Bentham’s Act Utilitarianism can be used in making

Explain how Bentham's Act Utilitarianism can be used in making moral decisions BY AltceReid20 Jeremy Bentham was a philosopher, economist, atheist and social reformer. Being a social reformer means that Bentham worked to make a gradual change to society. Being an economist meant that he had knowledge in the social science and discipline of economics. Bentham was a philosopher because he studied ways of thinking about the world. This all had an impact on the way his ideas were influenced. He developed the theory known as Act Utilitarianism.His version of Utilitarianism is referred to as Act' Utilitarianism because it states that the principle of utility should be applied to every act performed in each unique situation. Any act is Justifiable if it produces ‘the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number'. By the principle of utility Bentham meant the ‘usefulness' of a situation. The principle states that we should aim to achieve ‘the greatest happiness for the greatest number'. Act Utilitarianism depends on each action or each individual dilemma being calculated.According to Act Utilitarianism it is the value of the consequences of the particular act that counts. In 1789 he wrote the book ‘An Introduction to the principle of morals and legislation' He believed our main aim in life was to achieve ‘happiness' and to avoid ‘pain', he wanted to introduce this to society to maximise the amount of happiness produced in certain situations. His theory was made to drive a human being; pain v pleasure. As people are motivated by pleasure and pain is considered evil. As stated in his book: ‘Nature has placed mankind under the governance of to sovereign masters, pain and pleasure'.Jeremy Bentham's theory is considered as relativistic; this means that here are no universal norms or rules and that each situation has to be looked at independently because each situation is different. It is also thought of as a teleological the ory. This means that it is concerned with the end purpose or goal of an action in this case it should always be happiness. Bentham's theory was also considered to be consequentialist; this means that moral decisions should be based on the outcome or consequences of an action. Bentham felt that society needed a form of structure for making moral decisions influencing him to introduce ActUtilitarianism to help treat each moral decision as unique. He was very concerned with the social conditions of his day, becoming particularly involved with both hospitals and prisons. He also believed in women's vote and the decriminalisation of homosexuality. He developed the principle of utility in his theory which states that an action is right if it produces the ‘greatest happiness for the greatest number'. He had strong beliefs of maximising the quantity of happiness; he was not concerned about prioritising which form of happiness were superior to others. Bentham wrote in theRationale of R eward: ‘Prejudice apart, the game of push-pin is equal of value with the arts of sciences of music and poetry'. Bentham's position was that all pleasures are of equal value. From this he devised the hedonic calculus as a means of measuring happiness. Hedone meaning pleasure. There are 7 parts of the hedonic calculus being intensity, duration, certainty, remoteness, richness and purity which all link to measuring the amount of happiness that a certain situation will produce. An example be applied by using the hedonic calculus to help decide whether it is morally right.A scenario, of a 16 year old girl called Katy wants an abortion because she doesn't want to have a baby. However, her parents are Christians and do not agree with her having an abortion. Abortion is thought of as an ethical issue because people argue whether it is right or wrong. As Bentham's theory is concequentialist all Judgements made should be based on the outcome. Using the hedonic calculus can measure/estim ate the amount of happiness that will be produced. To decide upon the action taken on abortion the intensity of happiness will be produced.In this scenario, the strength of the happiness of the girl, the parents and society will be taken into to help provide the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest amount of people. The duration of the happiness will also be taken into account, to measure how long the happiness will last for. In this case, how long will the happiness of the girl last if she has an abortion? The certainty of the situation will be measured to determine whether happiness is guaranteed to be produced. Will having an abortion actually produce happiness for Katy and her parents?The extent of the happiness will be evaluated to decide how many people it will effect. In this example, will it affect her parents and society more than it'll effect her if she has an abortion? The remoteness of abortion will be checked to determine how soon the happiness will occur. It w ill be debated whether having an abortion will immediately make the girl happy straight away and/ or in the future. This links to the richness of a situation evaluating how much happiness it may produce in the future. In this case, will abortion still provide the girl ith happiness in the future? r will it affect her family and society more so? Again, this links with the purity of the situation which is the decision of whether it will provide unhappiness in the future. Will abortion cause unhappiness for the girl, her family and society. As you can see the hedonic calculus works towards bringing the greatest happiness to the greatest amount of people measuring the quality of happiness not the quantity. In this example, the hedonic calculus would help to decide whether abortion is morally right helping to make moral decisions.The edonic calculus helps you to weigh out what is morally right in a situation giving an objective view reducing opinions and biased options. It takes multiple choices into account excluding religion. In this case, the hedonic calculus would decide that is morally right for Katy to have an abortion. The hedonic calculus would conclude this because society may think that 16 is too young to have a baby which would provide them with more overall happiness of the girl having an abortion. However, having the abortion may cause unhappiness for her family but forgiveness is in the heart ofChristians, if they understand that having an abortion will create a very high amount of happiness for Katy and many people of society may agree with her having an abortion it outweighs the unhappiness of the parents. If Katy was to follow through with her abortion it would provide her more happiness in the meanwhile and future as having a baby may affect multiple aspects of her life. As you can see the hedonic calculus works towards bringing happiness to the greatest amount of people therefore supporting Bentham's beliefs and following Act Utilitarianism.

