Search results
Feb 19, 2024 · A utilitarian might argue, as Bentham did, that in the case of uncertain happy consequences far in the future, one should use probability, but this seems to introduce a level of subjectivity into the happiness calculus, something it was designed in the first place to avoid.
This is an online textbook aiming to provide a concise, accessible, and engaging introduction to modern utilitarianism, targeted at the undergraduate level. For a high-school level introduction, see Utilitarianism: Simply Explained. 1 Introduction to Utilitarianism This chapter introduces utilitarianism, and its major costs and benefits as a moral theory. 2 Elements and Types of Utilitarianism ...
For if ‘good consequences’ is meaningless, then it cannot be correct to define right action in terms of good consequences, as consequentialism normally does. One possible reply to this argument against consequentialism is that even if ‘good overall consequences’ turns out to be meaningless, one might still think, for example, that the ...
A few moral projects appear especially pressing by utilitarian lights, such as fighting extreme poverty, reducing the suffering of animals on factory farms, and, in particular, ensuring that the long-term future goes as well as possible. People who will exist in the future greatly outnumber those who are alive today, and we may be able to take ...
Differing definitions. It may be noticed by the scholar of utilitarianism that the definition of the core of the theory (the principle of utility) has changed over the years, such that the modern version has a number of significant differences from that given by Jeremy Bentham:
Jun 11, 2020 · Thus a utilitarian approach to lockdown might favour selective isolation of the elderly and other vulnerable groups if that was the most cost‐effective way to secure overall well‐being. Likewise, the restriction of liberty of low risk groups may also be necessary to secure large collective benefits.
Mar 14, 2023 · You may already be familiar, for example, with the utilitarian ‘happiness principle’: that an action is moral (or not) based on how it affects the sum total of happiness experienced by the greatest number of people. Tracing the origins of utilitarianism is a complex task, as it has a rich conceptual background.
