Utilitarianism And Its Effect On Health Benefits - 1124 Words

Happiness and pleasure, which I will use interchangeably, make up an important part of Utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is based on the idea that an action is either extrinsically or intrinsically good. An action is extrinsically good if and only if it is good as a means, or that its effects are good. One way to determine if something has extrinsic or intrinsic value is to compare two identical worlds, one with the feature in question and one without. If the world with the feature is superior, then the feature has intrinsic value. If the worlds are equal, the feature has extrinsic value because its true value comes from something it causes. For example, chocolate has extrinsic value. I get happiness from chocolate because I like the taste and dark chocolate has health benefits. Moreover, both of those effects are also extrinsically good because the taste of chocolate is pleasing and its health benefits lead to a higher level of happiness. Any goodness that comes from the choco late comes from the happiness that its taste and health benefits create. Mill believes that the only intrinsic good is pleasure. One would prefer a world with more pleasure to an identical world with little pleasure. Pleasure does not have any other effects. Something has intrinsic value because it is good in and of itself, regardless of its effects. In his essay, Utilitarianism, Mill states, â€Å"actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce theShow MoreRelatedFracking : A Ethical Issue By Using The Act Utilitarianism Approach1151 Words   |  5 Pagesanalyzing the benefits and drawbacks of fracking, this paper attempts to address this ethical issue by using the act-utilitarianism approach. The first reason for using this approach, instead of Respect for Persons and Virtue Ethics, is because utilitarianism strongly supports the impartiality feature. 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