Objections to Utilitarianism Essay Example for Free

Objections to Utilitarianism Essay Darwell’s objection to Utilitarianism states that it conflicts with moral common sense in three particular case studies. The first objection to Act Utilitarianism is â€Å"promise keeping. † Act utilitarianism is inconsistent with the moral conscious, because it forward looks considerations of what one would do. The consequences of not keeping the promise may be hard to determine whether it is right or wrong. One example of Darwell’s objection to Utilitarianism of â€Å"promise keeping† is keeping promises to the dead. Suppose you made a promise to your father to carry on the family business when he passes away. You have inherited your father’s multi-million dollar business after he has died. According to act utilitarian, you can sell the company and donate all of its money to a children’s charity, since your father is dead and his happiness is no longer an issue. You have maximized happiness for many children by breaking your promise to your father and destroying the family business. But, Rule utilitarianism says to keep the promises you have made. Rules were made to maximize happiness. The second case study is â€Å"the moral asymmetry to harm and benefit. † Acting as an act utilitarianism, harming one person to benefit two people can be compensated. Suppose there are five homeless men, and it just so happens that a rich man happens to drive by asking for directions. They can kill the rich man and steal all his luxuries, which will maximize happiness for all five of the homeless men. All would benefit from one man’s death. Rule Utilitarianism oppose against this sort of action. Rule utilitarianism would not pass such a rule to kill an innocent man to benefit others. RU dos not want to live in a society that takes from one to give to others, because it can happen to anyone. The third objection to utilitarianism is distributive justice. Act Utilitarianism believes it does not matter how happiness is distributed, as long as it produces the same net total happiness. Though, common sense states that happiness can be distributed justly or unjustly. Rule utilitarianism does not want a rule or distributive justice. Society looks at how people are treated. Rule Utilitarianism wants equal treatment towards people. In my opinion, I would have to agree with the objections of Darwell’s essay against Utilitarianism. Rule Utilitarianism seems to be much closer to common sense that Act Utilitarianism. Act Utilitarianism does not have a reliable ethical decision system. It does not seem justifiable in believing that under a utilitarian’s condition can satisfy moral theory. Since Act Utilitarianism is not justifiable then it cannot be true. In order for Act Utilitarianism’s to be justifiable it’s claim would have to be understood, instead of contradicting itself. Rule Utilitarianism follows the rules in the legal system, in which these rules are created to maximize happiness. According to Rule Utilitarianism, if an action is justifiable by others and the general rule is proved to reduce happiness, the rule can be changed or ignored. This shows that Rule Utilitarianism is closer to correct moral theory than Act Utilitarianism.

Dreams in Harlem by Langston Hughes Essay -- Harlem, Langston Hughes

"Harlem" by Langston Hughes uses similes in everyday life to make sense of what can happen to a deferred dream. There are many different possible outcomes. Harlem has been known, prior to the twentieth century for being an African American community stricken with crime and poverty. Now it is a booming cultural and business center and they are experiencing a social and economic renaissance. The poem mentions in the first line a deferred dream (line 1). A dream that is postponed or delayed, and asks what happens to that dream. There are many things that could become of it, such as it drying up like a raisin in the sun, (lines 2 and 3) as if cramping up to be something dry of the hope and deliciousness it once had. But nevertheless it still exists. It could also mean that the dream is perfected by sitting for a while in a person’s heart like a sun dried raisin is perfected by being in the sun. The deferred dream could fester like a sore (lines 4 and 5) bubbling up in someone’s mind and expanding, then busting and running out. This dream could slowly leak out and then be gone, but ...

