UTILITARIANISM

&
NATURAL LAW
Group 1: Abarquez, Abiar, Abueva, & Alvarez
PART I

UTILITARIANISM
 UTILITARIANISM
An ethical theory that argues for the goodness of
pleasure and the determination of right behavior
based on the usefulness of the action’s
consequences

claims that one’s actions and behavior are good in

as much as they are directed toward the
experience of the greatest pleasure over pain for
the greatest number of persons,

Actions are morally permissible if and only if they

produce as much net happiness as any other
available action
 JEREMY BENTHAM
born on February 15, 1748 in London, England and
was known as the Father of Utilitarianism

published the Introduction to the principles of

morals and Legislation in 1789

Early Defender of:

Economic Liberalization The separation of church and state

Freedom of expression The abolition of capital punishment
Women’s rights The Abolition of corporal punishment
Animal rights Prison reform
The right to divorce Decriminalization of homosexual acts
The abolition of slavery
 JEREMY BENTHAM

Saw human behavior as hedonistic

Explained that human beings were

naturally motivated by pleasure and
pain

The rightness and wrongness of an

action is down to how much pain
and pleasure the action causes and
so how many people it causes it to
BENTHAM'S HEDONISTIC
CALCULUS
Bentham claims that there are seven categories to
examine when utilizing the hedonistic calculus:
Intensity: how strong it is?
Duration: how long it is?
Certainty: how likely it could be?
Propinquity: when it could arrive?
Fecundity: if it will cause further pleasure?
Purity: how free from pain it is?
Extent: how many people are affected?
THE PRINCIPLE OF UTILITY
Jeremy Bentham begins by arguing that our action are
governed by two sovereign masters - which he calls
pleasure and pain.

These "masters" are given to us by nature to help us

determine what is good or bad and what ought to be
done and not they fasten our choices to their throne

Refers to the motivation of our actions as guided by our

avoidance of pain and our desire for pleasure

the principle also refers to pleasure as good if, and only if,
they produce more happiness than unhappiness.
THE PRINCIPLE OF UTILITY

Mill supports Bentham’s principle of utility. He reiterates

moral good as happiness, and, consequently, happiness
as pleasure.

What Bentham identified as the natural moral

preferability of pleasure, Mill refers to as a theory of life.
JOHN STUART MILL
born on May 20, 1808 in Pentonville,
London and died on May 8, 1873 in
Avignon, France

his ethical theory and his defenses of

utilitarian views are found in his long
essay entitled Utilitarianism (1861)

a friend and disciple of Jeremy Bentham;

however, his principles on utilitarianism
differ from that of Bentham's
JOHN STUART MILL
Mill believed that utility must distinguish
pleasures qualitatively and not merely
quantitatively

For him, there are higher intellectual and

lower base pleasures

Pleasures appropriate for animals are

degrading to us because we are by
nature not easily satisfied by pleasures
only for pigs/animals
MILL ARGUES THAT QUALITY IS MORE
PREFERABLE THAN QUANTITY.
If the quality of pleasure is more important than quantity, then it
is important to consider the standards whereby differences of
pleasures can be judged.

In deciding over two comparable pleasures, Mill's simple test

suggest two things:

To experience both and to discover which one is actually more

preferred than the other.
 Equating happiness is not only about individual pleasures,
PRINCIPLE but it is also about the pleasure of the greatest number
affected by the consequences of our actions.

OF Utilitarianism cannot lead to selfish acts. In this sense,

GREATEST utilitarianism is not dismissive of sacrifices that procure

more happiness for others.

NUMBER It implies that utilitarianism is interested in everyone's

happiness, in fact, the greatest happiness of the greatest
number.

Utilitarianism is interested with the best consequence for

the highest number of people.
 Justice as a respect for rights directed toward society’s

JUSTICE AND pursuit for the greatest happiness of the greatest number.
Rights are a valid claim on society and are justified by
utility.
MORAL The right to due process, the right to free speech or
religion, and others are justified because they contribute to
RIGHTS the general good. This means that society is made happier
if its citizens are able to live their lives knowing that their
interests are protected and that society defends it.

A right is justifiable on utilitarian principles in as much as

they produce an overall happiness that is greater than the
unhappiness resulting from their implementation.

Utilitarians argue that issues of justice carry a very strong

emotional Import because the category of rights is directly
associated with the Individual's most vital interests. All of
these rights are predicated on the person's right to life.
 PART II

NATURAL LAW
INTRODUCTION
Natural law is defined as a body of laws that is derived
from nature and binds upon human action in conjunction
with other laws established by the human authority.

It entails the use of reason to analyze the human nature

and give the specific binding rules of moral behaviors.

The natural law is considered as a conduct principle

which is accessible to all people in the world
 ETHICAL OBJECTIVISM
Ethical relativism, following the work of the American
cultural anthropologist Ruth Benedict, holds that the
questions of good and bad are relative to the normal-
abnormal categories in a given society.

