The Worth of an Action
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My purpose in writing this paper is to illustrate the most important factors in determining the moral worth of an action. There are several arguments and views, however I will utilize only three. First, theres Mills utilitarian view, which argues that its the consequences of an act that decide the actions moral worth. Next, there is Kants view, which states that it is the will of the person performing the act that determines the actions moral worth. Lastly, some may believe that it is the character of the person who performed the act that determines its moral worth. I, however, am not inclined to subscribe to any one of these arguments in particular, but to argue that moral worth should determined on a case by case basis utilizing the view or views which will maximize the moral worth of the given situation. I will support my argument by analyzing each of the three aforementioned arguments, and then providing examples of situations where each view will be applied to illustrate which view maximized the moral worth (of the situation).
Mills view, also known as Utilitarianism, states that the morality of an action is determined by its accomplished result/consequence.