Legal Reasoning and Writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Legal Reasoning and Writing - Essay Example ublic’s interest and recognizes states’ legislative authority that the courts would uphold based on the precedent that the case of Jacobson v Massachusetts’ (1905) set. Facts to the case identify an epidemic, viral gastroenteritis, in the nation, which is also significant in the capital of South Caledonia. There has been a series of the viral infection that affects groups such as people in schools, apartment complexes, and has been reported in large emergency shelters. Viral gastroenteritis causes fever, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, and affects people by limiting their ability to go to work when they are sick or by forcing people to stay at home to take care of the infection’s victims. There are however only few cases of hospitalization and two reported fatalities. A vaccine was developed a year ago and the FDA approved it for its proven effectiveness and limited adverse effects that is only realized as a sore at the point of injection. State Legislature of South Caledonia then passed a law requiring all people to receive vaccination with a fine of $ 750 for non-compliance unless a person receives state approval for exempt ion. Even though Mr. Russell does not qualify for exemption under the statute, he does not wish to apply for exemption and does not want to receive vaccination. Instead, he wishes to sue the state for protection of his liberty. The constitution, statutes, and case laws are some of the sources of law for guiding judicial decisions and the case of Jacobson v Massachusetts (1905) offers a basis for interpreting conflicting provisions of the constitution and the statute of South Caledonia. While the constitution provides for protection of individuals rights and liberty, Fourteenth Amendment, it also restricts such rights based on rights of other citizens, the Ninth Amendment, and grants states legislative power (Schultz, 2009). The facts of the Jacobson v Massachusetts’ case in which Jacobson declined to receive

Film Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 7

Film - Essay Example Claireese Precious Jones a.k.a. Precious (Precious), lives in the ghetto area with her unemployed mother, who only lives off of the government’s welfare assistance. On the other hand Michael Oher (The Blind Side) merely sleeps on the couch of one black maintenance guy who works at Wingate School since he was separated from his mom, who is a drug addict. Both of these main characters are also victims in their respective families – Precious was sexually abused by her father, and physically abused by her mother. Likewise, Michael or â€Å"Big Mike† has been a â€Å"ward of the government† because of his mom’s drug addiction, and her mother doesn’t even know who his father is. In the same way, Precious and Michael started off in the film as aloof or distant from everyone. For Precious, it was due to her mom’s penchant on calling her â€Å"stupid†, and telling her to â€Å"forget that school shit† because school will not give her anything. Her mom repeatedly drilled in Precious’ head the conservative notion that the woman’s existence is only to bear children and take care of the home. Similarly, from Michael’s standpoint, it was because of his fear of getting rejected since he had no family left to run to. Getting accepted into Wingate with the help of a friend was a blessing, but he didn’t want to be a burden to anyone so he isolated himself from most people. Both Precious and Big Mike grew up in environments which were not conducive to learning, hence their illiteracy at their age. The 2 characters are also somehow insecure of their looks because Precious was obese, and Michael was tall and bulky. In both cases, the school acted as a kind of a sanctuary where each of them was able to discover his/her true self-identity and to eventually find hope, new friends and achieve better lives. Precious and Michael were both able to rise above their past and turn over a new leaf. At t he film’s end, both characters are

Overcrowding and Inmigration in Miami Dade-County and USA Essay

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Mandarin Oriental Bangkok Human Resource Management Practices - Essay Example Organizational support With talented employees Mandarin Oriental Bangkok provides them with an opportunity to experience working aboard at Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong. Work environment There is a locker room with toilet and shower for both male and female employee.Uniforms and suits are provided by the hotel. There is laundry service for all employees’ uniform and suits. All restaurant equipment provided by the hotel.There are employees’ areas to hang out there before/after work or during break-time, which consist of cafà ©, library, computer room, sitting areas and flat screen TV with Play Station 4 in the living area. Thai customs are applied throughout the hotel, which is the purpose of showing respect between employees. Flexibility The hotel understands employees who have children and allows them to have adjustable work hours to meet their preferred time or have split shift if they needed to. The hotel allows employees to use their public holiday and annual vacatio n usually this depending on the seasonality. In some serious or important the case HR manager will decide upon the case and will inform the employee of the result. Internal and External Factors Analysis The Mandarin Oriental Hotel is a multinational organization that invests in and manages a chain of luxury hotels, resorts as well as residences all over Europe, Asia, and America. This paper analyses and evaluates both internal and external factors in relation to the Human Resource Management practices at Mandarin Oriental Bangkok.

