Utilitarianism And Bernard Williams Critique Of...

Monika Mahmutovic (301180032) PHIL 221 Fall 2015 Instructor: Dr. Jennifer Warriener Wednesday, December 2, 2015 Demotivating Us to be Moral?: Utilitarianism’s Moral Overburdening and Bernard Williams’ Critique Utilitarianism, at first, appears to be a rather uncontroversial ethical theory in that it bases its plausibility on its basic principle of maximizing human happiness. Even so, it proves to be rather problematic in many of its aspects as soon as one discerns how this ethical account ascribes moral value to actions. Particularly, one worrying issue for utilitarianism, which I will be delving into, deals with is its demands on the way in which agents are required to act and lead their lives in order for them to be considered moral and for their lives to be considered good. The challenges surrounding the stringent requirements of utilitarianism and its tendency to overburden moral agents with these requirements is pointed out by Bernard Williams in his 1973 essay â€Å"A Critique of Utilitarianism.† Williams’ worry boils down to this: if utilitarianism judges the morality of actions solely on the basis of whether they maximize happiness (or not), then it seems that age nts who are not at every moment engaged in acts that are increasing the overall goodness in the world are either both directly and indirectly responsible for others’ suffering that is caused or results of their actions or inaction. This commitment utilitarianism ties us to is what Williams refers to asShow MoreRelatedThe Moral Aspects Of Utilitarianism1619 Words   |  7 PagesSir Bernard Arthur Owen Williams greatly influenced philosophical ethics through several studies on the moral aspects of Utilitarianism. His complex thinking and theories, along with his unique approach, gave him a great amount of recognition towards other theorists in his field. He expressed the majority of his beliefs through his writings in which he stressed his critiques of Utilitarianism and Kantianism and emphasized the importance of moral rational. His study of both external and internal reasoningRead MoreBernard Williams Vs Rule Utilitarianism1606 Words   |  7 PagesUtilitarianism is based o ff of the idea that actions are right if they are beneficial and support the majority. When a person is faced with a decision, he or she must think about the consequences in terms of pleasure versus pain. That person has a moral obligation to figure out which outcome is the better one. Majority of this paper will discuss act utilitarianism versus rule utilitarianism and different philosophical objections to each. 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Smart is concerned with a branch of utilitarianism called ‘act-utilitarianism. Act-utilitarianism is the ethical perspective that the rightness or wrongness of an action depends only on the total goodness or badness of its consequences. Smarts interpretation of justice is two fold: the role of justice in utilitarian ideology, and through a contrast of utilitarianism and Rawls theory. Smart argues that the notion of distribution is irrelevant to utilitariansRead More The Role of Justice in Society Essay2374 Words   |  10 Pagesthe additional assets they require. J.J.C. Smart is concerned with a branch of utilitarianism called ‘act-utilitarianism’. Act-utilitarianism is the ethical perspective that â€Å"the rightness or wrongness of an action depends only on the total goodness or badness of its consequences†. Smart’s interpretation of justice is two fold: the role of justice in utilitarian ideology, and through a contrast of utilitarianism and Rawls theory. Smart argues that the notion of distribution is irrelevant to utilitarians