UTILITARIANISM

Utilitarianism states 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.
 emphasize the results or consequences are
called teleological or consequentialist.
 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
*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,
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

1. Principle of Utility: The best action

is that which produces the greatest
happiness and/or reduces pain.
2. Greatest Happiness: We ought to do
that which produces the greatest
happiness and least pain for the greatest
number of people.
TWO TYPES OF UTILITARIANISM
1. Act: An Action is right if and only if it
produces the greatest balance of
pleasure over pain for the greatest
number. (Jeremy Bentham)
2. 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
 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.
*CRITICISMS OF UTILITARIANISM

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?