BIZ ETHICS: UTILITARIANISM AND KANTIANISM - Essay Example

Some students feel that absent from class makes them happy. They can play computer games without their parent's knowledge and abstain from lectures. This is right for these people. While others who are not happy to go to school do so because they may not be utilitarian followers but they believe in the Kant philosophy of reasoning which is discussed below. According to John Stuart Smith, Utilitarianism's main purpose is the general cultivation of nobleness of character. The noble act of one person will affect in a good way to make the entire group that is affected by his utilitarian act HAPPY.

The greatest happiness principle is the ultimate goal of this philosophy. They advocate this happiness policy in the pursuit of their own good and the goodness of others around them. They try to eliminate pain for pain is equivalent to no happiness stage. They live a life of pleasure like swimming, going to the movies, not going to classes to play computer games and be with persons who share the same interests with them. They will enjoy happiness both in terms of quantity and quality. They espouse that the morality of their theory lies in one and only one thing, happiness.

They try to tell others that what makes a person happy is what is morally good. By helping a blind man cross the street, a utilitarian fanatic feels happy in doing another good deed for the day. By giving lovely white roses to a beautiful girl, a utilitarian feels he had accomplished his goal for he is happy that he has expressed his heart felt feelings for the girl of his dreams. In return, the girl of his dreams is happy because she feels beautiful and is wanted by someone of the opposite sex.

REFERENCES:Finer, S.E., 1952 The Life and Times of Sir Chadwick Mill, J.S., 1861 Utilitarianism Quinton, A., Utilitarian Ethics Williams, B., Utilitarianism and Beyond ,Hume, L.J., 1981, Bentham and Bureaucracy Baron, M. Pettit, P. Stole, M., 1997 Three Methods of Ethics, Korner, S., 1955 Kant O'neil, O., 1991 Kantian Ethics, (http://web.missouri.edu/philrnj/utilnote.html)(http://www.utilitarianism.com/mill2.htm),(http://www.uri.edu/personal/szunjic/philos/util.htm), (http://homepage.ntlworld.com/g.mccaughan/g/essays/utility.html)KANT Kant espouses his theory that the purpose of life is to achieve happiness.

But he differs with the Utilitarian or Hedonistic philosophy in the procedures to accomplish such happiness. Happiness is not totally within our power to achieve. Happiness is a matter of luck. Our ethics is to work unconditional and universal as human beings. We must obey, without hesitation, the ten commandments or other international code of conduct like we should not lie or kill.Goodwill is the will to act for the sake of duty. We must work to feed our families.The person who acts in fulfillment of his duty is the morally better person.

According to Stace, it is better to do one's duty with a cheerful heart and not out of compulsion. Duty is what the law or the community requires of a person. We must pay taxes, we must obey traffic rules