Part of The Student Room Group

  • Join over 1.2 million students every month
  • Accelerate your learning by 29%
  • Unlimited access from just £6.99 per month

Rule utilitarianism works as a moral theory, but act utilitarianism does not

Extracts from this document...

Introduction

?Rule utilitarianism works as a moral theory, but act utilitarianism does not?. Discuss Although utilitarianism is a flawed ideology as whole, rule utilitarianism seems to work as a better theory overall. Rule utilitarianism believes that we should always follow the general adherence to which will lead to the greatest overall balance of good over evil. I believe this is a more moral theory compared to act utilitarianism, act utilitarianism believes that we should always perform the act which will lead to the greatest good over evil. I believe that rule utilitarianism works as a moral theory compared to act utilitarianism because in order to live in an ordered society, we need rules and laws in order to avoid chaos, and this is what rule utilitarianism believes in. ...read more.

Middle

to feed the child was to steal a loaf of bread, then this would be okay according to act utilitarianism, however some people may believe this would be the right thing to do as there would be no other choice. Act utilitarianism is also a less moral theory because it remains as a scale, and some people may not have the time, or intellectual capacity even if the information available in order to make a choice based purely on a scale, for example the amount of pleasure that a child would bring you is not the same as the slice of pizza would bring you. ...read more.

Conclusion

Some people may believe that act utilitarianism works better as it is seen as the most natural interpretation of utilitarianism. If our aim is always to produce the best results it seem plausible to think that in each case of deciding what is the right thing to do, we should consider the available options, predict their outcomes and approve of the action that will bring the most pleasure. Overall, I believe that rule utilitarianism is a moral theory compared to act utilitarianism because it can be applied more to our daily lives as we follow laws and rules every day, whereas act utilitarianism seems quite unrealistic compared to rue utilitarianism. However, I believe both theories are flawed because there is no way we could completely apply both to real life. ...read more.

The above preview is unformatted text

This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our AS and A Level Practical Questions section.

Found what you're looking for?

  • Start learning 29% faster today
  • 150,000+ documents available
  • Just £6.99 a month

or


Not the one? Search for your essay title...
  • Join over 1.2 million students every month
  • Accelerate your learning by 29%
  • Unlimited access from just £6.99 per month

See related essaysSee related essays

Related AS and A Level Practical Questions essays

  1. What are the Main Features of Utilitarianism as an Ethical Theory?

    In this sense, we assume a version of the hedonic calculus. The problems with utilitarianism in general are that it relies on prediction. Utilitarianism is primarily concerned with producing the greatest good for the greatest number but as we do not know what the future is there is always the

  2. Examine the key features of utilitarianism and its strengths and weaknesses of utilitarianism

    To explain this, an example could be that there is a bus crash. You can only get one person out of the bus and your mum is stuck on the bus but there is also a scientist who, in his mind, has the cure for cancer, but it is your prima facie duty to save your mother.

  1. Utilitarianism. Identify the main problems of Utilitarianism. To what extent do these make Utilitarianism ...

    Some of the strengths included in Utilitarianism are that it encourages a democratic approach to decision making as the majority's opinions is always considered and a very small minority is not allowed to have power over the final decision. Utilitarian theories hold with the general agreement that the well-being of

  2. Compare Utilitarianism With Kant's Theory of The Categorical Imperative And Explain Which You Think ...

    Thus, if Jim were to kill the man, it would only be a moral action, if killing were a universally acceptable action- which of course it is not. Secondly, another important part of Kant's theory refers to humans, and how they should never be used as a means to an end.

  1. A look in the life and works of Samuel Johnson.

    Despite growing up in poverty and the unfortunate death of his wife, Johnson sees life as a cherished gift that should not be taken for granted. In The Vanity of Human Wishes, Johnson clearly expounds on his views toward life using well-embodied satire.

  2. Modern life-prolonging technologies have sharpened some ancient dilemmas on the value of life.

    For example, if a comatose and brain damaged person can be kept alive only as a vegetative parasite to a machine which controls its respiration and circulation, then SL proponents would take money from "less valuable" obligations to keep the person alive; the QL proponent would not.

  1. To complete this essay the following areas need to be looked at: - ...

    Utilitarianism believes that you can measure amounts of pleasure and pain. It believes you can therefore measure and add the quantities of benefits produced by an action and take away the measured quantities of harm the action will have, and thereby determine which action produces the greatest total benefits or the lowest total costs.

  2. Explain Utilitarianism

    and purity (how free from pain?). Whatever is good or bad can be measured in a quantitative way. Bringing about the greatest pleasure is more important then abiding to rules or laws. For example, in ?Trolleology?, David Edmonds formulates a dilemma.

  • Over 160,000 pieces
    of student written work
  • Annotated by
    experienced teachers
  • Ideas and feedback to
    improve your own work