Examples Of Utilitarianism

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According to Mill, a utilitarian makes moral decisions based on the greatest principle happiness and on calculations of how much an action will increase the general happiness of a group instead of solely individual happiness. In some situations, increasing the general happiness requires picking the calculated lesser of two evils, the action that causes less pain overall for the society. The greatest happiness principle defines actions that promote and increase happiness as morally right and actions that promote or increase the opposite of happiness as morally wrong or evil. The basic definition of happiness is any action or trait that results in a pleasurable feelings or a desirable end, and unhappiness stems from pain and the lack of pleasure in an activity. Pleasures are then separated into higher and lower…show more content…
For example, there no general consensus about the morality of killing since The Bible state that thou shalt not kill, but many individuals feel as though there are some moral justification for taking a life. Pure utilitarians however, would all agree that killing would be acceptable contingent on the fact that the killing would holistically positively impact the happiness of the society. Another positive of utilitarianism provides a more specific explanation of what morality is rather than solely listing guidelines instructing how to be moral. This aspect can make ease the process of determining the morally right decision in some situations because one knows exactly how is defined and what its aims are, rather than trying to indirectly reach a conclusion based off permissions and prohibitions. Lastly utilitarianism forces individuals to look selflessly beyond themselves when making decisions and consider other’s feelings and

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