Sunday, January 31, 2016

Unit 3 (Utilitarianism) Assignment

[Note: I've posted this late, so you have until W 03 Feb (classtime) to complete the essay and response to another student's essay. Note that entries shorter than 250 words (essay) or 100 words (response) will lose points. - Professor Pat]
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  • Discussion Blog: 1st 3 students, explain how the principles of utilitarianism often guide your decisions; 2nd 3 students, how does Mill account for those who lose their youthful enthusiasm, noble character, and interest in “higher faculties” as they get older?; and last 4 or so students, how and why does Mill distinguish between our intentions and the consequences of our actions?

13 comments:

  1. Utilitarian views are probably the most important guide to me and my life. Almost every decision I make is based on how will this help me or how can I utilize this. Even when it comes to friends most people, myself included, look for friends that can be helpful or have some use that will better our lives. This is not to say that there aren’t many ways to measure a friend’s usefulness. A friend isn’t just useful for the stuff they know or the things they have but a friend can also be measured in the fun you have with them or the way they make you feel. Friendships don’t last forever though. At some point most friendships will end or they will change. The people will grow apart or get closer and this is because of usefulness. People will change interests and then people that use to be instrumental in their lives are not as important and the relationship changes. In my own experiences this has happened quite a bit because of moving from state to state and it shows you the kind of friends you have. Some friends will stay with you forever and I still have friends that are a thousand miles away because their usefulness to me was in emotional and mental support not in doing fun stuff. Some friends fade fairly fast though because their usefulness was being able to hangout and once that can no longer happen they are no longer useful and using utilitarian principles the friendship ends to make room for more useful relationships and friendships.

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    1. I agree with your friendship outlook. Most friends that I have are my friends because I know that if I ever need anything at all that they will be there. The opposite goes from me to them. During my high school career I had to make an extreme change in the friends I had because the friends I had would not help when I was in need during my surgeries. This impacted my life in almost every way. I find it amusing that when life changes for the worse you become more appreciative of the good things fin your life. Friendships are some of the most important things to me. I believe that if everyone had close relationships that they can count on when things get hard, people would be happier.

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  2. Going through life I’ve never put any thought into how much I actually apply utilitarian views into my everyday life. When it comes to making choices in my life, whether these choices have a small or dramatic impact on my life. There is often a process where I think of the long term consequences of my actions, this is both good and bad. The next step in my thought process when making a decision is, is it worth putting in the effort and pursuing or following through with it. The last step in my thought process is am I doing this for the right reason? I can’t make decisions based on my selfish actions or cause pain to myself or others, it has to have results that produce only a good situation for me to go through with it.
    Going through life there are times I have used my utilitarian views without ever noticing I am. I knew as a child that I was not supposed to steal, or cheat and that I was always supposed to obey the laws. These are often known as common sense or morality they have been learned through the experience of growing up and interacting with the world around you. These are basic rules of life that tend to promote happiness, not only for myself but for those around me who we often interact with, so we should internalize them as good rules to follow. Because there is often consequence for our actions although we don’t know the future of our actions but it is reasonable to believe only the best outcome for the greater good should follow.

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    1. I realized this too. I never thought about how much these utilitarian views played into my life. Not that we have discussed utilitarianism in class I find myself consciously using these ideals throughout my life. I've started to notice that I have been weighing my decisions more carefully. For example when I was setting up my schedule this semester I was trying to gain the most satisfaction possible. I was eventually faced with a choice between a difficult professor or having to take an online class. I came to the decision to take the online class over taking the difficult professor,. Even though I do not prefer online classes, I would rather do that than have the difficult professor.

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  3. Alright, looking back at some of my decisions, and the reasons for the decisions I did make, which proceeded to blaze the path that I have been following are pretty much in line with the utilitarianism moral decision. As it calls for the increase in one’s happiness and satisfaction, I can only say that my choices have done such that. Although the path to satisfaction is different for everyone as Mill discusses the difference between having low and high standards of living. This to me just means the difference in ones intentions and idea of satisfaction, one cannot deem theirs greater than any others. Mine however as an avid believer in the meaning of live being one to advance the race (human) I am attempting to accomplish that in the way I believed that I best could which is with science and the advancement of human life through technology and practicality. Obviously I have not accomplished that nor is there any guarantee with a STEM degree that one would. As Mill talks about the loss of aspirations as one’s life is furthered, I would only imagine that as I get older I will not shy from that path as well. I am sure that everyone would hope that they don’t but obviously it does happen due to unforeseen situations or lack there off that doesn’t allow the advancement of one’s life. Which I believe is not necessarily a matter of end all be all, but that you have not put yourself down the path that you are most capable of doing. Which brings up the point that everyone’s definition of satisfaction is different but peoples thoughts of it can obviously be skewed by the social and economic factors that come with different satisfactions.

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    1. I completely again that the meaning of life is to advance the human race. As humans we have to be wired like this or else the human race would die out. We can not think of ourselves as more important than the collective. As engineers and just enlighten people, by going through college we are helping the human race we will be the ones to make the difference and further the species. Everyone’s definition of what brings them satisfaction is different but some things are universal. I think making friends is a universally satisfying. It is an evolutionary advantage for people to be satisfied with being in groups because bonding together created survival.

