UTILITARIANISM
An Introduction to the
Ethical Theories of
Jeremy Bentham and
John Stuart Mill
• UTILITARIANISM
UTILITARIANISM A. Jeremy Bentham
1. Hedonistic Calculus
2. Act Utilitarianism
B. John Stuart Mill
1. Rule Utilitarianism
2. Two Types of Pleasure
- Lower Pleasure
- Higher Pleasure
To steal from the
rich and give it to
the poor
W ha t is Utilitarianism?
Utilitarianism is one of the
best known and most
influential moral theories. As a
consequentialist theory, its
core idea is that whether
actions are morally right or
wrong depends on their
effects.
W ha t is Utilitarianism?
Utilitarians believe that the
purpose of morality is to make
life better by increasing the
amount of good things (such
as pleasure and happiness) in
the world and decreasing the
amount of bad things (such as
pain and unhappiness).
W ha t is Utilitarianism?
They reject moral codes or
systems that consist of
commands or taboos that
are based on customs,
traditions, or orders given
by leaders or supernatural
beings.
W ha t is Utilitarianism?
What distinguishes
utilitarianism from egoism has
to do with the scope of the
relevant consequences. On the
utilitarian view one ought to
maximize the overall good —
that is, consider the good of
others as well as one's own
good.
• For example, assume a hospital has
UTILITARIANISM four people whose lives depend upon
receiving organ transplants: a heart,
lungs, a kidney, and a liver. If a healthy
person wanders into the hospital, his
organs could be harvested to save four
lives at the expense of one life.
• This would arguably producethe
greatest good for the greatest
number.
• Utilitarianism holds
UTILITARIANISM
that the most ethical
choice is the onethat
will produce the
greatest good forthe
greatest number.
Classic Utilita rian Philosophers
Jeremy Bentham J o h n S t u a rt Mill
1806-1873 1748-1832
Jeremy Bentham
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BENTHAM’S • Find an objective basis for
PROJECT moral decision making.
• He rejected the notions of
“moral sense,” “right reason,”
which is common during his
days.
• He found pleasure to be the
only objective good and pain
the only evil.
Principle of “Nature has
Utility placed mankind
under the
governance of two
sovereign masters,
pain and
pleasure”
Principle of • Man is under two great masters,
Utility pain and pleasure.
• Those actions whose results
increase happiness or diminish pain
are good. They have “utility.”
Principle of
Utility
How do we
know what act
produces
happiness?
Hedonistic Bentham
Calculus
believed that
everything can
be quantified.
Hedonistic THE HEDONISTIC/FELICIFIC CALCULUS
Calculus 1. Intensity- how strong it is
2. Duration- how long it is
3. Certainty-how likely it could be
4. Propinquity-when it could arrive
5. Fecundity- if it will cause further pleasure
6. Purity- how free from pain it is
7. Extent- how many people are affected
Hedonistic Calculate carefully the
Calculus amount of pleasure and
the amount of pain that
any act will bring.
Formula:
Happiness - Pain = Balance.
Act
Utilitarianism
- Each action we take
should promote the
greatest good to the
greatest number.
Act
Utilitarianism Example:
Let’s say you are in a boat and you see two
people drowning in one area of the sea and
one person drowning on another. You don’t
have time to reach both places.
-Act Utilitarianism will tell us we should
rescue the two people over the water.
• Principle of Utility: The best
Utilitarianism action is that which produces
the greatest happiness and/or
reduces pain.
• Greatest Happiness: We ought
to do that which produces the
greatest happiness and least
pain for the greatest number of
people.
B entham's Principle of Utility
(1) Recognizes the fundamental role of pain and
pleasure in human life,
(2) approves or disapproves of an action on the
basis of the amount of pain or pleasure brought
about i.e, consequences,
(3) equates good with pleasure and evil with pain,
and
(4) asserts that pleasure and pain are capable of
quantification (and hence 'measure').
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John Stuart
Mill
• Mill followed the philosophy of Bentham
to some extent. But he disagreed with
Bentham’s hedonistic calculus. He
believed that happiness cannot be
calculated on the amount of pleasure and
the amount of pain in a certain action.
• Mill placed greater importance on the
happiness of all rather than on one’s own
happiness.
• Happiness must always be taken into
consideration before making a moral
decision.
Rule • He advocated the same principle
Utilitarianism that the right thing to do is to
promote greatest good for the
greatest number
• Mill argues that we must
consider the quality of the
happiness, not merely the
quantity.
Rule
Utilitarianism • The act of condemning the
terrorists to death.
• Killing the drug lords and
drug addicts to alleviate
the crimes and poverty.
• On abortion
Rule 2 Types of Pleasure
Utilitarianism • Lower Pleasure
– Bodily or sensual pleasures
• Higher Pleasure
– Intellectual pleasures
Mill's Principle of Utility
(1) It is not the quantity of pleasure, but the
quality of happiness that is central to
utilitarianism,
(2) (2) the calculus is unreasonable -- qualities
cannot be quantified (there is a distinction
between 'higher' and 'lower' pleasures), and
(3) (3) utilitarianism refers to "the Greatest
Happiness Principle" -- it seeks to promote the
capability of achieving happiness (higher
pleasures) for the most amount of people (this
is its "extent").
AInc tact-utilitarianism,
Utilitarianism we are required to promote those acts
which will result in the greatest good for the greatest
number of people.
Rule The principle of utility in rule-utilitarianism is to
Utilitarianism
follow those rules which will result in the
greatest good for the greatest number of people.
5
Father and son train
accident
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs3rRDWQw5w
Your thoughts?
What are the pros and cons
of Utilitarianism?
Am I more
deontological
(Kantian) or
utilitarian?
Bentham and Mill see moral good as
SUMMARY pleasure, not merely self- gratification, but
also the greatest happiness for the greatest
number of people. One is compelled to do
whatever increases pleasure and decreases
pain to the most number of persons,
counting each as one and none as more
than one.
In determining the greatest happiness for
SUMMARY the greatest number of people, there is no
distinction between Bentham and Mill.
Bentham suggests his felicific calculus, a
framework for quantifying moral valuation.
Mill provides a criterion for comparative
pleasures.
He thinks that persons who experience
two different types of
pleasures generally prefer higher
intellectual pleasures, to base
sensual ones.
