Recent orders

Act Utilitarianism

Act Utilitarianism

Student’s Name

Institution Affiliation

Course Name and Code

Professor’s Name

Date

Act Utilitarianism

Explanation of Act Utilitarianism

Act Utilitarianism is a type of utilitarian theory of ethics that affirms that an individual’s act is only seen to be morally satisfactory if and only if it results in the best probable outcome for that specific situation (Dimmock & Fisher, 2017). Act Utilitarianism is most often linked to two British philosophers considered the greatest utilitarians, John Stuart Mill ad Jeremy Bentham. They established the utilitarian theory in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Significant implications arise from adopting a utilitarian outlook on how we should consider living an ethical life. Since utilitarianism gives equivalent weight to the well-being of all people, it proposes that we need to make helping other people a big part of our life as it values the well-being of all persons equally (Scarre, 2020). Act utilitarianism is an ethical principle that makes statements about identifying whether acts are good or bad, and it tries to justify these assertions by appealing to the concept of utility. Act utilitarianism precisely does this by considering repercussions and inquiring as to whether or not acts affect other people positively or negatively. Good acts are those that increase overall happiness and lessen suffering in the world, whereas negative deeds are those that have the opposite effect.

Act utilitarians believe we must carry out the activity that will produce the most excellent net utility when faced with a decision about what to do. In their opinion, the utility principle, which states that one should do whatever will create the most outstanding overall outcomes, should be implemented individually for each circumstance. In most cases, Act utilitarianism is often contrasted with ruling utilitarianism. While the act utilitarian is concerned solely with the effects of a particular action, the rule utilitarian is interested in how strictly adhering to rules of behavior affects outcomes. When it comes to Act utilitarianism, an action’s positivity or negativity is based on the action’s impact on the world. The idea of action in act utilitarianism is the one that positively affects the world by generating the most incredible amount of collective happiness for the people. Act utilitarianism, in contrast to rule utilitarianism, gives no weight to whether or not the actor behaved under any rules. Like other varieties of utilitarianism, act utilitarianism is a sort of consequentialism (Anjum & Mumford, 2017).

Pseudo-objections (Arguments) against AU and how Mill Replies

One of the pseudo-objections against AU is that happiness is unattainable, and thus it cannot be a rational aim for human life. Also, life goes on without happiness, and many good people have become virtuous by rejecting happiness. To begin with, Mill replies to this objection by arguing that it is an exaggeration to claim that humans cannot be happy. According to Mill, happiness is experiencing fleeting moments of ecstasy amid a life relatively free of hardships. Besides, he argues that this state of affairs is achievable and would be so for almost everyone if only the current educational and societal structures were altered. Mill believes most individuals can be happy, provided they get an education promoting the correct values. Next, Mill responds to the claim that most reasonable people in history are those who have chosen to forego happiness. Mill admits that this argument is valid, and he supports it by acknowledging that there are martyrs who renounce their happiness. However, Mill contends that martyrs must renounce their happiness for a higher cause (Mill, 2021). Besides, Mill acknowledges that selflessness, the desire to put the happiness of others before one’s own, is the greatest virtue. Mill’s replies are convincing since the worth of other people’s happiness is implied in the sacrifice so that others will not have to suffer as much as you have.

The second pseudo-objection against AU is that it leaves individuals “cold and unsympathizing” as it focuses exclusively on the outcomes of individual’s activities instead of on the morality or immorality of the people who do those acts. The first reply of Mill in response to the argument that utilitarianism is immoral because it does not take into account the character of the person when determining whether or not an act is right or wrong is that this is a critique of all morality; no system of ethics evaluates the character of persons who commit acts independently of the actions themselves. Mill says that if this objection means that many utilitarians fail to recognize other desired “beauties of character” but only consider utilitarianism as an exclusive measure of morality, then this is a reasonable indictment of many utilitarians (Mill, 2021). This reply is convincing because Mill argues that moralists of all stripes make a significant error when they focus only on developing their moral sentiments to neglect their artistic understandings or sympathies.

The third pseudo-objection against Au is that it glorifies base pleasures and aims to reduce the meaning of life to pleasure. To this argument, Mill argues that the pleasures available to humans are much greater than those available to animals and that once people become conscious of their greater capacities, they would never be satisfied to let them go uncultivated. While it is true that certain pleasures might be considered “basic,” that does not imply they are all equal; instead, some are more worthwhile in and of themselves. Consequently, utilitarianism assesses an action’s morality based on the number and quality of the pleasures it brings about. In his reply, Mill insists on how to know how to differentiate between lower and higher-quality pleasures. According to Mill, individuals always prefer one pleasure over another, even if it comes with discomfort. If individuals are unwilling to swap that pleasure for another, it means that pleasure is of better quality (Mill, 2021). This reply is also convincing because Mill argues it is an “unquestionable truth” that when all forms of pleasure are available equally, individuals will choose the ones that stimulate their “higher” faculties. No rational human being would ever want to assume the traits of a lower life form; similarly, no intelligent individual would ever deliberately choose to learn nothing.

