AS RS Utilitarianism

• Utilitarianism


  A secular ethical theory which aims to establish what is right or wrong without reference to God or the divine, instead only using evidence from the empirical world
• Utilitarianism comes in many forms, we will be looking at just two of them
• Utilitarianism


  The theory of usefulness, derived from the Latin root 'utilis' meaning useful
• Hedonistic utilitarianism


  A form of utilitarianism where the ultimate good or goal is happiness
• Utilitarianism


  • It is a relativist theory, not interested in strict laws established by God for some higher purpose, but instead focused on this world and establishing the rightness or wrongness of an action depending upon the circumstances or situation
  • It is a consequentialist theory, concerned with the outcome or result of an action rather than the act itself
  • It is a teleological theory, goal-oriented, looking at the purpose of the act and judging this rather than the individual act
• Forms of relativism in utilitarianism

  • Individual relativism
  • Cultural relativism
• Individual relativism


  Concerned primarily with assessing each individual situation or circumstance in turn and not applying rules beforehand
• Cultural relativism


  Concerned with establishing rules within each unique culture but not placing judgment on any culture for their moral decisions
• The amount of happiness that will be created will depend on the situation or circumstances, not the goodness or badness of the act itself
• Utilitarianism is concerned with the outcome or result of an action rather than the act itself
• Utilitarianism is goal-oriented, looking at the purpose of the act and judging this rather than the individual act
• Utility principle


  The goal of all moral action, the principle that must be applied to each situation in order to decide what is the best course of action
• The good is what will provide the maximum happiness for the largest number of people
• Jeremy Bentham


  • Hugely involved in social reform
  • Active in the reform of prisons, hospitals, the Poor Law, women's rights, and decriminalization of homosexuality
  • Instrumental in forming the jury system, postage, and elements of law
• Bentham's principle of utility


  The main aim of human life is to achieve happiness
• Bentham claimed in an introduction to the principle of morals and legislation that Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters pain and pleasure
• Act utilitarianism


  The principle of utility should be applied to each and every act performed in each unique situation
• Any act at all is justifiable if it produces the greatest happiness for the greatest number
• Minimizing pain


  Part and parcel of the process of increasing happiness
• Hedonic calculus


  A mathematical way of establishing the greatest quantity of happiness and the smallest quantity of pain in any given situation
• Factors of the hedonic calculus

  • Duration
  • Remoteness
  • Purity
  • Richness
  • Intensity
  • Certainty
  • Extent
• Duration


  How long the pleasure or pain lasts
• Remoteness


  How close in terms of time the happiness is
• Purity


  How free from pain the happiness is
• Richness


  How likely the happiness is to directly lead to further happiness
• Intensity


  The strength of the sensation of pleasure, how powerfully it is felt
• Certainty


  How sure we can be that the sensation of happiness will be felt as a result of our action
• Extent


  How many other people are involved and will experience these sensations
• The hedonic calculus is a quantitative measure, meaning that all happiness is equal, and it is the amount or quantity that is important
• Bentham said "prejudice apart, the game of pushpin is of equal value with the arts and science of music and poetry"
• Analysing whether a couple, Peter and Rajesh, should engage in a sexual relationship using the hedonic calculus

  1. Consider duration

  2. Consider remoteness

  3. Consider purity

  4. Consider richness

  5. Consider intensity

  6. Consider certainty

  7. Consider extent
• Unless Peter and Rajesh's actions would somehow prevent happiness or cause suffering, they are at liberty to engage in a sexual relationship as consenting adults
• John Stuart Mill


  Godson of Jeremy Bentham, inspired by his work but disagreed with some applications of utilitarianism
• Bentham's utilitarianism


  Permitted any act as long as it produced maximum happiness, which causes a problem as it does not protect the happiness of the minority
• Mill's version of utilitarianism

  Aimed to solve the problem of Bentham's utilitarianism not protecting the minority
• Utility principle


  Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to promote the reverse of happiness
• Bentham was a hedonist, believing what is good is what makes people most happy
• Difference between Bentham and Mill

  Mill took a qualitative approach to the assessment of pleasure and pain, believing there is a difference in the types of pleasure or pain experienced and they take on a different value
• Mill claimed it is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied, as the qualities that make us human are the things we should seek out, not just things that make us happy
• Higher pleasures


  Pleasures of the mind, the intellectual pleasures like reading, making music, science, philosophy