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  4. Mill talks about men who lose their noble character and “capacity for nobler feelings” as a product of a society that does not place value on such nobler attitudes and actions. “Capacity for nobler feeling is in most natures a very tender plant, easily killed, not only by hostile influences, but by mere want of sustenance…” (Page 7) Mill goes on to state that men loose there high aspirations as they lose their intellectual tastes. Not as a deliberate choice but because lower forms of pleasure, as Mill states later on being selfishness and needing excitement, are far more readily available than the noble pleasures. An example that comes to mind, something that has been brought up on every social media site and in many debates, is the fame and value put on certain celebrities. There have been many celebrities that have done nothing for society. Paris Hilton and most of the Kardashians among many others. Information about their lives literally plagues every form of media available. What they wore to the airport, who their sleeping with, where they ate for dinner last night. All worthless information that many people are addicted to hearing about for no apparent reason. Society has made them famous. Meanwhile there are thousands of men and women who fight and have fought for our country who come back and receive little to no recognition for what they have sacrificed for our way of life. It is easy for me to see why someone would rather be famous for no apparent reason, receiving pleasures that have no noble value whatsoever, rather than making the noble sacrifice for the greater good of our country. Why is it that Paris Hilton can probably get into the nicest restaurant in the United States but someone who fought with their life for our freedoms most likely would be turned away? Our society does not place high enough value on noble acts such as enlisting in the military even though our way of life, our freedom, depends on it. How many more people would work to defend our country if we glorified the soldiers the way we glorify the waste of space that is Kim Kardashian?

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    1. After reading your post and referring to the idolization of celebrities that have no moral or ethical responsibilities compared to those who have proven to have sacrificed for each and every one of us is that we have a mob mentality. We want to know what these people are doing because OTHERS want to know what they are doing. Obviously the knowledge of these ‘celebrities’ should not dictate ones live nor the choices that one would make in everyday life. But, obviously the knowledge of what celebrities do cause some form of pleasure for the interested, what that pleasure is I don’t think I could ever imagine.

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  5. Mill speaks in detail about those who lose their useful enthusiasm and interest in higher facilities as they get older. Mill starts by stating, “many who began with youthful enthusiasm for everything noble, as they advance in years sink into indolence and selfishness.” Mill goes on to say, that it is not the fault of these people but, it is the lives that the people are leading that lead to their “selfishness.” Mill states that, “men lose their high aspirations as they lose their intellectual tastes, because they have no time or opportunity to indulge them.” Mill is saying that there is simply not enough time for people to take part in in higher forms of pleasure. This leads to people seeking lower forms of pleasure to fill the void. These are forms of pleasure that do not stimulate the mind like higher forms of pleasure. Lower forms of pleasure today would include things like Netflix. It takes almost no effort or thought to sit on the couch and binge watch an entire series in a day. It is an easy comfortable form of pleasure, but it does not extend beyond the couch. Mill is saying that is is much harder for people to engage in higher forms of pleasure because of the amount of energy it takes. For example, reading a piece of classical literature. It takes a great amount of energy and time to get through a piece of writing like that. So, many people will often not attempt to engage in this activity because they do not have the time or do not want to put in the effort to do the task.

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    1. Matthew, after reading your blog, which was very thoughtful and entertaining I might add, it is easy to tell that you know what you are talking about. Your observation on Netflix was spot on its one of easiest things to do, all you have to do is push a button and sit there yet people do it all the time. Think of what our society would be like if everyone read books or enlightened philosophers instead of Netflix. I totally understand it’s a way to relax the mind and body just being able to zone out like that. The end.

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  6. Mill accounts for those who lose their youthful enthusiasm, noble character, and interest in “higher facilities” as they get older. The line that really struck out to me was “Men lose their aspiration as they lose their intellectual tastes, because they have not time or opportunity for indulging them.” I think this also has to do with the time frame that Mill lives in. I say this because during the 1800’s when you became old enough to work that is what they did. When they become older and have to start working the “they have not time” really comes to mind, during the 1800’s the primary work was agriculture. If anyone has worked in agriculture you will understand what it means to work from sun up to sun down. When they day is done believe me there is nothing better than just doing absolutely nothing. In the opposite as a youth you see the enthusiasm in their eyes when they go out to play do what kids do. Kids will look up to those older than them. They will see how the older people are acting and want to act like them. This will also explain why kids lose so much of their youthful nobleness. It also says in the reading that “they addict themselves to inferior pleasures, not because they deliberately prefer them, but because they are either the only ones to which they have access.” This stood out to me because I have seen how differently people will act depending on what they are surrounded by. If a man is around those who are higher class you can see them stand straighter, talk more appropriate. On the other side of the fence if a man is around those who are crude you will see them sink to a lower level in a short time.

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    1. It's the company you keep! My parents made sure I knew this phrase. I'm not saying I listened. But I agree now looking back at my life that if I had taken more from that whole idea that the ones with whole you surround yourself are what you will become, I may have had an easier time when I was younger. It's easy to loose sight of the things that are morally right, or the things that are healthy for us as a person when the people all around you don't seem to really care much. It's a tough lesson to learn and one that I stress thinking of how to teach it to my children. The world we live in today unfortunately has an abundance of unhealthy options for friends and the good ones are few and far between.

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  7. In utilitarianism John Stuart Mill talks about the intensions of our actions. He says that we do things strictly to get the intended result. For example if go to the weight room weekly for 3 months then I am going to get huge muscles, that’s what I intended I didn’t go to the weight shack to get ice cream. Another thing that mill said in his work is “it is a misapprehension of the utilitarian mode of thought, to conceive it as implying that people should fix their minds upon so wide a generality as the word, or society at large.” He goes on to say that most people do for individuals and not for the good of the world, but enough individuals do good it will start to show in the world. What we intend might not always have the best consequences, as people always make mistakes, I having good intensions does not make a wrong, right. i Mill says happiness is the virtue of Utilitarianism and if that is the case then all of our actions that we do we do to make us happy. This causes a dilemma because what makes us happy doesn’t always make others happy. For example if a really hot babe wants it from me yet I don’t want give it to her then there is the root of the problem. In conclusion mill says that the consequences of our actions and intensions are one in the same yet they do not always get the same outcome.

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