Philosophy 120W Intro to moral philosophy

Running head : MORAL PHILOSOPHY

Moral Philosophy

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Moral Philosophy

The Utilitarian Philosophy

Utilitarianism is a notion that belongs to the normative ethics tradition , which began in the late 18th- and 19th-century . Being a normative system , utilitarianism seeks to answer the question , What ought a man to do

Utilitarianism 's foremost believers are philosophers Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill . Their main thesis is that an action will be considered morally right if it tends to promote happiness for the greatest number of people

. Utilitarianism attaches moral value , not on the motive behind man 's actions , but on the effect that such action makes on people . Moreover , utilitarianism makes certain assumptions with regard to man 's motives . Thus , Bentham and Mill relied on the assumption that man is motivated solely by pleasure and pain and happiness , which is brought about by pleasure , is the sole end of man (West

Normative theories , such as utilitarianism , resolve moral issues and analyze the concepts of ought ' right ' and wrong ' Therefore the validity of the premises of these theories are difficult to test , if it is possible at all to test such validity . This is the main difference between normative philosophies from descriptive ones , which are relatively easy to verify (West

Utilitarianism as a philosophy was criticized for having implications that are quite contrary to people 's moral intuitions . For example certain conduct which are generally believed to be unethical or immoral can be justified , using the utilitarian theory , if it produces happiness in people . Another objection to utilitarianism is the fact that it oversimplifies the way by which man ascribes value to certain things For example , there are different levels of pleasures that man must long for , and some are better pursued than the others . Finally utilitarianism is also criticized for placing too much emphasis on the attainment of happiness , in utter disregard of an equally , or more compelling , interest to prevent or eliminate suffering (West

Jeremy Bentham 's Utilitarianism

Jeremy Bentham was one of the foremost believers of utilitarianism . He took pleasure and pain as the two causes of human action . These two formed his criterion for ethical conduct . Bentham was behind the well-known Greatest Happiness Principle , which bases normative conduct on the the greatest happiness of the greatest number

Bentham 's principle of utility has been summarized in four points First , there is recognition , at the outset , of the fundamental role of pain and pleasure in human life ' Second , action get approved or disapproved by society based on its consequences . Third , pleasure is equated with good pain is equated with evil . Fourth , pleasure and pain are capable of quantification ' and therefore measurable (Utilitarianism , 2002

John Stuart Mill 's Utilitarianism

In his 1863 work , John Stuart Mill provides a definition of utilitarianism in this wise

The creed which accepts as the foundation of morals , Utility , or the Greatest Happiness Principle , holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness , wrong as they tend to produce...