The Social Responsibility of Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Social Responsibility of Business - Essay Example The objective of any corporation is to legally maximize the returns on investment so that its shareholders primarily can benefit. He maintains that the responsibility of a corporate executive who is employed by the owners of the business is to run the business profitably in accordance with the law. However, he might have other responsibilities as well, such as the responsibility to devote a part of his income to charity, or to have a good behaviour towards his family, or people, in general. These responsibilities, however, are not of the business but the corporate executive's responsibilities. Conclusion In a nutshell, it can be stated that even though a business is an artificial personality and can be claimed to have no social obligations, it should be operated in such as a way so as to protect the interests of its stakeholders, as they have contributed resources in the business and are also directly affected by the decisions taken with regard to business matters. All business decisions should be taken without the intention or plan to inflict harm on any member of the society. The environment or the ecological concerns should be paid extra attention to and activities of the business should not lead to the exploitation of any stakeholder. It is natural that a business is run to maximize its profits or to get the highest return for its investment but this behavior should not be pursued at the expense of the interests of the society and the community as a whole as it may even prove to be unprofitable for the business in the later years. Any social obligation should not be discarded with the view that it is for the government to take up the welfare of society and... It can be stated that even though a business is an artificial personality and can be claimed to have no social obligations, it should be operated in such as a way so as to protect the interests of its stakeholders, as they have contributed resources in the business and are also directly affected by the decisions taken with regard to business matters. All business decisions should be taken without the intention or plan to inflict harm on any member of the society. The environment or the ecological concerns should be paid extra attention to. It is natural that a business is run to maximize its profits or to get the highest return for its investment, but this behavior should not be pursued at the expense of the interests of the society and the community as a whole as it may even prove to be unprofitable for the business in the later years. Any social obligation should not be discarded with the view that it is for the government to take up the welfare of society and environment. Behaving and operating in an environment friendly way will only ensure a business’s longevity, increased customer appreciation and a particular social aim will so be achieved. The companies should exercise their power in such a way so that none of the stakeholders come to harm and the objectives of the business is also achieved. It is concluded that the companies are responsible for behaving uprightly so that junior managers or lower-level workers are influenced and motivated to do the same and the moral values of an organization is upheld.

Diary Entry of John Proctor Essay Example for Free

Diary Entry of John Proctor Essay Tomorrow is the day of my execution. For once of my life I lied, I confessed to something I do not believe, I betrayed my friend. I am a man of sin, I told Danforth that they were all involved in witchcraft, I thought I would not feel guilty about it since they are already dead and I am doing this for my family. My beloved wife Elizabeth needs a man in the household, and my children, they need a father. I thought putting my family as my first priority, even more important than honor and the truth; but I am wrong, seriously wrong. I used them, my neighbors, my friends in order to persuit my own happiness. I used them, I am a man of sin. I am now a man of sin, and this is all because of that lustful woman named Abigail Williams. I admit that I did like her at first, her beauty deeply attracted me and I did something that was a shame for my whole life, I betrayed my wife Elizabeth. I dont know what I was thinking back than, but I certainly regret it now. Elizabeth trusted me, our family were united, everything were fabulous until that woman came into my life. If there were anyone that is actually the devil, is must be her, Abagail Williams. She didnt just ruin the life of my household, but everyone in Salem, the Coreys, the Nurses, even the Putnams were ruined because of that devil and her so called witchcraft. Because of her, nobody in Salem could live the lives they had, everyone went crazy, everybody is accusing each other in order to keep themselves away from harm. Maybe Abagail didnt realise that the results will turn out to be like this, but this is reality. Its all because of her lust, her thirst for power, her wicked sick mind, its all because of her. It is Abagail that drove everyone mad. It is Abagail that made everyone suspiciouse of their neighbors and friends. It is Abagail that killed out people in Salem. And it is Abagail that made me have to lose my word, it is her that made me confess to a lie. It is Abagail Williams who turned me into the man that doesnt worth anymore credit, it is Abagail that killed me. Abagail Williams is not saint that confessed to the truth, but a murderer that slaughtered the nice people of Salem. Tomorrow is my last day living, how will the people of Salem view me? Maybe they will take me as the villian that blackened the saints names, or maybe they will see me as a man with honor, to die like a man not a coward that wouldve done anything to save my own life. I will die like a man.