Examine the key principles of utilitarianism Essay Example for Free

Examine the key principles of utilitarianism Essay The theory of utilitarianism determines the rightness or wrongness of an action by its consequences. This is determined by measuring the amount of pleasure or pain brought to someone caused by an action. Utilitarianism is a teleological theory of ethics, this means that it is concerned with the outcome and the consequences, meaning that an act is not right or wrong in itself but is right or wrong depending on the outcome of said action. The main founder of this theory was Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832). Bentham worked to fight many things during his time such as industrialisation, mass migration and poverty. Utilitarianism is a relativist system – meaning there are no fixed rules, it is also concequentialist – this means that morality is by the consequences that directly follow an action. Utilitarianism tends to be brought down to one main rule and that is: ‘The greatest good for the greatest number’ whilst the principle of this rule is aimed to satisfy the majority, it does have its flaw is the fact that the minority still suffer. The principle of utility, as mentioned before, is: ‘the greatest good for the greatest number’ this means that if certain situations occur, advocates of utility would always choose the option that brought about the most pleasure for the most amount of people, this means that they would choose the action that brings about the better outcome, regardless as to whether or not the action may be perceived as right or wrong by society in normal circumstances due to the fact they are interested in bringing the most amount of pleasure possible. However, with this principle, comes a downside in the fact that whilst the majority may be satisfied or happy in a particular situation, there will always be a minority, regardless of how small, that are unhappy. However followers of the principle of utility may be encouraged to engage in wrong doings such as torture, whilst most would see this as an awful act, in certain circumstances, utilitarian’s may still take part in the act as it would bring about large amounts of pleasure for a large amount of people, with the minority still suffering, in this case, the person who was being tortured. The fact that utility is based on bringing about happiness this means that anyone who is an advocate of utilitarianism or follows the theory, is hedonistic, this means that they strive for pleasure and seek to avoid pain as often as possible, however what might be pleasure for some, may be pain for others. One that point, some may say that pleasure is subjective, meaning that pleasures are all different for different people, for example in a situation one may choose the option that he/she thinks will bring about a certain pleasure that they enjoy, however because they enjoy it, doesn’t me everyone will, so in actual fact even though they are trying to bring about pleasure due to their own tastes, they may not be causing any pleasure at all and may even cause some small elements of pain, due to the fact that people have different ideas on what pleasure is. Along with the point of different types of pleasure, J. S Mill stated that there are higher and lower pleasures in society, whilst he was around during the 19th century, obviously people’s views on pleasure has changed, however, Mill was thought to believe that opera and poetry were among the higher pleasures in life, whereas today, they may be seen as lower pleasures. One main question may be, ‘how does one measure pleasure?’ and in answer to that, Bentham devised the hedonic calculus, a form of calculation, designed to work out how great the pleasure or pain is that results from a particular action. There are 7 significant criteria identified by Jeremy Bentham and they are: Intensity (intense pleasure is the best), Duration (pleasure is better if it lasts longer), Certainty (pleasure that is definitely going to happen), Propinquity (pleasure that is close at hand), Fecundity (pleasure that promotes further pleasure), Purity (pleasure not mixed with pain) and Extent (pleasure that affects people). In order for an act to bring about a high amount of pleasure, it must satisfy majority of the criteria above, whilst it may be near impossible to find an act that satisfies all of the criteria, a pleasure will still be regarded as high or low, based on the amount of criteria met. Another key aspect of utilitarianism is that whilst there is act utilitarianism that focuses on the consequences regardless of the action taken place, there is also rule utilitarianism, created by J. S Mill. Rule utilitarianism the principle is applied to a selection of rules which are in turn, used to determine what to do in a particular situation. With rule utilitarianism, acts are either right or wrong regardless of what the outcome is. Rule utilitarianism can be easily compared to and agreeing with the law, in the fact that there are certain acts that are just plain wrong due to the fact that they are unlikely to bring out pleasure for a large amount of people, such as: murder or theft. With rule utilitarianism, it avoids the problem of ‘evil’ pleasures found with Bentham’s view, such as sadism. Rule utilitarianism also tends to bring about the most amount of pleasure without excluding the minority that suffer like act utilitarianism does, as rule doesn’t allow crimes against minorities that benefit the majority and allows the concept of justice. Rule utilitarianism came was devised due to the criticisms of Bentham’s act utilitarianism, in the case that act utilitarianism just follows the rules instead of trying to predict the outcomes. As well as the two already mentioned, there are more types of utilitarianism, such as: Preference utilitarianism and two-rule utilitarianism. Preference utilitarianism was devised by Peter Singer (1946-present), preference utilitarianism sought a way of decision making that took in to account the interest of the minority, unlike the previous theories. Singer stated that every individual’s preference must be taken in to account when deciding the best interests of the group and not only that, but every ones interests should be given equal value. Whilst the interests of the minority are more concerned with in this theory it still follows the fact that the right thing to do in a situation is what is best for the greatest number, however it has no reference to pleasure or pain. Preference utilitarianism has its own value that is followed, and that is: ‘The greatest amount of preference satisfaction, for the greatest amount of people’. With this theory it has advantages due to the fact that the minority do not tend to suffer as the ideology is concerned with preference satisfaction. The other utilitarianism was two-rule utilitarianism. This theory was created by R. M Hare (1919-2002) this is a theory that satisfies both act and rule utilitarianism by bringing both of their values together. In this theory, morality, based on rules and customs is acceptable for most situations, but occasionally we will need to use utilitarian thinking where we have to consider the consequences of an action. Whilst there is many different criticisms of both act and rule utilitarianism, Hare tried to bring them together with altercations to satisfy any criticisms. Those are many of the different important concepts that involve utilitarianism There are many key aspects to utilitarianism that I haven’t mentioned such as negative utilitarianism, Karl Popper (1902-1994) and motive utilitarianism, Robert Merrihew Adams (1937-present) these are all based around the main principle of utilitarianism however are not as well known as the other theories. Each of the features mentioned are key when it comes to understanding utilitarianism however, overall, I believe that the fact that everything fits in with everything else makes it a rather simple subject, on the whole, you know what the principle is and how simple it is, you know other theories that potentially challenge said theory but most of all you are given a way to measure and calculate it all. Overall I do agree with the theory of utilitarianism as life should be about pleasure and happiness, even if it is not available to you, either find it or bring it to others by an action. As a person who is an advocate of happiness and a hater of physical pain, I believe that life should continuously be one big happy moment, with that in mind, I would have to agree with the theory of utilitarianism, as its main principle is shared with my positive outlook, ‘bringing about pain for as many people as possible’. To what extent are these important concepts undermined by relevant criticisms (9) It could be argued that pleasure is subjective, meaning that pleasure is different for different people and may even link in with a social context in the fact that, what certain people find to be pleasurable may depend on social class, environment, background, social/peer groups etc , in the fact that an upper-middle class man may think of pleasure to be poetry or theatre, whereas a lower-working class man, may view pleasure as going to watch their favourite sports team and may find poetry or theatre boring, and vice versa. With that in mind we can refer back to J. S Mill’s theory of there being higher and lower pleasures, given this, it may affect the ideology of hedonism, in the fact that people all strive for happiness but with the idea to avoid pain. Another criticism is that utilitarianism as a whole can justify wrong doings in desperate times of need, such as torture, in extreme situations; it may be seen as justifiable to torture someone as long as it will bring about happiness to many people, even though such an act would usually be considered as unjustifiable and unequivocally wrong. Some critics of utilitarianism may also argue that pleasure has a negative knock on effect in the fact that pleasure for one person may cause pain to another, for example, if a job came down to two desperate people, whoever got it would be happy, the other; sad and upset. Some say that measuring pleasure was hard and therefore the hedonic calculus was created to make it easier, however it is still hard to apply and can also be impractical for quick response situations, where time is of the essence and not all of the criteria can be fully applied. The idea of utilitarianism is to predict outcomes and see how much pain/pleasure a particular action would bring; however, humans are not psychic and cannot accurately predict the future or the outcomes of an action. Linking to the point about one personas happiness comes another person’s pain, on a larger scale, whilst applying the utilitarianism principle, people are favouring the majority at the expense of the minority, whilst, in comparison they may seem more insignificant, when taking in to account the amount of people you’re helping, they are still humans that deserve happiness and avoid pain just like anyone else. Overall I do believe that there are many potential criticisms of the utilitarianism ideology however, I do not think anyone can argue against it by challenging its purpose and principle of bringing about happiness to a large amount of people, which in reality, is what most people strive for in life, as some would argue that there is no better feeling than happiness and joy.