Explain and critique several serious objections (arguments) leveled against AU.

One of the severe objections against AU is that it does not account for justice concerns. We can conceive scenarios in which a particular action plan might result in significant advantages for the community, even though they would be manifestly unjust. I agree with the objection since Act utilitarianism only focuses on ensuring that the action taken results in the greatest happiness for the people without considering whether the actions followed the rules. Some actions might result in greater happiness, but they could still be unjust to others. In addition, another serious objection leveled against AU is that people are required to make an excessive number of sacrifices, which makes it too demanding (De Lazari et al., 2013). The argument contends that utilitarianism mandates that we must always act in a manner that maximizes utility, which runs counter to the morality we intuitively understand and the morality we have deliberated about. I agree with this argument because when it comes to AU, we have to sacrifice our happiness to make other people happy.AU demands that we do what results in maximum utility, even if it means sacrificing our happiness.

References

Anjum, R. L., & Mumford, S. D. (2017). A philosophical argument against evidence‐based policy. Journal of evaluation in clinical practice, 23(5), 1045-1050.

De Lazari-Radek, K., & Singer, P. (2013). How much more demanding is utilitarianism than common sense morality? Revue internationale de philosophie, 266(4), 427-438.

Dimmock, M., & Fisher, A. (2017). Ethics for A-level. Open Book Publishers. DOI https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0125Mill, J. S. (2021). On Liberty: And Utilitarianism. SSL.

Scarre, G. (2020). Utilitarianism. Routledge.

Case 5.1 Marathon Runners at Different Levels (2)

Name

Professor

Course

Date

Situational Approach

Case 5.1: Marathon Runners at Different Levels

Part 1

The runners are new to this activity and have accumulated no experience at all. Because they are all novices to running, they are classified as (D1) under the development levels. Their excitement about the race and their effort to show up each day is an indication of high commitment. So under the development levels, they are D1, low competence, and high commitment. This group asks basic questions constantly and is worried about their abilities in the race. For this reason, David should adopt the qualities of a coach represented by (S3) leadership styles. The group needs direction on the technicalities of a marathon. David does not expect, however, to deal with these kinds of questions and is not prepared. He is rather prepared to use Directing (S2), in his mind, his work is to direct and not to encourage this group coming to him with childish insecurities.

Part 2

It is clear from their choice of words and their concerns that runners in group two are considerably experienced and know a thing or two about running, they possibly lie under the (D3) developmental level (Northouse). With this group, David is at his element being highly supportive and because of their experience, he does not need to apply a hands-on approach or exercise high direction.

Part 3

This group’s experience and the ability of several of them to finish in the top ten put them at the D4 developmental category. It might not be David’s fault that he appears ineffective as a coach for this team. Their ego and an idea in their minds that they need a certain level of practice and tactics mean they do not appreciate David. They feel bigger than the New York marathon and look to focus on marathons beyond this one.

Part 4

David’s experience as a marathon runner himself is important for his coaching; his idea of the sport makes him suitable to speak to other people as a coach. The way he deals with group 1 may suggest a little bias, which is not a strong point for a leader. He needs to exercise patience if he is to succeed in this position. He also needs to exert a little more authority and demand respect from Group 3 runners.

Case 5.3: Getting the Message Across

Part 1

The current problem may be that training and leadership may be absent. It is good that Ms. Calder is interacting with students and relating with them, however, not having standards to run the station is major problem. She should focus some of her time training the students and holding them accountable than being friendly.

Part 2

Ann’s hands off approach means she is mainly doing things the S4 quadrant way and has no idea why the students are not following the rules. It is important for her apply the S1 or apply more of the S2 approach where she exerts more direction and becomes more involved. The nature of students and their ages mean their excitement for working for WCBA and learning the radio does not teach them right from wrong. They should be coached with an experienced individual and moderate during shifts.

Part 3

Ann can spend several shifts with the students and coach them on an individual basis. This will help her know how directive she needs to be with each of them. She will also be more informed on their level of skill. This is because situational leadership is based on the evaluation of employees’ skills and decides the level of need to amend in accordance.

Works Cited

Northouse, Peter G. Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications, 2018.

ACSCars, Inc. Connected and Disconnected Environment

ACSCars, Inc.: Connected and Disconnected Environment

Refer to the ACSCars database from previous weeks and complete the following tasks and discussion.

