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What is the meaning of utilitarianism?
What is utilitarianism? Utilitarianism is also translated as utilitarianism or utilitarianism, that is, utilitarianism is a theory in moral philosophy (ethics). It originated in modern Britain and developed with the development of British capitalist economy. This theory originated from the ethical theories of Bacon and Hobbes, and was developed by Harrison Mendwell and Smith in the18th century. By the end of18th century19th century, bentham and mill finally established it as a systematic and rigorously demonstrated ethical thought system. Utilitarianism has a long history. Epicurus, an ancient Greek scientist, suggested that the purpose of life is to get rid of pain and seek happiness. It is human nature to seek happiness and avoid pain, and it is also the best interest of human beings. /kloc-helvetius, a French enlightenment thinker in the 8th century, advocated opposing feudal bondage and asceticism with his human nature of pursuing advantages and avoiding disadvantages, and theoretically discussed the principle of interests. Later, Bentham accepted these views and founded utilitarian ethics. So, what is utilitarianism? Utilitarianism is one of the most influential ethical theories to measure the value of behavior by purpose and effect. These theories are usually called "teleology" or "effect theory". However, there are many types of utilitarianism theory. According to these theories, the correctness and mistakes of behaviors and practices only depend on the results of these behaviors and practices on the overall welfare of the affected parties; The so-called moral right or wrong of behavior refers to the overall good or evil produced by behavior, not to the behavior itself. Utilitarianism law was born in England from the end of 18 century to the beginning of 19 century. It is a school of law that applies utilitarianism to the field of law. Utilitarianism is based on such an ethical principle: human nature is to avoid pain and seek happiness, and human behavior is dominated by utilitarianism, which means pursuing happiness; For a society or a government, it is a basic function to pursue the greatest happiness of the greatest number of people. The most basic feature of utilitarian jurisprudence is that the utilitarian principle of pursuing "maximum happiness" is the purpose of legislation, the standard of judging the quality of law, and the legal practice in continental Europe, which has played a great role in promoting the development of politics and law. After the 20th century, western law, social law, freedom law and economic law absorbed some basic principles of utilitarian law. Bentham's utilitarianism theory revolves around the analysis of bitterness and pleasure. The so-called pleasure is happiness (utility) and moral goodness. It does not emphasize the motivation of moral behavior, but only the effect of behavior. It is pointed out that the most basic emotion of human beings is the sense of bitterness and pleasure, and human nature is to seek pleasure and avoid suffering. Starting from the basic purpose of life, seeking happiness and avoiding pain, we can get a good or bad standard for evaluating everything and all behaviors: behaviors and things that help to produce happiness are good, and vice versa, which is the utilitarian principle. Utilitarianism is not comprehensive, because it emphasizes the result of the actor, without considering the motivation of the behavior. In addition, the so-called principle of the greatest happiness of the greatest number of people by utilitarianism can not determine the size and scope of goodness, and it is easy to lead to injustice. Because of different positions, the interests are different. Most people generally believe that the behavior that produces the greatest value may also lead to unfair harm to a few people. Who will protect the legitimate interests and happiness of the minority? Therefore, utilitarianism appeared these theoretical dilemmas, and gradually declined after entering the 20th century. But in the middle and late 20th century, the utilitarian principle initiated by Bentham and Mill revived to some extent. This is because, first of all, in modern society, especially in capitalist society, the pursuit of profit is still the basic motivation of people's behavior, which provides theoretical support for the pursuit of interests by market subjects in market economy; Secondly, under the condition of modern market economy, modern western society faces many problems such as environmental pollution, aging population, shortage of resources, employment and unemployment, and people have to face moral choices. Morality, as a code of conduct and principle, is established to regulate the behavior relationship between people, and regulating people's behavior is essentially to regulate the interest relationship between people. As a result, utilitarianism has quietly emerged in English-speaking countries such as Britain, America and Australia. Modern utilitarianism is a new utilitarian normative ethics reinterpreted by modern philosophical research methods on the basis of modern utilitarian tradition. Utilitarianism has its shortcomings, such as narrow teleology, and its starting point and foothold are still individualism. But objectively speaking, utilitarianism is beneficial to the cash age! The content comes from the network.

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