Comparison between Utilitarianism and Idealism Essay Example for Free

Comparison between Utilitarianism and Idealism Essay The two theories that will be compared and contrasted in this essay are Platos Idealism and Mill Benthams Utilitarianism. I chose these two theories because, to me, they are the ones that seem to be the most realistic and interesting. The way to get from the level of the is to the level of the ought of the Philosophers in these theories are the two bests. In this essay, it will be shown that the two theories are not so different in their relation between the level of the is and the level of the ought; it will be shown that Idealism would be a better theory for a society with highly intellectual people, and that a combination of these theory would be the best way for our society to evolve from the level of the is to the level of the ought. Platos way to go from the is to the ought is socratic questioning. He says that we should question ourselves on whether the moral views we have are ideal or not. He also says that the way of looking at things we have is wrong because all men are not the same, and so they do not have the same opinion of things. Part of his theory says that to get to true virtue (ideal moral views) we have to trim down all the false moral views we have and get to the basic, timeless, and unchanging patterns of the Good. With those ideal moral views we would be able to mirror the Good. Examples of false ideal moral views for Plato are seeking for selfish pleasures such as food, sex, and power. For Utilitarians, the way to get from the level of the is to the level of the ought is to reward or sanction a person for his or her actions. In Utilitarism people should choose actions that are the most utile for them but also for society. In other words they should choose the most pleasant and less painful actions and consequences for the greatest number of people. The degree of utility (degree of pleasure) is determined by what is called felicific calculus. This pleasure calculator is composed of different criterions that caracterise the pleasure provided by a certain action. They are intensity, duration, certainty, proximity, fecundity, and purity. These caracteristics of pleasure are calculated for ones self and for the population that his or her action concerns. If an action is said to have a fairly good utility to one but a very big disutility to society, it is said to be an immoral action. In that sense selfish pleasures are immoral. In these two theories, the socratic questioning and the felicific calculus almost play the same role in the way that the result (chosen action) should be the same if one is calculating the utility or one is referring to socratic questioning to take a decision. The socratic questioning of Idealism brings the person at the door of the right moral views by trimming all the layers of appearances and opinions over a concept. Even if one is not seeking those ideal moral views the felicific calculus should take one to the same ideal moral views if it is well performed. In that sense these two theories are the same because they give the same final result. But one of the theories seems harder to realize because everyone has to go through a long process that not every individual wants to perform or is able to perform. This theory is Idealism. On the other hand, in Utilitarianism a scale can be made out to lead people in the right way (and that scale is in fact present in our society). These theories are different in the sense that Utilirianism is easier for a society to perform well. To give rewards and punishments, society needs an authority outside the person who acts; this is why there are governements, theocracies and social opinions to guide people. Utilirianism is the most realistic because people do not have to think about what is right or wrong, they only have to follow the guides (rewards/sanctions). The society we live in is clearly Utilitarian. The many rewards (salary, respect, etc. ) and sanctions (prison, school failure, etc. ) reveal it. Everything works in function of rewards and sanctions. It implies that we only have to follow the rules given and no sanctions should be given to us. If our society was Idealist, it would imply that we would have to think and do the socratic questioning at each dilemma we have. This is impossible because not everybody is intelligent enough to do so, and most of the people would not be willing to go through that process. There is a danger in having a Utilirianism society. We just have to think of the United-States with the war they made to Irak. I believe that the population of that country trusted the felicific calculus scale (which was written by the governement) too much, because most of the population (of the USA, of course ) believed that war in Irak was a good thing. In that case the scale of that population was wrong because it did not care enough about what Irakians really wanted. If that dilemma had been well calculated, I am sure that they would let Irakians rebuild their country all alone and stop occupying the country. An Idealist society would take the time and think about that situation. They would have come to the conclusion that this war was not fair and they would have wanted to wait for real proofs of the presence of massive destruction arms before bombarding Irak. Another problem that Utilitarianism has raised is the sexual inequality. I believe that the situation we are in is caused by an error in the scale of the felicific calculus. The authority in place decided very long ago that women were inferior, and then nobody really thinked about it (or had the courage to change things) until the first feminists movements. With an Idealistic society that problem would never had occurred because Idealists always ask themselves if what they do is right. They would have understood long ago that this situation is completelly wrong. The best way to go from the level of the is to the level of the ought in our society would be to combine these two theories. First, Idealism should be used by a group of intellectuals to create a scale that would be used in felicific calculus. Then, felicific calculus should be used by the population. The scale from the felicific calculus should be adjusted as time goes on so that it evolves well with the new technological, economical and historical facts. But this is only an utopic idea because nobody would be able to create and maintain a fair felicific calculus scale since nobody can totally get to the basic principles of morality.

