Moral Theories Utilitarianism Consequentialism l Right or wrong

Moral Theories: Utilitarianism

Consequentialism l. Right or wrong depends on result or consequence of an action. l. Good result—right l. Bad consequence—wrong

Consequentialism l Egoism l Altruism Utilitarianism

Utilitarianism l. Classical utilitarianism l. Hedonism = Pleasure-ism l Jeremy Bentham (1748 -1832) l John Stuart Mill (1806 -73)

Utilitarianism l. We seek happiness and avoid pain. l. Happiness or pleasure is the only good in itself; l. Pain or unhappiness is intrinsically bad or evil.

Utility l “By utility is meant…benefit, advantage, pleasure, good, or happiness or to prevent the happening of pain, evil or unhappiness to the party whose interest is considered: if that party be the community in general, then the happiness of the community; if a particular individual, then the happiness of that individual. ”

“Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure. It is for them alone to point out what we ought to do, …the standard of right and wrong. ”

Principle of utility l. Always act to produce greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.

Bentham’s utility-calculus l. Seven attributes that help to calculate pleasure or pain: l. Intensity: magnitude of the experience;

Bentham’s utility-calculus l. Duration: how long the experience lasts; l. Certainty: probability it will actually happen;

Bentham’s utility-calculus l. Propinquity: how close the experience is in space and time; l. Fecundity: its ability to produce more experience of the same kind;

Bentham’s utility-calculus l. Purity: extent to which pleasure is not diluted by pain, or vice versa; l. Extent: number of people affected.

Simple utility-calculation l “Everyone counts as one, no one counts as more than one. ” l Each person’s happiness is equally important; l no one’s happiness is to be counted as more important than anyone else’s.

Utilitarianism (1) Consider the various actions or alternatives open to you;

Utilitarianism (2)Taking into account all the persons affected, calculate the pleasures and pains involved;

Utilitarianism (3) Choose that action which will result in the greatest balance of pleasure over pain.

Cases 1. Should I give you a blow? 2. Picking a flower from public garden for your girl-friend?

Cases 3. Five dying young men and a healthy young man in hospital. 4. Is lying always wrong?

J. S. Mill l. Consider quality as well as quantity in the estimation of pleasures. l. Higher and lower pleasures l. The superiority of mental over bodily pleasures,

J. S. Mill l“Some kinds of pleasure are more desirable and more valuable than others…utilitarian writers in general have placed the superiority of mental over bodily pleasures. ”

J. S. Mill l“It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied. ”

Ideal utilitarianism l. Not only happiness or pleasure is intrinsically good; l. Love, knowledge, beauty, friendship, etc.

Ideal utilitarianism l. Rightness of an action depends on maximizing the amount of these intrinsic goods.

Act-utilitarianism (AU) 1. Look at the consequence of a particular action. 2. The principle of utility is applied to individual action.

Act-utilitarianism (AU) 3. Total happiness > over unhappiness—the action is right; Total unhappiness > happiness—it is wrong.

Rule-utilitarianism (RU) 1. Look at the consequence of a rule. 2. Principle of utility is applied to a rule.

Rule-utilitarianism (RU) 3. If everyone following the rule could produce good consequence, then we should abide by that rule—a right rule. 4. The rule is then applied to a particular act.

RU * Killing my rich uncle, right or wrong? * Wrong, because it violates the moral rule against killing. * We should follow the moral rule against killing because everyone following the rule could produce greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.

How AU and RU judge these cases: 1. Should I give you a blow? 2. Picking a flower from public garden for your girl-friend? 3. Five dying young men and a healthy young man in hospital.

How AU and RU judge? • Mary is considering whether to keep or break her promise to go out with David. She believes that if she breaks the promise in order to do something else with some other friends, David will be unhappy, but Mary and the other friends will be happier.

Criticisms against U-ism 1. Difficult to calculate or measure a person’s happiness or pain.

Criticisms against U-ism 2. Utilitarian judgments are often in contradiction with our moral intuition or common-sense morality.

Criticisms against U-ism 3. Utility is often in conflict with justice.

Criticisms against U-ism 4. The demand of utility violates an individual’s rights.

Criticisms against U-ism 5. Forward-looking morality, not backward-looking, inadequate.