Utilitarianism Essay -- essays research papers fc

Utilitarianism                                                  The concept of sustainable development is an attempt to balance two object lesson demands placed on the environment. The first demand is for development,including stinting development or growth. It arises mainly from the interestsof people who live in developing countries. Their present poverty gives them alow quality of life and calls urgently for travel to improve their quality oflife. The second demand is for sustainability, for ensuring that we do not riskthe future in the sake of gains in the present. This arises from the interestsof people in the future who allow need access to a honest quality of life,non-renewable resources, unspoiled wilderness, and a healthy biosphere. Thesetwo moral demands do conflict. In fac t, economic growth is the quality source ofthreats to the natural environment.     We have a nervy sense of what a good quality of life for humans consistsof. Also, we can make some rough judgments about when a persons quality oflife has increased or decreased. Utilitarianism about future generations saysthat people should weigh these increases impartially with respect to measure. And,in particular, should not take a smaller increase in the present well-being tolarger increases in the future. We should try to maximize the sum of increasesin well-being across times counting future lives equally against those in thepresent. Our moral goal should always be to produce the greatest total of suchgains, no matter by whom they are enjoyed.     Utilitarianism has been extensively discussed by philosophers, and manyobjections have been raised against it. Two objections are especially relevanthere. First, utilitarianism is an extremely, even excessiv ely demanding moralview for some humans. If we have a duty always to bring about the best outcome,than any time we can increase the well-being of others (which is just about atany time), we have a moral duty to do so. There is no moral time off, no moralrelaxation, nor is there a moral holiday. Humans are always duty bound tosac... ... we can see that eachgeneration should pass on to its successors a range of opportunities that allowsfor a reasonable quality of life. However, it should not be seen as a duty. Ifit is seen as a duty, then most humans may be turned off by the prospect oftaking care of their environment for future generations. If it is seen byhumans that our environment is a precious jewel, then we will more than likely desire to share it with our future generations.Works Cited1 Brian Berry, "Intergenerational Justice in Energy Policy." In D. MacLeanand P. G. Brown, eds., Energy and the Future Totowa, NJ Rowan and Littlefield,1983 pp.274.Resources1. Barry, Bri an. "Intergenerational Justice in Energy Policy," in D. MacLeanand P. G. Brown, eds., Energy and the Future Totowa, NJ Rowan and Littlefield,1983.2. Danielson, Peter. "Personal Responsibility," in H. Coward and T. Hurka,eds., Ethics and Climate Change The Greenhouse Effect Waterloo WilfredLaurier UP, 1993.3. Sidgwick, Henry. The Methods of Ethics, 7th ed. London Macmillan, 1907.4. World counseling on Environment and Development. Our Common Future OxfordOxford University Press, 1987.