•Using the connection created in the previous assignment, Discussion and the Data command, populate a DataGrid that connects to the Tcars table and shows all fields for the cars, including prices.

This is populated using addItem() method

import fl.controls.DataGrid;

var myDataGrid:DataGrid = new DataGrid();

myDataGrid.addColumn(“Tcars”);

myDataGrid.addColumn(“Tvendors”);

myDataGrid.addColumn(“Tdealers”);

myDataGrid.addColumn(“Transaction_master”);

myDataGrid.addItem({Tcars:”Car_id”, Tdealers:”dealer_id”, Tvendors:”vendor_id”, Transaction_master:”trans_id”});

myDataGrid.addItem({Tcars:”car_name”, Tdealers:”dealer_name”, Tvendors:”vendor_name”, Transaction_master:”dealer_id”});

myDataGrid.addItem({Tcars:”car_type”, Tdealers:”dealer_location”, Tvendors:”vendor_location”, Transaction_master:”car_id”});

myDataGrid.addItem({Tcars:”car_model”, Tdealers:”dealer_state”, Tvendors:”vendor_state”, Transaction_master:”car_amnt”});

myDataGrid.addItem({Tcars:”car_color”, Tdealers:”dealer_phno”, Tvendors:”vendor_phno”, Transaction_master:”car_discount”});

myDataGrid.addItem({Tcars:”car_price”, Tdealers:””, Tvendors:”vendor_items”, Transaction_master:”car_date”});

myDataGrid.width = 200; myDataGrid.move(10, 10);

addChild(myDataGrid);

Screen shot

•Bind the DataGrid to the DataReader in a connected environment.

SqlCommand cm = new SqlCommand(“Select * from ACSCars”, con);

SqlDataReader dr;

dr = cm.ExecuteReader();

DataTable dataTable = new DataTable();

dataTable.Load(dr);

•Answer the following questions with respect to a disconnected environment:

string ACSCarsConnectionString =

“Server=localhost;Database= ACSCars;” +

“Trusted_Connection=True;

MultipleActiveResultSets=True”;

◦How will the two DataAdapter objects be created?

The first step was creating a new Sqlconnection instance. This entailed including the System.Data.SqlClient namespace in the program.

After calling Open () on the sqlconnection created, we use another block for the sqldataAdapters

The third step entailed filling dataTable. The fill method was essential in populating the internal rows and columns on Datatable to match the SQL result

◦How will you retrieve data from these two DataAdapters?

Data is retrieved through “fill”. Fill is among the essential methods of retrieving data on the DataAdapter objects. Fill executes the query and fills the DatabAdapter objects with the results retrieved from the database.

◦What is the syntax for filling DataSet by using the Fill method?

The fill method allows users obtain the value of a column from the DataRow object and handles the casting DBNull. Basically, the fill method has six different prototypes.

When using the syntax, the table name that one passes is actually the source table name, so the actual table name as used in the Dataset may be different if table mapping is in use.

•In addition, define the steps involved in creating a database application by using DataAdapter Configuration Wizard.

The first step involves creating Windows Application template.

Step 2: Adding a Data Grid Control to the Form this stag einvolves adding Datagrid control to the form by dragging it from the Toolbox > Window forms category. Step 3: Adding a Data Adapter Componentthis is done by dragging sqlDataAdapter control from the Toolbox to the open form. When one drags the data adapter (Sql, OleDb, or ODBC), the DataAdapter configuration wizards open up.

The second page allows one crate a new connection or picking from the connection list. Note visual studio has default Puran SQL server.

Choosing a query type

This page is for selling command types. A command set entails SQL statement

Generate the SQL Statementthis page allows one build SQL statement.

Query Builder

This stage involves picking tables from the data source. This start by selecting ASCcars table to tead in the data. There are options of selecting as many tables as one may need.

Now, I’ll select three columns from the database table.

Step4: Setting and Reviewing Data Adapter properties once DataAdapter is on the form, one need to check the sqlDataAdapter component properties. This can be seen by right clicking on the adapter and selecting properties menu item.

Figure: Setting the SQL select command in the data adapter

Step 5: Filling the Data Grid Control with Datathis entails creating fillDbGrid, which fills a Dataset object. This is followed by reading data from a DataSet object and populating the DataGrid control.

Listing: FillDB Grid Methodprotected void FillDBGrid()        {            DataSet ds = new DataSet();            sqlDataAdapter1.Fill(ds);            dataGrid1.DataSource = ds.DefaultViewManager;        }Listing: Calling the Fill DB Grid from the Form1 constructorpublic Form1()        {            InitializeComponent();            FillDBGrid();        }