The War on Drugs Essay -- Essays Papers

The War on Drugs To fully understand the significance and the seriousness of a War one must first fully understand the reasons that caused it in the first place. In this specific case the solution begins with several important yet seemingly simple questions†¦What is marijuana? How is it used? And why is it so coveted and widely distributed in Jamaica as well as the rest of the world?†¦ All these questions help clarify the reasoning behind the war on drugs and further investigation shows how Jamaica ends up being an important country in this puzzle as well. Lets begin with the first question, (What is marijuana), of course the dictionary definition is simply put,-a preparation of the hemp plant, Cannabis sativa, for use as an intoxicating hallucinogenic drug; applied to a crude preparation of the dried leaves, flowering tops, and stem of the plant that is generally smoked. However, beyond this explanation is what is commonly known as weed, which is simply an alternative to tobacco that results in sensational relaxed feeling that is described as high. This drugs origin can be traced back to ancient days when it was used as a healing supplement to cure several different medical conditions; its been used as a drink as well as an eliminator of menstrual pain and even more ironic marijuana has served as a religious connotation as well. However, the most commonly known usage of marijuana (after its being outlawed in the 1930’s) is as a drug and smoked or consumed by other means. Now that an understanding of the drug has been clarified one must look at the next important question, (Why is marijuana so coveted and distributed in Jamaica as well as the rest of the world?) Although marijuana usage and distribution is illegal ar... ...oes not effect the economy in a harmful way unless it is rendered illegal. This drug problem is much larger than Jamaica and should be handled as such. Work Cited/ Bibliography 1. â€Å"The Ganja Culture.† Jamaica Gleaner 27 Jul. 2001 http://www.jamaica- gleaner.com/ 2. â€Å"Jamaica Mulls Legalizing Marijuana.† Las Vegas Sun 25 Aug. 1999 http://www.cannabisnews.com/ 3. Morrison, Tony. â€Å"Holy Smoke! Legalize the weed, say church officials† 6 Jul. 2000. http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/ 4. Kovach, Hill and Tom Rosenstiel. The Elements of Journalism. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2001. 5. Williams, Lloyd. â€Å"US$ ganja cut—back.† 13 Mar. 2000. http://www.jamaica- gleaner.com/ 6. Ritch, Dawn. â€Å"Marijuana bringing a new dawn.† 5 Aug. 2001. http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/

Civil Unions and Same-Sex Marriages Essay

Questions about morality, family relationships, freedom of expression, and sexuality are at stake in the gay marriage debate. The main argument of the issue of same sex marriage is how much we should allow the government to control in issues like marriage in our private lives. â€Å"At Issue: Gay Marriage†, which is a book written by Debra Miller in 2012, includes a broad spectrum of views on the subject. One of the biggest issues in the gay marriage debate is the meaning of the separation of church and state in the United States. Some organizations and churches argue that state support of same-sex marriage is a breach of their religious freedoms which are protected by the US Constitution and if they are forced by laws enacted to include same sex marriages that they are being forced to accept acts that are against their religious beliefs. In a statement made concerning same sex marriage; some religious organizations and churches claimed that homosexual acts go against their religious beliefs and the natural moral law and that they should not be forced to perform marriages that go against their beliefs. Religious organizations say that to legalize homosexual marriage is religious persecution in their eyes. People that approve of gay marriage make the point that marriage is a legal right and a religious right as well because church and the state are separate. Activists argue that homosexual couples have a right to a marriage the same as heterosexual couples do. Another point that is called on is that people do not have to marry in a church but can do so in a court house as well and that no church or religious organization is bound to marry any couple. They are basically saying that churches are not forced to do anything against their belief system. One side will argue against federal laws that encompass and over rule state laws. Others will argue that each state should be able to make and enforce laws that concern each state as they see fit within their state governmental departments, like those concerning marriage laws. President Bush believed and stated that â€Å"the voice of the people is being compromised by the actions of a few judges in isolated cases†, (President George Bush, 2003). Former President Bush believes that laws like these could threaten every state in the union because of the â€Å"full faith and credit† clause in Article IV of the Constitution, (The United States Constitution, Article III, Section 2, 2013), which requires all states to honor the laws of every other state. President Bush said in an interview that the full faith and credit clause would require all states same-sex marriages performed anywhere in America. Bush, 2003) Civil Unions include heterosexual and same sex unions according to The Department of Internal Affairs, (The Department of Internal Affairs, 2004). Civil Unions differ from marriage because they are entered into by two people who chose to live together as man and wife and present themselves to the public and in private this way without an official marriage or marriage license. They consider themselves married but the government, whether state, local, or federal do not. At one time heterosexual civil unions were accepted and now are no longer recognized in most states. What this means is that people with a marriage license issued by the state are guaranteed certain rights, responsibilities, and privileges that people in civil unions are not given. These rights extend to the work place where insurance is guaranteed to a spouse of heterosexuals that are married but not to civil unions between same or opposite sex couples working in the same place. If same sex marriage and civil unions are both accepted and laws are enacted to approve of them then I believe this opens the doors to many other types of behaviors in the future that will do more harm than good to our society. These behaviors would include the right of an older person to marry a child for instance or to marry an animal or inanimate object even. We must ask ourselves one question and that is where we are willing to draw the line in our inclusions and amendments to the laws that were written to protect us in the beginning. The more we accept the more we are willing to accept as a society.

Walking Into An Internship Is Not Easy - 851 Words

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