Utilitarianism

1
Utilitarianism

• Guiding Principle 5

2
Utilitarianism

• This is an example of an autonomous value system
• It is a consequentialist system (it is not the
  intention behind an action that counts, but the
  consequences/outcome of an action)
• This was developed by Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832)
  and J.S. Mill (1806-1873)
• Like Kant, they believed there had to be a
  universal and objective way to figure out
  morality.
• Unlike Kant, they were concerned with the
  outcomes rather than the motives of an action.

3
Bentham

• Bentham thought humans were hedonists we are
  controlled by two things
• Pleasure (something we want)
• Pain (something we avoid)
• Therefore he thought that people should act in a
  way that brings about the greatest amount of
  pleasure, or the least amount of pain (for the
  majority of people).
• Actions are right to the extent that they
  produce the greatest good for the greatest
  number.
• This approach makes morality objective and
  measurable.
• It also means that the role of the individual is
  lessened it means that the person making the
  decision is a factor in the equation. His own
  personal feelings do not count it should be a
  rational and objective decision.

4
Benthams Method

• Bentham argued that you cannot see what a
  persons intentions are, but you can see the
  consequences of what they do.
• In order to figure out whether something is good
  or not, he said you have to consider 3 things
• Because humans are essentially hedonists, we
  measure the motivations of pleasure and pain
• We do this in general by looking at the principle
  of utility what is most useful is the greatest
  good for the greatest number
• We can measure this by using the Hedonistic
  Calculus this weighs up the pleasure and pain by
  looking at things like duration, intensity and
  reach.

5
Act Utilitarianism

• Bentham was an example of an act utilitarian
• This means that each situation is seen as
  different, and a utilitarian must figure out what
  to do for each individual situation by thinking
  through all possible outcomes.
• For some Act Utilitarians, the only way to figure
  out what to do in a situation is to use the
  hedonistic calculus every time.
• There are no universal laws, so it might be
  considered the right thing to do to break basic
  laws like do not steal if it turned out to
  produce the greatest happiness for the greatest
  number.

6
Rule Utilitarianism

• J.S. Mill was more of a rule utilitarian.
• He believed that humans knew from experience the
  kind of actions that produce pleasure or cause
  pain.
• Because of this we can come up with general moral
  principles that should be followed in the
  majority of cases.
• For example, the rule do not steal usually
  results in people being happy and feeling safe,
  whilst limiting the amount of pain caused.
• Rule Utilitarians would not feel the need to
  calculate the possible outcomes of each situation
  if they have tried and tested rules that work
  with the utilitarian maxim (The greatest good for
  the greatest number).
• In this case, if a rule utilitarian could benefit
  themselves by breaking a rule (e.g. do not
  steal), they would not because breaking these
  rules in general does not benefit the majority.

7
J.S. Mill

• J.S. Mill, a rule utilitarian, also placed an
  emphasis on the types of pleasure and pain a
  person felt.
• He said that all emotions could not be counted
  equally in calculations (like the Hedonistic
  Calculus)
• He came up with a system
• Higher pleasures (gained from education, music,
  art, etc)
• Lower pleasures (gained from physical pursuits
  like eating and sex)
• It is more important to have more higher
  pleasures for the majority than lower pleasures.