Traditional Celebrations in Indonesia :: Essays Papers

Traditional Celebrations in Indonesia Introduction Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago. Archipelago is a large group of islands. Indonesia is composed of more than 17, 000 islands. West Indonesian Time zone, East Indonesian Time Zone, and East Indonesian Time Zone are the three climate zones in Indonesia. Indonesia is geographically located between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Its area is slightly less than three times the state of Texas. Indonesia borders East Timor, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea. The climates in this country are tropical humid and tends to be more moderate in the highlands. Petroleum, natural gas, nickel, timber, bauxite, copper, fertile soil, gold, and silver are Indonesia’s natural resources. There are occasional floods, severe droughts, earthquakes, and volcanoes that occur every so often. Indonesia’s population is 205,000,000 people and 88% of the population is Muslim. Javanese is the main language. The capital of Indonesia is Jakarta. Indonesians have many brilliant wa ys of celebrating certain celebrations. I am going to be writing about celebrations in Indonesia such as: Indonesian’s Independence Day, a Traditional Wedding Ceremony, the Seventh Month of Pregnancy, and Ramadan. Independence Day August 17, 1945 is the date on which the Indonesians proclaimed their Independence. â€Å"The Indonesians fought and earned independence after more than 300 years under the Dutch occupation and followed by the Japanese occupation†(â€Å"Indonesian Independence Day† 1). Ever since this date, Indonesia celebrates their independence on the 17th day of August. This is just like the United States of America celebrating our independence on the Fourth of July of every year. Preparations for this holiday begin long before the actual celebration occurs. These preparations begin weeks before August 17th. Banners are hung all over. The banners consist of red and white colors. Red and white decorations are scattered all over and the words Long Live Indonesia can be seen almost everywhere. Indonesians use red and white for their banners because these are the colors of their flag. Indonesia’s flag has two horizontal stripes. The first stripe on the top is red. Red represents human blood and the white strip on the bottom symbolize the human spirit. Special activities are prepared for all of the neighborhood children. The schools also hold games and contests amongst the classes to see which class can decorate in the most patriotic manner. Musical selections are also held before and after Independence Day. A clean up day is usually held before the 17th to clean the streets, clean the gutters, and anything else that appears dirty.

