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Thus, according to Mill, a state of thriving morality would be that in which each individual constantly pursues his own happiness and at the same time that of the others, through all his actions. Mills uses as a central argument for his theory of morality the 'golden rule' of Christianity, as he calls it, which states that each individual should only act as he in his turn would be acted upon by his fellow beings and that each person should love his neighbor as himself: "In the golden rule of Jesus we read the complete spirit of the ethics of utility: 'to do as you would be done by' and 'to love your neighbor as yourself."(Mills, 17) Morality is thus grounded on the awareness and the pursuit of individual good as well as the good of the whole.
Of the two theories described here, Kant's metaphysics of morality seems to be the more pertinent one. The main reason is that to understand, as the German philosopher proposes, the abstract idea of good seems to be indeed the token of a superior, rational judgment. The value of good will is independent of the empirical conditions...
Mill's pursuit of general happiness seems less valid by comparison, because of the number of contradictions that can ensue (for example, the happiness of one person may be in the detriment of that of another human creature). Also, Kant realizes that in man's imperfect state, the empirical conditions can considerably change the outcome of a certain action that was meant to be good. Finally, the fact that Kant associates freedom of thought with what he calls a 'good will' suggests that a man has to be truly superior to be able to act solely on the basis of his will, and not from duty or self-interest. Thus, if everyone would act out of a truly 'good will', that is, the will that follows the abstract and pure idea of good, it could be said that the human society has evolved to a higher state. It can be maintained therefore that moral awareness is the most important thing in our world.
Works Cited
Kant, Immanuel. Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals.
Mill, John Stuart. What is Utilitarianism.
Works Cited
Kant, Immanuel. Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals.
Mill, John Stuart. What is Utilitarianism.
Moral Philosophy Can desires and feelings be in accordance with or contrary to reason? Are they under the control of, or guided by, reason? Compare, contrast, and critically evaluate the answers of Aristotle and Hume to these questions and their arguments in support of those answers. David Hume is one of the most significant philosophers of the 18th Century. Hume is skeptical about moral truths, and he ascertains that ethics comes from
Moreover, how does he justify saying one would rather be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool who is satisfied? His point is obvious - it is better to have brains and not achieve happiness than be dumb and be contented. But Socrates, brilliant as he was, chose death over exile from Athens, which it can be argued did not lead to happiness in Socrates nor in the students who admired
There are several ways that BP could have chosen to respond, all of which were "open" to them (i.e. they had free will), yet those chose to take paths that were less moral. Kant's universal law would have them put their responsibility to humanity as the motivator, however, their motives have not proven to be driven by doing what is genuinely good for humanity. Blackburn (2009) states that it is
Courage, intelligence for example could be used for wrong purposes and hence it was important pre-requisite to have good will if an action was to be termed moral. Intelligence, wit, judgment, and the other talents of the mind, however they be named, or courage, resoluteness, and perseverance as qualities of temperament, are doubtless in many respects good and desirable. But they can become extremely bad and harmful if the will,
For example, many individuals value freedom and knowledge as things that can bring happiness. So, having their own value, these things are parts of happiness. Mill believed that everyone's happiness is important. He believed in what he called the 'greatest happiness principle.' According to the greatest happiness principle, a person is ethically required to try to bring about the consequences that would lead to the greatest amount of happiness for
Philosophy and Morality INSTRUCTIONS The exam consists essays. Please essays document. Please plagiarize. Be paraphrase verbatim language authors putting quotation marks. You document sources, -text citation ( footnotes) a reference page. Philosophy John Arthur's "Morality, Religion, and Conscience," A concern on the relationship between morality and religion is an ancient argument that continues in philosophy in the present times. The argument is mainly on whether morality emanates from an institution or religious background. Theologians