Utilitarianism Utilitarianism s Belief that moral worth is
Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism s Belief that moral worth is solely based on contributing to maximum happiness for maximum # of people s Greatest good for greatest # of people s Harms more than helps=bad
Jeremy Bentham
Bentham (1748 -1832) s Father of utilitarianism s Father of animal rights s Rejected natural rights s Political radical, in favor of: s Rights for women and gays s Elimination of physical punishment s Free trade and no state religions
Pain and Pleasure s All actions create pain or pleasure s Bentham creates an algorithm s Math formula to decide amounts of pleasure in certain actions s “Utility calculus”
s Let us 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: s s s 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.
Utilitarian Calculus s 1 st, you help the woman s The baby will have the longest life s She is actually two people s Next, you help the father of the baby s He will maximize the son’s happiness s You help the old man last s He has the least time left
Bentham’s auto-icon University College, London
John Stuart Mill (1806 -1873)
J. S. Mill s Different vision of utility s All happiness is not equal s Mental pleasure better than physical s Better to be a human dissatisfied than a pig satisfied s Better to be sad Socrates than a happy fool
On Liberty s Harm principle s Power can only be used to stop people from harming each other s You have the right to harm yourself s The right to swing your fist ends where my nose begins! s Modern Libertarianism
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