Culture, with all its values relative to an environment,

brings about what is called cultural relativism.
ethical relativism is dependent on culture
Whereas ethical relativism argues that there can be no
absolute standard of good and bad, ethical objectivism
asserts that there exists such a universal ethical
standard, which is the natural law.
THE SUMMA THEOLOGICA
The most prominent discussion of the natural law in ethics
provided by St. Thomas Aquinas
overwhelming work of about 3000 pages of philosophy and
theology.
Complete with a prologue, it is divided into three parts, the
second part of which is further divided into two parts.
The discussion of the natural law can be located in the
section entitled “Treatise of Law,” the first part of the
second part.
NATURAL LAW:
SOMETHING APPOINTED BY
REASON
 To understand the statement "the law of nature is
something appointed by reason", we must first
understand what reason is. The natural law only
exists because there is reason.

One of the most famous Greek philosophers who elaborated on

reason is Aristotle, the father of logic. He shows that man can

grasp the first principles through his reason.
For Aristotle, reason is a principle that only belongs to man.

Reason is a skill that is essential for humans, but not for animals and other
things. This explains why other things, including animals, do not build cities
or make sciences because they have no reason.
This rational principle in man then, says
Aristotle, is called the

Rational soul
That distinguishes man from everything else, which
allows him to think rationally.

Reason is just a part of the rational soul,

the part called speculative reason or
intellect leads to knowledge.
The other part that takes action is called
practical reason or will.
EXISTENCE AND
CAUSE

FOUR CAUSES:
01 MATERIAL CAUSE

The actual physical properties or makeup of a thing that is

It's the things that we can see, feel, touch, taste, and so on

Example : In a wooden table, the wood is the material cause

02 FORMAL CAUSE
The structure or design of a being
We can call it the blueprint or the plan
It is what it makes it one thing rather than another

Example : In a wooden table, the legs and the desk are the formal cause
03 EFFICIENT CAUSE
The external agent which causes the change in the material to turn
into its desired form

Example : The carpenter would be the efficient cause of the table

04 FINAL CAUSE

The end when a certain thing reaches its actuality and it's fulfilling its
purpose

Example : The final cause of the table is when you can use as a surface
for working at, eating from or on which to place things
Aristotle believed that the four causes are the way to understand
the world

It discovers the why in our world. It allows us to reach the

truth as to why something is in existence

The understanding of the good, first propounded by

Aristotle and then taken up by Thomas Aquinas, is known as
the function argument. That is, the good, here the function
of the thing, follows the form or essence, which means that
it carries out the purpose of its existence.

Example: If the pen, due to factory defects, does not write,

then it fails to follow its purpose and its function

It is clear that the function of the human being is to

follow what is inherent in his life, which is the capacity
for reason

SYNTHESIS
 THE IDEA OF ​T HE TRANSCENDENT GOOD, ESPECIALLY OF BEING,
RESURFACES IN AQUINAS IN THE FORM OF
THE GOOD AND LOVING GOD, WHO IS HIMSELF
THE FULLNESS OF BEING AND OF GOODNESS.

God is what he is and he is essentially good. All beings are only possible as
participation in the first being, which is God himself.
God' s act, as an emanation of light, is the creation of beings. It is God’s will and
love that are the cause of all things to every existing thing. Creation, therefore, is
the outpouring or overflowing of God' s goodness.
Since every being participates in God' s goodness, in this way, every being is good
in some way. However, while beings are good because they were created by God,
the goodness that being possesses remains imperfect. But again, God didn't
make us just to be imperfect and stay that way when He leaves us alone.
Instead, God, in his infinite wisdom, shows how to reach our perfection. Every
creature then strives to its own perfection.
NATURAL LAW:
RATIONAL PARTICIPATION
IN THE ETERNAL LAW
 Through the proper use of our intellect, we grasp the
ETERNAL knowledge of things, their causes, purpose, and etc. We
then realize that there is an order to the existence of

LAW things.

The Stoic philosophers of the 3rd century BCE called this

idea of an order of all things or the universal reason of the
universe as "Fate". This followed the generative principle of
what they call seminal reason.

Centuries later, through the work of Thomas Aquinas, this

universal reason that defines the purpose of all things and
governs the universe is called the Eternal Law or Divine
Providence.

The Eternal Law sets out the purpose of all things and is
issued by the Supreme Being who is the creator of all, God.
THE NATURAL LAW, THEN, IS
"NOTHING ELSE THAN THE
RATIONAL CREATURE'S
PARTICIPATION OF THE ETERNAL
LAW."
It is the human being's attempt to grasp, through
the use of reason, God's purpose for his creation.
Because human beings are rational, we are able to
apprehend the universal reason that governs all
things.
ALL THINGS PARTICIPATE IN GOD'S
WILL IN A DETERMINED WAY.
Plants do not decide where to grow, nor do
animals decide what it wants to do in their life.
Plants grow in the most suitable environmental
conditions; animals act only on instinct.

However, neither is aware of these things because

they do not possess the capacity to reason like
human beings.

