Teleological - theories about right action, or about what one ought to do. These are committed to claims about value, because they appeal to evaluative facts, in order to explain what is right and wrong
Consequentialism is the view that normative properties depend only on consequences.
Consequentialism about the moral rightness of acts holds that whether an act is morally right, depends only on the consequences of that act or of something related to that act, such as the motive behind the act or a general rule requiring acts of the same kind
Utilitarianism asserts that the value of an act depends on the utility it produces and the utility it most values is happiness. Jeremy Bentham developed this theory initially and John Stuart Mill developed it further.
Bentham called the utilitarian principle the principle of utility and asserted that all our actions can be judged by it.
Mill called the utilitarian principle the greatest happiness principle
The principle of utility makes the theory consequentialist
The emphasis on happiness or pleasure makes it hedonistic
Hedonistic - pursuit of pleasure; pleasure has worth or value
Quantitative Utilitarianism - Bentham
Qualitative Utilitarianism - Mill
Utilitarianism encourages us to promote the goof of everyone concerned and that everyone counts equally. Your own happiness as well as that of everyone else who will be affected by your decision should be taken into account
Mills Definition of the Greatest Happiness Principle (Utilitarianism) - The principle that "holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness"
Mill: The creed which accepts as the foundation of morals "utility" or the "greatest happiness principle" holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness; wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness"
Happiness is intended pleasure and the absence of pain
Unhappiness is pain and the privation of pleasure
Act-utilitarianism - we must examine each action to see how much good it generates.
Rule utilitarianism - we determine what rule an action falls under, then see if that rule would likely maximize utility if everyone followed the same rules.
Act Utilitarianism focuses on the utility of specific acts (short term happiness)
Rule Utilitarianism focuses on rules that promote greater happiness (long term happiness)
Bentham thinks that happiness varies only in quantity -- different actions produce different amounts of happiness.
Mill contends that happiness can vary in quantity and quality.
The higher pleasures are superior to the lower pleasures because even if the lower ones can be intense and enjoyable, the higher ones are qualitatively better and more fulfilling
Utilitarians believe that the purpose of morality is to
make life better by increasing the amount of good
things (such as pleasure and happiness) in the world
and decreasing the amount of bad things (such as pain and unhappiness).
utilitarianism is the most common
approach to business ethics because of the way
that it accounts for costs and benefits.
Hedonism comes from the ancient greek word for "pleasure"
Psychological or motivational hedonism claims that only pleasure or pain motivates us.
Ethical or evaluative hedonism claims that only pleasure has worth or value and only pain or displeasure has disvalue or the opposite of worth
“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, as well as to determine what we shall