Module 3: Utilitarianism

3.1 The Principle of Utility

The principle of utility is about our subjection to these sovereign masters: pleasure and pain.
On one hand, the principle refers to the motivation of our actions as guided by our avoidance of
pain and our desire for pleasure. It is like saying that in our everyday actions, we do what is
pleasurable and we do not do what is painful. On the other hand, the principle also refers to
pleasure as good if, and only if, they produce more happiness than unhappiness. This means
that it is not enough to experience pleasure, but to also inquire whether the things we do make
us happier. Having identified the tendency for pleasure and the avoidance of pain as the
principle of utility, Bentham equates happiness with pleasure.

3.2 Principle of the Greatest Number

Equating happiness with pleasure does not aim to describe the utilitarian moral agent alone
and independently from others. This is not only about our individual pleasures, regardless of
how high, intellectual, or in other ways noble it is, but it is also about the pleasure of the
greatest number affected by the consequences of our actions.

3.3 Justice and Moral Rights

What is right? Justice as a respect for rights directed for the society’s pursuit for the greatest
happiness of the greatest number. Rights are a valid claim on society and are justified by utility
according to the explanation of John Stuart Mill.