ethics may not always be from this perspective. Think about a cruel act such as premeditated murder.
How comes that this act immoral? Is it due to societal, divine, or natural laws? The truth is that human beings cannot make the moral judgment that premeditated murder is immoral until they experience negative sentiments about such acts. If there are human beings who do not get negative sentiments after reflecting on the idea of premeditated murder, or other monstrous acts, it is because those persons have something wrong with them and thus, cannot feel others pain.
Desensitization is the contemporary psychological word that describes why some people may not have feeling for the pain of others. People become desensitized making them not feel others pain. This psychological thought matches perfectly well with the utilitarian idea of sentience. However, human nature is universal and a universal ethics rests upon nothing more than human sentiments.
At the center of the utilitarian argument that shifts from the concern we physically have for our personal feelings of pain and pleasure, to others feelings of pain and pleasure, is the belief that this is the nature of human beings. When we hear about calamities happening to others, we may find ourselves flinching or grimacing. However, to go from a claim about our human nature to a moral claim that we ought to do this, and it is correct that we do this, and wrong when we fail to do this, includes an extra step in the argument.
The crucial step is to ask ourselves whether there is actually a difference between our pains and joys and other peoples’ pains and joys. This, for instance, is a problem to any racist. If dissimilar races experience equal pleasures and pains, then how come one race sees itself as superior to another race? If there is actually no difference between our pains and pleasures with others pains and pleasures, then we ought to, just due to consistency, view their suffering as just as significant as ours.
This is the heart of the justification of the theory of utility; we should do what will have the best outcomes for all persons involved, not only for ourselves, since there actually is no significant difference involving our welfare and other people’s welfare.
It is clear that equality is a main concept involved in this reasoning. A different way to portray the central utilitarian concept is just to say humans are equal; your pain or happiness is equal to another person’s anguish or happiness. However, another person’s happiness, well-being, suffering, pleasure and pain are not more crucial than yours. Hence, considering ethics along utilitarian line takes us from egoism through altruism to equality.
Other critics of utilitarianism argue that it is difficult and impossible to apply its principles. Those that hold that it is difficult to apply utilitarian principles argue that calculating the outcomes for all persons is impractical due to uncertainty and the big number involved. The truth, however, is that utilitarianism offers a clear way of determining whether an action is moral or not, and this does not involve calculations.
As mentioned earlier, a morally right action should have pleasurable consequences. Therefore, a person who says that it is difficult to apply this theory should support his/her claims with examples of actions that produce pleasurable outcomes, but are wrong. Therefore, the argument that it is difficult to calculate what is right does not hold any water, since it has no harm to the principle of utility. Rather, this is a problem of the human condition.
Other critics that oppose the application of utilitarian principles argue that it is not possible to gauge or quantify happiness and there is no defined method of weighing happiness against suffering. However, the truth is that happiness is measurable and comparable through words like happier and happiest. If it were not measurable, then these words would have little meaning.
In conclusion, the theory of utilitarianism is sound, logical and consistent. Utilitarian ethics follow the law of greatest happiness. According to this law, human beings seek to decrease suffering and maximize happiness. Hence, an action that is correct morally must lead to the greatest possible pleasure. This also implies that actions that cause pain on human beings are morally wrong. As seen in the arguments above, this theory is beyond reproach, as it caters for all possible objections.
- Principles of Utilitarianism
- Machiavelli and a Notion of Virtue as an Innovation
- A Critique of Utilitarianism
- Utilitarianism Critique From Kantian Perspective
- Moral Relativism and Moral Universalism
- Ethics in Philosophy: Discussing Theories, Evaluating Key Concepts. In Search for the Truth
- Ethics is not Based on Religion
- Euthyphro: Concept of Holiness and Piety
- Humanity Theories: Utilitarianism
- Famine, Affluence, and Morality
- Chicago (A-D)
- Chicago (N-B)
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Utilitarianism Essay | Essay on Utilitarianism for Students and Children in English
February 13, 2024 by Prasanna
Utilitarianism Essay: Utilitarianism is one of the most influential theories of morality. It mainly advocates actions that lead to happiness and avoids any form of negativity. The purpose of mortality is to make lives better. It is the greatest principle of happiness. It determines right from wrong. It mainly focuses on the outcomes.
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Long and Short Essays on Utilitarianism for Students and Kids in English
We are providing the students with essay samples, of a long essay of 500 words in English and a short essay of 150 words in English for reference.
Long Essay on Utilitarianism 500 Words in English
Long Essay on Utilitarianism is usually given to classes 7, 8, 9, and 10.
Utilitarianism usually uses actions that maximize happiness and well-being of an individual. It is a version of consequentialism, which means that the consequences of any actions are either right or wrong. It considers all the interests of humans in an equal manner.
With utilitarianism, an action seems to be morally right or wrong. The concept of utilitarianism was first looked into keenly by Jeremy Bentham. He was an English philosopher, and he believed that happiness is the only true good, and that is the only truth that exists. Bentham’s form of utilitarianism is known as classic utilitarianism in today’s date. According to Bentham, the morally right action had the most net happiness for everyone.
To determine, which action was morally correct, a person had to add up all units of happiness and had to subtract all kinds of sadness that the action would create. Modern utilitarianism has two forms they are, act-utilitarianism and rule-utilitarianism. Classic utilitarianism created by Bentham leads to the act-utilitarianism. The concept of act-utilitarianism means, each time an action is decided upon, that particular event is completely different than any other actions that are needed to be calculated.
Rule-utilitarianism, on the other hand, is the morally correct action that one follows as a general rule. Following these rules brings great happiness. The ultimate goal of utilitarianism, be it act-utilitarianism, or rule-utilitarianism, is to bring happiness. It is a moral theory which denotes that one should aim to maximize utility whenever possible.
