Utilitarianism

An Introduction to the Moral Theories of Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill

Ethical Judgments
 Ethical philosophy differs from the sciences because it is normative or prescriptive,
rather than descriptive.
 In other words, ethics tell us how we ought to act or what we should do, while the
sciences are more likely to observe how things are in nature or society.

Making Ethical Judgments

Areas of Emphasis in Making Moral Judgments

Purpose or Motive Act, Rule, or Maxim Results or Consequences

Making Ethical Judgments in Utilitarianism

 Utilitarianism says that the Result or the Consequence of an Act is the real measure of
whether it is good or bad.
 This theory emphasizes Ends over Means.
 Theories, like this one, that emphasize the results or consequences are called
teleological or consequentialist.
Bentham’s Formulation of Utilitarianism

 Man is under two great masters, pain and pleasure.

 The great good that we should seek is happiness. (a hedonistic perspective)
 Those actions whose results increase happiness or diminish pain are good. They have
“utility.”

Jeremy Bentham’s Hedonistic Calculus

 In determining the quantity of happiness that might be produced by an action, we
evaluate the possible consequences by applying several values:
 Intensity, duration, certainty or uncertainty, propinquity or remoteness, fecundity,
purity, and extent.

Four Theses of Utilitarianism

 Consequentialism: The rightness of actions is determined solely by their consequences.
 Hedonism: Utility is the degree to which an act produces pleasure. Hedonism is the
thesis that pleasure or happiness is the good that we seek and that we should seek.
  Maximalism: A right action produces the greatest good consequences and the least bad.
 Universalism: The consequences to be considered are those of everyone affected, and
everyone equally.

Two Formulations of Utilitarian Theory

Principle of Utility: The best action is that Greatest Happiness: We ought to do that
which produces the greatest happiness and/or which produces the greatest happiness and
reduces pain. least pain for the greatest number of people.

Two Types of Utilitarianism

Act: An Action is right if and only if it
produces the greatest balance of pleasure
over pain for the greatest number. (Jeremy
Bentham)
Rule: An action is right if and only if it
conforms to a set of rules the general
acceptance of which would produce the
greatest balance of pleasure over pain for the
greatest number. (John Stuart Mill)

Application of Utilitarian Theory

A. You attempt to help an elderly man across the street. He gets across safely.
Conclusion: the Act was a good act.
B. You attempt to help an elderly man across the street. You stumble as you go, he is
knocked into the path of a car, and is hurt.
Conclusion: The Act was a bad act.

Application of Utilitarian Theory

 If you can use eighty soldiers as a decoy in war, and thereby attack an enemy force and
kill several hundred enemy soldiers, that is a morally good choice even though the
eighty might be lost.
 If lying or stealing will actually bring about more happiness and/or reduce pain, Act
Utilitarianism says we should lie and steal in those cases.

Application of Utilitarian Theory Actual Cases

 The decision at Coventry during WWII.
o The decision was made not to inform the town that they would be bombed.
 The Ford Pinto case: A defective vehicle would sometimes explode when hit.
 o The model was not recalled and repaired by Ford because they felt it was
cheaper to pay the liability suits than to recall and repair all the defective cars.
Criticisms of Bentham’s theory
 Bentham’s theory could mean that if 10 people would be happy watching a man being
eaten by wild dogs, it would be a morally good thing for the 10 men to kidnap someone
(especially someone whose death would not cause grief to many others) and throw the
man into a cage of wild, hungry dogs.
John Stuart Mill’s Adjustments to Utilitarianism
 Mill argues that we must consider the quality of the happiness, not merely the quantity.
 For example, some might find happiness with a pitcher of beer and a pizza. Others may
find happiness watching a fine Shakespearean play. The quality of happiness is greater
with the latter.

Mill’s Quality Arguments

 “It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates
dissatisfied than a fool satisfied. And if the fool, or the pig, are of a different opinion, it
is because they only know their own side of the question. The other party to the
comparison knows both sides.”
 “As between his own happiness and that of others, utilitarianism requires him to be as
strictly impartial as a disinterested and benevolent spectator. In the golden rule of
Jesus of Nazareth, we read the complete spirit of the ethics of utility. ‘To do as you
would be done by,’ and ‘to love your neighbor as yourself,’ constitute the ideal
perfection of utilitarian morality.”

Criticisms of Utilitarianism

 If I am to bring the greatest happiness to the greatest number, not putting my own
happiness above others, that may lead to a dilemma. I live in a neighborhood where
83% of my neighbors use drugs. I could make them most happy by helping supply them
with cheap drugs, but I feel uncomfortable doing that. What should a utilitarian do?

 Bernard Williams criticizes the implied “doctrine of negative responsibility” in

Utilitarianism. For example, a thug breaks into my home and holds six people hostage,
telling us he will kill all of us. “However,” the thug says, “if you will kill two of your
family, I will let you and the other three live.”

 With Utilitarianism, the good thing to do is to kill two members of my family.

 Utilitarianism plays fast and loose with God’s commandments. If lying, stealing, or
killing could lead to an increase of happiness for the greatest number, we are told we
 should lie, steal or kill. Isn’t that a rejection of God’s commands?Mill’s Answer to the
“Godless Theory” Criticism

 What is the nature of God?

o Does God make arbitrary rules just to see if we will obey?
o Does God make rules that He knows will lead to our happiness?
 If the latter statement is true, doesn’t it make sense God would want us to use our God-
given reason to look at the situation?

Mill’s Answer to the “Godless Theory” Criticism

“If it be a true belief that God desires, above all things, the happiness of his creatures, and that
this was his purpose in their creation, utility is not a godless doctrine, but more profoundly
religious than any other. . . . .whatever God has though fit to reveal on the subject of morals
must fulfill the requirements of utility in a supreme degree.”

A Second Criticism of Utilitarianism

 If one must decide the probable outcome of an act before knowing whether it is good or
bad, how can children learn to evaluate acts, since they know so little of what
consequences might arise from their actions?

Mill’s “Rule” Utilitarianism

 “ . . . Mankind must by this time have acquired positive beliefs as to the effects of some
actions on their happiness; and the beliefs which have thus come down are the rules of
morality for the multitude, and for the philosopher until he has succeeded in finding
better.” Mill concludes, however, that we should always seek improvements.

Rights and Utilitarianism

 Many philosophers hold that we have certain rights, either from God, nature, or from a
social contract

 Can the idea of rights be made compatible with Utilitarianism?

 If ignoring rights brings about more happiness to the greatest number, should we ignore
so-called rights?

 Mill’s rule-based view in On Liberty; having a right to liberty will bring the greatest
happiness

Consequences of Unethical Practices

 Baucus & Baucus (2000)
 Singled out 67 companies out of the Fortune 500 that had at least one illegal act –
ex: antitrust, product liabilities, discrimination
 Performance of the convicted firms were compared to unconvicted firms (five year
after the fraud was committed)
 Convicted firms experienced significantly lower return on sales (three year lag)
 Multiple convictions are more disastrous
 Unethical activities can affect long term performance