Case in motivation and teamwork of Starbuck Essay

                 Formal teams are teams whose structures are clearly defined mainly of the basis of specialization. In these types of teams, the members are not equal and every one of them has a rank (Moorhead & Griffin, 73). For example, there are managers, supervisors and other junior employees. It is worthy noting that every member of a formal team performs their specific duties. For example, managers stay in their offices and issues directives to their juniors. On the other hand, informal teams have no structure and all team members are seen as equal regardless of their specialty. In these types of teams, any member can perform any task. Question 2               A team in Starbucks consists of three to six people and this helps the employees to know each other well. Any opinion expressed by employees is given an equal significance regardless of their position.                The top management at Starbucks work together with their juniors which makes them more familiar and closer compared to other bureaucratic companies.               The management at Starbucks treats all employees as equals and this is aimed at reducing the gap between the employees and the management.                   The top management at the company believes that employees are its main spirit. Consequently, the management adopts an interactive organizational structure that makes the employees love their jobs and perform them with passion. Question 3 a) The size of a team is an important factor because it determines how well the team members know each other. This is important because it brings about cohesion in the work place. b) The first benefit of Starbucks having small teams of staff in every branch is that the team members get to know each other better. Secondly, it improves communication within the group. Question 4                From the Starbucks case study, it is clear that there are three major issues that the company needs to address in its planning process namely listening to the opinion of its employees, equal treatment and ensuring good welfare for the employees.               Equal treatment- this is one of the major issues that the company needs to address in its planning process. Equal treatment requires all employees to be treated equally regardless of their position. According to the case study, it is clear that the management at the company treats all employees as equals and refers to them as partners. This is important because it narrows the gap between the employees and the management. Treating every employees fairly and equally in the workplace results in a friendly working environment. Consequently, if the issue of equal treatment is addressed in the planning process, it will help in creating closer working atmosphere and good management (Rynes & Rosen 64).                Listening to the employees- listening to the employees is other issue that requires to be addressed in the planning process. From the Starbucks case, it is clear that the company wants every employee to take part in developing plans and work as a team to achieve the set goals. Consequently, the company’s principles and policies are communicated to all employees, and there is no restriction in the employee’s individual opinions. By listening to the employees, makes them feel important which in turn motivates them hence increasing their productivity (Rynes & Rosen, 83). References Moorhead, G., & Griffin, R. W. Managing organizational behavior. (10th ed.). Cengage Learning., 2012. Print Rynes, S., & Rosen, B. A field survey of factors affecting the adoption and perceived success of diversity training. Personnel Psychology, 1995. Print Source document

A Comparison of Nihilistic and Christian Archetypes in...

Grendel, Beowulf and the Relationship Between Nihilistic and Christian Archetypes The Wisdom god, Woden, went out to the king of trolls†¦and demanded to know how order might triumph over chaos. â€Å"Give me your left eye,† said the king of trolls, â€Å"and I’ll tell you.† Without hesitation, Woden gave up his left eye. â€Å"Now tell me.† The troll said, â€Å"The secret is, Watch with both eyes!† Woden’s left eye was the last sure hope of gods and men in their kingdom of light surrounded by darkness. All we have left is Thor’s hammer, which represents not brute force but art, or, counting both hammerheads, art and criticism†¦ The philosophies expressed in the Beowulf epic complement the exploration of existentialism throughout the modern work,†¦show more content†¦Beowulf (G), the hero, is able to identify Grendel (G)’s pattern and destroy him. Since mankind could only defeat Grendel (G) by creating a hero more powerful than him, the hero represents a kind of process that ultimately creates a greater monster. Therefore, using these archetypes, Gardner and the Beowulf poet use the same story to illuminate the difference between ancient and modern society; Beowulf (AS) is the proper representative of the Anglo-Saxon society, and Grendel (G) is the proper representative of the modern world. Grendel’s role remains the same in both books; the role of a monster that embodies humanity’s fears, a creature that human society creates. Grendel (AS) exists as a mindless perversion of nature. He represents one branch of the human society created by God that is distorted by evil. However Grendel (G) exists as just another aspect of nature, outside of human society; until he is transformed by his contact with mankind, the concept of â€Å"monster† does not apply to Grendel (G.) â€Å"In viewing the monstrous body as a metaphor for the cultural body†¦beasts, demons, freaks, and fiends are symbolic expressions of cultural unease that pervades a society and shapes its collective behavior.† (Cohen). This is especially true of Grendel (G), whose attempts to interact with