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Ethics Utilitarianism

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19 views3 pages

Ethics Utilitarianism

Uploaded by

honeybabe.solito
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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UTILITARIANISM

What is it?
● “utility”- usefulness of the consequence of one’s action
and behavior.
● It is an ethical theory that argues for the goodness of pleasure and the determination of
right behavior based on the usefulness of the consequence of an action.
● Pleasure is good and that the goodness of an action is determined by its usefulness.

Primary Proponents
● Jeremy Bentham
● John Stuart Mill

Principle of Utility
● (Bentham) actions are governed by two “sovereign masters”given to us by nature to help
us determine what is good or bad.
➔ Pain
➔ Pleasure
● Implications:
a. Actions are motivated by avoidance of pain and our desire for pleasure.
b. Pleasure is good if, and only if, they produce more happiness than unhappiness.

“HAPPINESS IS PLEASURE”
● Things that produce pleasure are good, whereas those that produce unhappiness and
pain are bad.
● Moral value is utility
➔ GOOD=Whatever produced happiness or pleasure and avoidance of pain.
● Mill- “theory of life”
● Bentham- “natural moral preferability of pleasure.”

What kind of pleasure is morally


preferable and valuable?
● Bentham- felicific calculus
➔ an algorithm formulated by utilitarian philosopher Jeremy
Bentham (1747–1832) for calculating the degree or amount of pleasure that a specific
action is likely to cause. ... The algorithm is also known as the utility calculus, the
hedonistic calculus and the hedonic calculus.

Example:
Let's imagine you are a doctor driving to a patient, a young mother who is about to give
birth. It looks like she will need a Caesarian section. It is late at night and you come across a car
accident on the country road you are traveling on. Two cars are involved in the accident and
both drivers are unconscious and have visible injuries. One of the men is the father of the child
you are going to deliver, and the other man is very old. You do not know the extent of their
injuries but in your opinion, without immediate medical help, one or both may die. You as a
Utilitarian are now faced with one of three possible solutions:
1. You help the young mother who's about to give birth.
2. You help the young woman's husband.
3. You help the old man.

The outcome of felicific calculus would suggest:


1. Attending the mother first is your primary concern as the doctor. The death of both
mother and child is almost a certainty if you do not act now, whereas the death of the
man is uncertain. Furthermore, the pain of the mother is clearly greater than that of the
men at this time. There is a greater richness and purity in saving the life of a young child
who has, in all probability, a long happy life ahead. Therefore the extent and duration of
the utility created by these two people is a clear likelihood.
2. Attending to the young husband is the next priority. The pleasures of a new family—its
intensity, duration, extent, richness, and purity—are all clear probabilities. If, as the
doctor, you attend him first his wife and child would in all probability die. The man would
then experience pain (pleasure calculus). The pain experienced by the widowed husband
is likely to outstrip any pleasure to be gained from continued life without his loved ones.
3. Attending to the old man is the last priority. The duration and certainty of his future
pleasure is questionable owing to his age—he has all but lived his life. This is sometimes
known as the 'good innings' argument, according to which the older you are the less
claim you have to life.

Pleasure for Mill…


● Principle of utility must distinguish pleasures qualitatively and not merely quantitatively.
● Mill delineates how to differentiate between higher- and lower-quality pleasures: A
pleasure is of higher quality if people would choose it over a different pleasure even if it
is accompanied by discomfort, and if they would not trade it for a greater amount of the
other pleasure.
● Moreover, Mill contends, it is an "unquestionable fact" that, given equal access to all
kinds of pleasures, people will prefer those that appeal to their "higher" faculties. A
person will not choose to become an animal, an educated person will not choose to
become ignorant, and so on. Even though a person who uses higher faculties often
suffers more in life (hence the common dictum "ignorance is bliss"), he would never
choose a lower existence, preferring instead to maintain his dignity.
● Quality is more preferable than quantity.
● An excessive quantity of what is otherwise pleasurable might result in pain.
● Higher intellectual pleasures are preferable than purely sensual appetites.

PRINCIPLE OF THE GREATEST NUMBER


● For Utilitarianism, equating happiness with pleasure is not only about our individual
pleasures, regardless of how high, intellectual, or in other ways noble it is, but also about
the pleasure of the greatest number affected by the consequence of our actions.
● Utilitarianism cannot lead to selfish acts.
● Not dismissive of sacrifices that procure more happiness.
What is a moral action?
● Everyone’s happiness including our own.
● Utilitarianism is interested in the best consequence for the highest number of people.
➔ Not interested in the intention of the agent.
➔ Moral value is based solely and exclusively on the difference it makes on the
world’s total amount of pleasure and pain.

If this is so, is it justifiable to let go of some rights for the sake of the majority?

Justice and Moral Rights


● Justice is a respect for the rights directed toward society’s pursuit for the greatest
happiness of the greatest number.
● Rights are valid claims on society and are justified by utility.
➔ Interests that serve general happiness.(eg due process, free speech, religion)
➔ A right is justifiable on utilitarian principles in as much as they produce an overall
happiness that is greater than the unhappiness resulting from its implementation.

Legal and Moral Right


● Justice is present when our legal and moral rights are respected.
● For Mill, rights are neither inviolable nor natural, but that they are subject to some
exceptions.

When legal rights are not morally justified in accordance to the greatest happiness
principle, then these rights neither be observed nor be respected.

Implications…
● It is morally permissible to not follow, even violate, an unjust law.
● Protesting over morally objectionable policies is acting in a morally obligatory way.
● When there is a conflict between moral and legal rights, moral rights take precedence
over legal rights.
● Moral rights are only justifiable by considerations of greater overall happiness.
● There is no right to violate where utility is not served by the social protection of
individual interests.

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