PHI 104

Introduction to Ethics

LECTURE 5
Utilitarianism
 England Bentham (1748-1832) Mill (1806-1873)

1700 1900
Mozart (1756-1791)
Kant (1724-1804)

Germany

America
For
comparison Jefferson (1743-1826) Lincoln (1809-1865)
 Utilitarianism (I)

(A teleological system—the consequences are judged.)

One of its founders was Jeremy Bentham.

•An action’s morality depends on how much it contributes to the overall

good of society.

•Humans are hedonistic.

•They seek to maximize pleasure and avoid pain.

•An ethical system should be consistent with this.

• Happiness may mean pleasure,
power, aesthetic experience,
knowledge, honors, or a balance
between these things.
• Utilitarianism rejects egoism. The
standard of individual policy is
private self-interest, the standard
of public policy is the general
welfare.
 Utilitarianism (II)

If an act benefits many people and causes pain to a few,

it is still good because

“the greatest good for the greatest number”

is more important than the pain of the smaller number.

We judge the morality of an action in terms

of the consequences or results of that action.
 The Trolley Dilemma
THINK ABOUT MAXIMUM UTILITY
 Bentham’s Principle
By utility is meant that
property in any object,
whereby it tend to produce
benefit,
advantages, pleasure,
good, or happiness (all this
in the present case comes
to the same thing) or (what
comes again to the same
thing) to prevent the
happening of mischief, pain,
evil, or unhappiness.
 Bentham’s Hedonist Calculus
According to Bentham, maximizing happiness in society
comes down to promote pleasure and minimize pain.

He also thought that you could scientifically determine

which act promotes the greatest amount of pleasure.

Bentham did this by setting up seven categories with

seven questions you have to ask yourself:
 Rating Our Pleasures
  Intensity: How intense is the pleasure?
 Duration: How long does the pleasure last?
 Certainty: How certain are you that the pleasure will
occur?
 Proximity : How soon will the pleasure experienced?
 Fecundity: How many more pleasures will happen
because of this one?
 Purity: How free from pain is the pleasure?
 Extend: How many of us will experience the pleasure?
 Early Criticisms of Bentham’s
Approach
• Hedonism – a moral
theory “fit for swine”
• Atheistic – leaves out God
(and by extension, any
higher-order moral
considerations)
• Promotes selfishness –
calculus of pure self-
interest
John Stuart Mill’s Revisions:
Utilitarianism
John Stuart Mill (1806-1873):
pleasures differ in quality as
well as quantity

“It is better to be a human

being dissatisfied than a pig
satisfied.”

We are capable of better

pleasures than pigs are
 Qualities of Pleasure

• Elevate the “Doctrine of the Swine” –

– Pleasures of the intellect, not the flesh
– Qualitatively better, not quantitatively

• “Happiness” is NOT simply equivalent to pleasure

– “lower quality pleasures”
• shared with other animals – e.g., food, sex
– “higher quality pleasures,”
• uniquely human, involving our so-called higher faculties

“It is better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool or a pig satisfied.”

 Qualities of Pleasure
• Intellectual

• Social

• Sensual
 Act v. Rule Utilitarianism
• Act utilitarianism (Bentham): an act is right if it
maximizes good
• Utility —> act
• Rule utilitarianism : an act is right if it accords
with the rules that maximize good
• Utility —> Rules —> Act
• Disagree when a rule conflicts with utility
 Act Utilitarianism

An act can be “calculated” as good or bad

based on the total good it produces vs. the
total pain it causes.

If total benefit (good)

>
total liability (pain or loss)

then the act is good.

 Rule Utilitarianism

If a principle were to become a

universal rule in society,

what would the social consequences

be?
 Advantages of Utilitarianism
• Seeks the greatest good for the most people
– Helpful for making public policy decisions, etc.
• Very demanding- can’t consider yourself more
than others
• Consequences do often matter in some way
 Problems with Utilitarianism

• Why always minority should suffer?

• Problem with measuring pleasure
• Is pleasure/ happiness desirable every
time? (Nozick: Thought Experience)
THINK LIKE A
UTILITARIAN TO
BRING GREATEST
HAPPINESS FOR
THE GREATEST
NUMBER OF
PEOPLE!!!