Module 2

UTILITARIANISM

Learning Objectives:

After this lesson, students will be able:

a) understand utilitarianism.
b) comprehend Jeremy Bentham's Principle of Utility
c) Be familiar with John Stuart Mill's utilitarianism.
 

 
Learning Content

Utilitarianism is a normative ethical theory that places the locus of right and wrong
solely on the outcomes (consequences) of choosing one action/policy over other
actions/policies. As such, it moves beyond the scope of one's own interests and takes into
account the interests of others.

Unit Lesson:

Lesson 1 – The Principle of Utility

Lesson 2 – Principle of the Greatest Numbers
Lesson 3 – Justice and Moral Rights

WHAT IS ETHICS?
 In general, ethics is concerned with matters such as the good things we should
pursue and the bad things we should avoid; the right ways we could or should act; and
the wrong ways of acting. The study of ethics is concerned with determining the
foundations of values that have particular and special significance in human life.

The importance of Rules to Social Beings

 Rules protect social beings by regulating behavior.

 Rules help to guarantee each person certain rights and freedom.

 Rules produce a sense of justice among social beings.

 Rules are essential for a healthy economic system

Kinds of Valuation

 Aesthetics – from the Greek word “aisthesis” which means “sense” or “feeling” and
refers to the judgments of personal approval or disapproval that we make about what
we see, hear, smell, or taste

 Etiquette – concerned with right or wrong actions, but those which might be
considered not quite grave enough to belong to a discussion on ethics
 Technical – from the Greek word “techne” and refers to a proper way— (or right way)
of doing things

Ethics and Morals

 “Morals” may be used to refer to specific beliefs or attitudes that people have or
to describe acts that people perform. We also have terms such as “moral
judgment” or “moral reasoning,” which suggest a more rational aspect.
  “Ethics” can be spoken of as the discipline of studying and understanding ideal
human behavior and ideal ways of thinking. Thus, ethics is acknowledged as an
intellectual discipline belonging to philosophy.

 Ethics – is the branch of philosophy that studies morality or the rightness or

wrongness of human conduct. Morality, speaks of a code or system of
behavior in regards to the standard of right and wrong behavior.

Descriptive and Normative

 A descriptive study of ethics reports how people, particularly groups, make their
moral valuations without making any judgment either for or against these
valuations.

 A normative study of ethics, as is often done in philosophy or moral theology,

engages the question: What could or should be considered the right way of acting?
In other words, a normative discussion prescribes what we ought to maintain as our
standards or bases for moral valuation.

The issue, Decision, Judgment, and Dilemma

A situation that calls for moral valuation can be called a moral issue. When one is
placed in a situation and confronted by the choice of what action to perform, s/he is called to
make a moral decision. When a person is an observer making an assessment of the actions or
behavior of someone, s/he is making a moral judgment. When one is torn between choosing
one of two goods or choosing between the lesser of two evils, this is referred to as a moral
dilemma.
Characteristics of Moral Standards

A. Moral standards involved serious wrongs or significant benefits.

B. Moral standards ought to be preferred to other values.
C. Moral standards are not established by authority figures.
D. Moral standards have the trait of universality.
E. Moral standards are based on impartial considerations.
F. Moral standards are associated with special emotions and vocabulary.

Dilemma and Moral Dilemma

 It refers to a situation in which a tough choice has to be made between two or more
options, especially more or less equally undesirable ones.
 What is common to, moral dilemmas is conflict. In each ethical dilemma, an agent
regards himself as having moral reasons to do each of two actions, bur doing both
seems to be ethically not possible.

3 levels of Moral Dilemma

A. Personal Dilemma
B. Organizational Dilemma
C. Structural Dilemma
 TO DO!

Activity

1. Give your own example of a moral dilemma that occurs in any of the three levels
discussed above?

2. List down the possible choices for this dilemma and how the choices would influence
other moral levels?

3. Insight; why do you think it is more important to choose a course of action in a moral
dilemma than to not make any choice at all? Explain and support with an example

Only Human beings can be Ethical

A. Only human beings are rational, autonomous, and self – conscious.

B. Only human beings can act morally or immorally.

C. Only human beings are part of the moral community.

Reasoning
  What reasons do we give to decide or to judge that a certain way of acting is either
right or wrong?

 A person’s fear of punishment or desire for reward can provide him/her a reason for
acting in a certain way.

 The promise of rewards and the fear of punishments can certainly motivate us to act,
but are not in themselves a determinant of the rightness or wrongness of a certain way
of acting or of the good or the bad in a particular pursuit.

 Beyond rewards and punishments, it is possible for our moral valuation—our decisions
and judgments—to be based on a principle.

SOURCES OF AUTHORITY

Law - It is supposed that law is one’s guide to ethical behavior. In the Philippines,
Filipinos are constrained to obey the laws of the land as stated in the country’s criminal and
civil codes. The law cannot tell us what to pursue, only what to avoid.

Religion - The divinity called God, Allah, or Supreme Being commands and one is
obliged to obey his/her Creator (Divine Command Theory).
 Culture - Our exposure to different societies and their cultures makes us aware that there
are ways of thinking and valuing that are different from our own, and that there is in fact a
wide diversity in how different people believe it is proper to act. Therefore, what is ethically
acceptable or unacceptable is relative to, or that is to say, dependent on one’s culture. This
position is referred to as cultural relativism.

TO DO!
Application

1. Identify a list of (a) obligations we are expected to fulfill, (b) prohibitions we are
required to respect, and (c) ideals we are encouraged to meet. Discuss whether these
are ethical in nature or not.

2. Come up with a list of common Filipino values. Consider the strengths and weaknesses
of each of these values.

3. Comment on this statement: “What I believe must be true if I feel very strongly about
it.”
SENSES OF THE SELF

 Subjectivism-recognition that the individual thinking person is at the heart of all moral
valuations.
 Psychological Egoism-theory that describes the underlying dynamic behind all human
actions.
 Ethical Egoism-prescribes that we should make our own ends and interests as the single
overriding concern.

o Plato’s’ Republic-a response to the assertion that one should only care about one’s
own interest.

o Socrates-one of the character in the book "The Republic" whereas he answered

the question regarding justice and the need to be just.

o Glaucon-provides a powerful restatement of the case for egoism by way of a myth.