First World War Essay

Map of the  participants in World War I:  Allied Powers  in green,  Central Powersin orange, and neutral countries in grey In the 19th Century, the major European powers had gone to great lengths to maintain a  balance of power  throughout Europe, resulting by 1900 in a complex network of political and military alliances throughout the continent. These had started in 1815, with the  Holy Alliance  between  Prussia, Russia, and Austria. Then, in October 1873, German Chancellor  Bismarck  negotiated theLeague of the Three Emperors  (German:  Dreikaiserbund) between the monarchs of Austria–Hungary, Russia and Germany. This agreement failed because Austria–Hungary and Russia could not agree over Balkan policy, leaving Germany and Austria–Hungary in an alliance formed in 1879, called the  Dual Alliance. This was seen as a method of countering Russian influence in the  Balkans  as theOttoman Empire  continued to weaken. In 1882, this alliance was expanded to include Italy in what became the  Triple Alliance. After 1870, European conflict was averted largely through a carefully planned network of treaties between the German Empire and the remainder of Europe orchestrated by Chancellor Bismarck. He especially worked to hold Russia at Germany’s side to avoid a two-front war with France and Russia. When  Wilhelm II  ascended to the throne as  German Emperor  (Kaiser), Bismarck’s alliances were gradually de-emphasised. For example, the Kaiser refused to renew the  Reinsurance Treaty  with Russia in 1890. Two years later, the  Franco-Russian Alliance  was signed to counteract the force of the Triple Alliance. In 1904, the United Kingdom sealed an alliance with France, the  Entente cordiale  and in 1907, the United Kingdom and Russia signed the  Anglo-Russian Convention. This system of interlocking bilateral agreements formed the  Triple Entente. HMS Dreadnought. A naval  arms raceexisted between the United Kingdom and Germany. German industrial and economic power had grown greatly after  unification and the foundation of the Empire  in 1870. From the mid-1890s on, the government of Wilhelm II used this base to devote significant economic resources to building up the  Kaiserliche Marine  (Imperial German Navy), established by Admiral  Alfred von Tirpitz, in rivalry with the British  Royal Navy  for world naval supremacy. As a result, both nations strove to out-build each other in terms of  capital ships. With the launch of  HMS  Dreadnought  in 1906, the British Empire expanded on its significant advantage over its German rivals. [21]  The arms race between Britain and Germany eventually extended to the rest of Europe, with all the major powers devoting their industrial base to producing the equipment and weapons necessary for a pan-European conflict. Between 1908 and 1913, the military spending of the European powers increased by 50  percent. Austria-Hungary precipitated the  Bosnian crisis  of 1908–1909 by officially annexing the former Ottoman territory of  Bosnia and Herzegovina, which it had occupied since 1878. This angered theKingdom of Serbia  and its patron, the  Pan-Slavic  and  Orthodox  Russian Empire. Russian political manoeuvring in the region destabilised peace accords that were already fracturing in what was known as â€Å"the  Powder keg of Europe†. Ethno-linguistic map of Austria–Hungary, 1910 In 1912 and 1913, the  First Balkan War  was fought between the  Balkan League  and the fracturing Ottoman Empire. The resulting  Treaty of London  further shrank the Ottoman Empire, creating an independent  Albanian State  while enlarging the territorial holdings of Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro and Greece. When Bulgaria attacked both Serbia and Greece on 16 June 1913, it lost most of Macedonia to Serbia and Greece and  Southern Dobruja  to Romania in the 33-day  Second Balkan War, further destabilising the region. Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian-Serb student, was arrested immediately after he assassinated  Archduke Franz Ferdinand of AustriaOn 28 June 1914,  Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian-Serb student and member ofYoung Bosnia, assassinated the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne,  Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria  in  Sarajevo, Bosnia. This began a period of diplomatic maneuvering among Austria-Hungary, Germany, Russia, France, and Britain called the  July Crisis. Wanting to finally end Serbian interference in Bosnia, Austria-Hungary delivered the July Ultimatum to Serbia, a series of ten demands intentionally made unacceptable, intending to provoke a war with Serbia. When Serbia agreed to only eight of the ten demands, Austria-Hungary declared war on 28 July 1914. Strachan  argues, â€Å"Whether an equivocal and early response by Serbia would have made any difference to Austria-Hungary’s behavior must be doubtful. Franz Ferdinand was not the sort of personality who commanded popularity, and his demise did not cast the empire into deepest mourning†. The Russian Empire, unwilling to allow Austria–Hungary to eliminate its influence in the Balkans, and in support of its longtime Serb proteges, ordered a partial mobilization one day later. When the German Empire began to mobilise on 30 July 1914, France, angry about the German conquest of  Alsace-Lorraine  during the  Franco-Prussian War, ordered French mobilisation on 1 August. Germany declared war on Russia on the same day.

Surrealism Movement in the History of Cinema Free Essay Example, 2500 words

In the film, Alice in Wonderland, the director presents Surrealism by showing acceptable, even mandatory, mad, and rebellious characters and scenarios (Chadwick 2011, p. 41). These aspects relate to the characteristics presented by the sequence in the film, L Age d Or where the director forced the audience to adopt subconsciousness by opposing catholic sex taboo. These aspects are clear in a sequence within the film where we see a troubled young girl suffering from a strange recurring dream and mourning the loss of her beloved father (Chadwick 2011, p. 36). Upon asking her father about the dream, the father told her that all the best people in the whole society including her are indeed mad. This discussion forced Alice to accept abnormality and drove her to adopt restless and rebellious behavior (Chadwick 2011, p. 36). Just like in the sequence in L' Age d' Or, this sequence shows how surrealism movement has influenced contemporary cinema by forcing it to abandon logic. The two sequ ences demean the realist and common perceptions in contemporary cinema by negating the catholic sexual taboo and the normality in the society as seen in L' Age d' Or and Alice in Wonderland films respectively. The two sequences rebels against the position of society and religion on the free consummation of love. We will write a custom essay sample on Surrealism Movement in the History of Cinema or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page As such, surrealism forces contemporary cinema to support modern views on sexual relationships where society and religion should support formal sexual relationships established under the consent of all parties. This influences contemporary cinema to consider individual desires over societal or religious expectations.