Utilitarianism is about people who care about everyone capable of suffering and capable of making their lives better by improving it. It also refers to those actions that maximize pleasure and minimize pain. This theory is based on the elucidation that a consequence of an action justifies the moral acceptability of means to reach an end, and the results of the action outweigh any other considerations. Utilitarianism believes that sacrificing one man to save a community is the right choice because the happiness of a whole bunch of people is being maximized.
Utilitarianism does not take into account personal relationships. It is the duty of every person following utilitarianism to help people without thinking about the consequences. Utilitarianism is based on three principles which are as follows, happiness or pleasure is the only thing that holds intrinsic value, all actions that promote happiness are correct, and the actions that do are not right. Everyone’s happiness counts equally.
Utilitarianism in socio-political construct aims for the betterment of the society as a whole. It is a reason-based approach that determines the right and the wrong. It also has certain limitations based on the consequences of the situation. In the world of business and commerce, utilitarianism holds the most ethical choice that a person will produce the greatest good for the greatest number. If a limitation is applied to utilitarianism, it tends to create a black and white construct of mortality. There are no shades of grey in utilitarianism. It is either black or white.
Short Essay on Utilitarianism 150 Words in English
Short Essay on Utilitarianism is usually given to classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.
Utilitarianism is a traditional and ethical philosophy that is associated with Jeremy Bentham and his fellow mate John Mill. Both were British philosophers, economists and political thinkers. The concept of utilitarianism promotes that an action is right if it leads to happiness.
A utilitarian philosophy aims at making society better. It says that if an action is right, it results in happiness and would lead to the betterment of a group or a society. Utilitarianism also has its types. Apart from act-utilitarianism and rule-utilitarianism, there is a concept known as negative utilitarianism. R.N Smart introduced it. This concept seeks the quickest and the least painful method of killing the existence of humanity.
People who follow utilitarianism are known as utilitarians. The utilitarians believe that the purpose of mortality is to make life better by increasing the number of good things in the world like pleasure and happiness and reducing the bad things in the world like pain and unhappiness. This concept rejects any kinds of moral codes like taboos and commands based on different traditions or any order given by any leader.
10 Lines on Utilitarianism in English
- Utilitarianism is one of the most persuasive approaches to normative ethics.
- Bentham used science to explain human behaviour based on utilitarianism.
- In the spirit of utilitarianism, Bentham requested to deposit his body after death.
- As per Bentham’s request, his body was laid out for public dissection.
- It is considered to be the most influential and effective theory of modern times.
- Utilitarianism is derived from the term “utility”.
- Utility in this context of utilitarianism means happiness or pleasure and not useful.
- Bentham’s commitment to equality was radical
- One of the limitations of utilitarianism is, the outcome of the consequences is not known.
- It is the only moral framework that can define military force or war.
FAQ’s on Utilitarianism Essay
Question 1. What is the main theme of utilitarianism?
Answer: The main theme of utilitarianism is, it morally promotes everyone’s values with equal treatment to everyone, centring around happiness.
Question 2. Name one drawback of utilitarianism.
Answer: It fails to take into consideration the concept of justice since its main focus is on happiness and pleasure of the individual, no matter what be the outcome of a situation.
Question 3. Does utilitarianism threaten individual rights?
Answer: It does threaten individual rights to some extent. It weakens the notion of individual rights, making it useless in its context. It talks about sacrifice for the sake of others’ happiness.
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Home — Essay Samples — Philosophy — Philosophical Movements — Utilitarianism
Essays on Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism essay topics for college students.
As a college student, choosing the right essay topic is crucial to the success of your assignment. This page aims to provide you with a variety of Utilitarianism essay topics to inspire your creativity and personal interests.
Essay Types and Topics
Argumentative essay topics.
- The ethical implications of utilitarianism in healthcare
- Utilitarianism vs. deontology: a critical analysis
- Utilitarianism and its application in environmental ethics
Paragraph Example:
Utilitarianism, as a moral theory, has sparked debates and discussions in various fields, especially in healthcare ethics. This essay aims to critically analyze the ethical implications of utilitarianism in healthcare, shedding light on its potential benefits and drawbacks.
Thesis statement: While utilitarianism provides a framework for making ethical decisions, its application in healthcare raises important questions about individual rights and justice.
The ethical implications of utilitarianism in healthcare are complex and multifaceted. This essay has highlighted the need for a balanced approach that considers both the greater good and individual rights, urging for further research and ethical discussions in this field.
Compare and Contrast Essay Topics
- Utilitarianism and Kantian ethics: a comparative analysis
- Utilitarianism in Western vs. Eastern philosophical traditions
- The utilitarian perspective on animal rights vs. human rights
Descriptive Essay Topics
- Utilitarianism in everyday decision-making
- The impact of utilitarianism on social welfare policies
- A day in the life of a utilitarian thinker
Persuasive Essay Topics
- Advocating for utilitarian principles in public policy
- Challenging common misconceptions about utilitarianism
- Utilitarianism as a moral framework for the 21st century
Narrative Essay Topics
- Personal reflections on applying utilitarianism in real-life situations
- An imaginary world governed by utilitarian principles
- A historical narrative of utilitarianism's impact on society
Engagement and Creativity
As you explore these Utilitarianism essay topics, we encourage you to engage with your interests and critical thinking skills. Utilitarianism is a rich and complex philosophical theory that can be applied to various aspects of life, giving you ample opportunities to express your creativity and analytical abilities through your essays.
Educational Value
Each essay type offers unique learning outcomes, allowing you to develop different skills such as analytical thinking, persuasive writing, descriptive abilities, and narrative techniques. By delving into Utilitarianism through these essays, you will not only deepen your understanding of the theory but also enhance your academic and intellectual capabilities.
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