Utilitarianism: An Overview

Utilitarianism is a philosophy that determines the moral value (rightness or wrongness) of an action based on its usefulness in generating happiness or pleasure for the most numbers of people. Happiness is the only desirable end in the view of utilitarian John Mill, "The utilitarian doctrine is that happiness is desirable, and the only thing desirable, as an end; all other things being desirable as means to that end" (Debate, 2008, p. 100). In one sense, this implies that any means are justified so long as happiness is the end achieved by those means. This analysis will provide examples of moral and immoral acts from a utilitarian perspective. A conclusion will offer a criticism against utilitarianism as well as a response to the criticism.

One example of acts that would be deemed immoral from a utilitarian perspective are the acts of the suicide terrorists who killed more than 3,000 innocent civilians on September 11, 2001. The terrorists did this in order to increase the happiness or pleasure of Islamic extremists who vie

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Category: Philosophy - U