Term Papers on Utilitarianism Or Kantianism

Term Paper Title	Utilitarianism Or Kantianism
# of Words	1230
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	4.92

Utilitarianism or Kantianism

Utilitarianism or Kantianism, Which theory of ethics is correct?

In choosing an ethical theory one must ascertain which is right to them
mentally because, To choose one over the other must mean that you believe in
that one to the fullest extent. That’s why I believe the only true Ethical
Theory in life “today” is Utilitarianism. The main Utilitarian value is
happiness not for one person but for all of society. Utilitarianism is a very
rational way of thought, in which we consider all people as equals among
themselves.

(I say today because, a theory is only as good for as long as it last and no
one knows if a new theory will be discovered tomorrow.)

As all ethical theories, Utilitarianism is based on rights and wrongs of
human society. One principle of Utilitarianism is, the ultimate good (end or
purpose) of human life is happiness, not simply of a single individual in
isolation from others, but of all individuals together. This principle is very
important because it starts many disputes between people about what is good for
the majority of a society.

Utilitarianism has many principles but for this paper I will only be
discussing a few of the major points, such as actions of rights and wrongs. What
makes an act right is its consequences. “Actions are right in proportion as
they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of
happiness.” How an action affects individuals, whether it causes them
pleasures or pain. One’s actions towards anything in life causes consequences,
these consequences are most of the time overlooked by the action maker, and its
results will be felt by others in the near future.

The Utilitarian standard is a social standard. What is right is not what
brings happiness to one, but what brings happiness to the majority. Many of the
Utilitarian principles are geared to an almost perfect world for all of
humanity. This orientation towards a Utopia society is one of the major reasons
why I believe Utilitarianism will prove to be the right theory of Ethics.

Utilitarianism is not without faults. One major point of this argument is
about happiness and good for the many as apposed to the few. Although we all
agree that happiness should be maximized for all, most of us cannot agree on
what is happiness and what is good and who decided. Utilitarianism offers us a
small look into this question by stating that, what is good is what society
defines good to be. For example, No one would ever disagree that helping someone
is wrong, but if helping someone shows your weakness towards others most people
would see you as weak hearted.

Kantianism is another theory of ethics, which believes that a human life
cannot be measured by quantity. This view on ethics is very interesting to
consider because it’s a one-eighty twist from Utilitarianism. In which we
notice that quantity is a main issue in life and its choices. Kantianism is
school of thought in which one life cannot be compared to another or many more.

One principle of Kantianism is "Act only according to that maxim by
which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law."
This simple means that, one should do something that at the same time if done to
you would be acceptable by you. This argument is right on a fundamental level,
but we all know in life most people don't feel this way about there choices,
they feel that they should do whatever brings them the most good.

Kantianism has a view of ethics that consist mainly of someone's intentions
rather than the consequences. The good will factor is what Immanuel Kant argues
about. Suppose, A young child decides to help an old lady with her b...

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