Utilitarianism or Consequentialism

1
Utilitarianism or Consequentialism

• Good actions are those that result in good
  consequences. The moral value of an action is
  extrinsic to the action itself.

2
Classical Utilitarianism

• The view of classical utilitarianism is advanced
  by Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) and John Stuart
  Mill (1806-1873)
• Utilitarianism is most basically distinguished
  from consequentialism in holding that good
  consequences are those that maximize pleasure and
  minimize pain.

3
Greatest Happiness Principle

• Bentham originally put forward the principle that
  an action is good if and only if it promotes the
  greatest happiness for the greatest number.
• This principle results in the utilitarian
  calculus we measure the goodness of an action
  by the amount of happiness it promotes and the
  amount of unhappiness it avoids.

4
What is happiness?

• Happiness is defined as the presence of pleasure
  and the absence of displeasure or pain.
• For this reason, classical utilitarians are
  called hedonistic consequentialists.
• Bentham held that only the intensity and duration
  of pleasure could determine the quantity of
  pleasure. (cf. Push-pin vs. Poetry, 94)
• Mill held that the difference in the quality of
  the pleasure (whether it is more highly valued)
  ought to also be considered (Utilitarianism,
  100-101).

5
Classical Utilitarians also hold

• Total consequentialism when calculating the good
  of any action, we must consider the total, or
  net, good of the action.
• Universal consequentialism good actions depend
  on the amount of pleasure and pain produced for
  all sentient beings involved.
• Equal consideration when determining the value
  of an action, the good to one individual must
  count the same as an equivalent good to another.
• Agent-neutrality whether an action produces good
  consequences should not depend on the perspective
  of the agent performing the action.

6
Act vs. Rule Consequentialism

• Act consequentialism holds that every action
  should be considered on its own in terms of the
  quantity of good it produces.
• Rule consequentialism holds that actions that
  follow general rules should be more highly valued
  than actions that do not follow such rules.
• Some consequentialists also advocate a theory of
  rights which states that actions that maintain
  certain rights should be more highly valued than
  those that dont.
• The classical utilitarians are act
  consequentialists, though Mill seems to allow
  some social norms to function like rules and he
  articulates a persuasive defense of civil
  liberties or individual rights.

7
Not enough time

• One possible criticism of consequentialism is
  that no one possibly has the time to consider all
  of the effects of each action he or she performs.
• But this criticism misses the point.
• Consequentialism does not describe the way we
  make decisions it simply tells us which kinds of
  decisions are morally right and which ones are
  not.
• Mill makes a similar point when he says that
  there has been ample time, namely, the whole
  past duration of the human species, meaning that
  social norms, passed down over time are the
  products of extensive calculation and
  observations of the consequences of those actions
  (Utilitarianism, 113).

8
How would a Utilitarian treat our obligations to
keep promises

• The consequentialist only considers the
  consequences not the nature of the action, so the
  fact of a prior promise should bear no weight in
  considering whether or not to keep that promise.
• However, breaking a promise may cause pain to the
  person to whom you made the promise
• Or we may determine the general rule of
  promising-keeping to be of significant value to
  society.
• Promises are not intrinsically valuable, but they
  may provide many valuable consequences for
  society or prevent harmful consequences to
  individuals.

9
Implications of Consequentialism

• Counter-intuitive results
• Trading lives, trading pleasures trolley cases,
  organ donors, and death panels.
• No one persons pleasure counts more than any
  other persons pleasure.
• There is no moral distinction between doing and
  permitting.

10
Real-World Influence

• Animal rights Peter Singer, Animal Liberation
• Health care rationing (the British system)
  Quality Adjusted Life Years
• Womens rights
• World poverty Peter Singer, The Life You Could
  Save