Our reason and thinking are able to understand

apprehended animal instincts and suitable
conditions for plant life.
AMONG ALL THE CREATIONS OF
GOD, ONLY THE HUMAN BEINGS
ARE NOT DETERMINED, WITH
REASON WE POSSESS FREEDOM.
We are not merely subject to external forces that
act upon us, nor are we like animals that are
internally moved by mere instincts. Instead, we
are able to think and reason about things an dour
actions that effectively render us as free beings.
Presented with several possible actions, human
beings are free to choose in a given situation.
 WHAT CHOICES SHOULD A
HUMAN BEING MAKE?

According to the natural law
theory, the right choice should
be the action that conforms to
the purpose of the Creator.
For the natural law, the right
action is to follow what is
good. "Do good and avoid
evil." The good is to follow the
function or purpose of things.
THE ESSENCE AND
VARIETIES OF LAW
 There are many possible desirable ends or goods and we
ESSENCE act in such ways as to pursue them. However, just because
we think that a certain end is good, it does not necessarily
mean it is indeed good.

Since we belong to a community, we have to consider what

is good for the community as well as our own good. This can
be called the common good.

The determination of the proper measure of our acts can

be referred to as law. A law, therefore, is concerned with the
common good.

It is also necessary for rules or laws to be communicated to

the people involved in order to enforce them and to better
ensure compliance. This is called promulgation.
VARIETIES

Aquinas wrote "He governs all the acts and movements that are to be found in each single
creature, so the type of Divine Wisdom, as moving all things to their due end, bears the
character of law.”
This line involves the assertion that the divine wisdom that directs each being toward its proper end can be
called the eternal law.

Eternal Law
is the Divine Wisdom of God which oversees the common good and governs everything.
refers to what God wills for creation, how each participant in it is intended to return to Him
VARIETIES

Aquinas wrote “Wherefore it has a share of the Eternal Reason whereby it has a
natural inclination to its proper act and end: and this participation of the eternal
law in the rational creature is called the natural law”

Natural Law
The rational creature’s participation in the eternal law
The unique imprint upon us, upon our human nature by God, is the capacity to think about
what is good and what is evil, and to choose and direct ourselves appropriately
By looking at our human nature, at the natural inclinations given to us by God, we can
determine the rule and measure that should be directing our acts.
VARIETIES

Human Law
refers to all instances wherein human beings construct and enforce laws in their
communities
goes against what nature inclines us toward, it is not properly speaking – a law in the ideal
sense of directing us to the common good – but instead unjust and can be called a matter
of violence

Divine Law
refers specifically to the instances where we have percepts or instructions the come from
divine revelation
.
IN COMMON WITH OTHER BEINGS
Human beings, are both unique and at the same time
participating in the community of the rest of creation

There is in our nature, common with all other beings, a

desire to preserve one’s own being.

Example: A makahiya leaf folds inward and protects itself

when touched.

Acts that promote the continuation of life are to be lauded

as ethical because they are in line with the natural law.
In Common with Other Animals
There is in our human nature, common with other animals,
a desire that has to do with sexual intercourse and the care of one’s offspring.

At some point in "heat" the animals have regular sexual intercourse, and that could result
in offspring. Also in humans, there is this natural tendency to sexual act and reproduce.

Humans are animals and as such are governed by certain natural drives and instincts
(such as to eat, drink, sleep, procreate, survive etc.)

Which is in accordance to Natural Law Theory - a RIGHT to life and health needed for
life.
 Uniquely Human
We have an inclination for the good according to the nature of our reason. The question of what particular
actions are or are not consistent with them must be determined by ourselves through the use of reason.

Exercising our reason as we ponder how the whole self

can be used for good. Make full use of our reason and
determine when the performance of our natural
inclination is appropriate.

Recognize that it is human to be rational. To say that a

person is rational is to realize that we must bear the
burden of thinking carefully about how a particular act
may or may not be a violation of our nature. It means
taking the time to think carefully about how our actions
contribute to or harm the common good.
 CONCLUSION:
THE GENERAL MORAL PRINCIPLE
For Thomas Aquinas, the consideration that natural law is the 'rational
creature's participation of the eternal law’ is clearly based on the premise
that "natural appointed by reason."

Aristotle, Whom Aquinas refers to as the Philosopher, teaches us that

REASON is essential to the human being.

It gives the human being the capability to know the purpose of things,
which is the seeking of the truth, and to act on this knowledge and do
the good.
 CONCLUSION:
THE GENERAL MORAL PRINCIPLE
Aquinas further explains that, in similar vein as the early Stoics, to follow
reason is to follow the natural flow of things, what he calls the natural law,
which is actually the use of reason to understand the will of God for his
creation
Thus, if we follow reason properly, then we are following the will of God for
us. We are participating in the divine plan, the Eternal Law.
The use of our reason tells us that the natural law provides the general
moral principle: "Good is to be done and pursued, and evil is to be avoided.”
In this chapter, we have seen how the natural law theory is instrumental to
an ethics that is rooted in the Christian faith.