Utilitarianism
Module 6
"The greatest happiness of the greatest number is
the foundation of moral and legislation"
J. Bentham
Intended Learning Outcome
At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to;
• Students apply the Greatest Happiness Principle in
evaluating moral dilemmas.
• Students assess the consequences of actions based on
their impact on overall happiness.
• Students apply Bentham’s Utilitarian Calculus to assess
the ethical value of different actions.
• Students differentiate between Act and Rule
Utilitarianism by categorizing and justifying ethical
decisions.
“The One Seat Left”
Scenario
Imagine you’re riding a bus and there’s only one seat left.
At the same time:
An elderly woman carrying groceries wants to sit.
A tired student also wants the seat.
Who should get the seat?
A: The elderly woman
B: The student
C: Doesn’t matter / first come, first serve
Utilitarianism
The English philosopher Jeremy Bentham
(1748–1832) was the first to fill out the theory
in detail, and the English philosopher and
economist John Stuart Mill (1806–73)
developed it further.
Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that determines right
from wrong by focusing on outcomes. It is a form of
consequentialism.
Utilitarianism holds that the most ethical choice is the
one that will produce the greatest good for the greatest
number.
(Ethics Unwrapped, n.d.)
Happiness as the Foundation of Morality
In utilitarianism, happiness is the ultimate good and the moral
foundation for actions, as articulated by the "greatest happiness
principle" by philosophers John Stuart Mill. According to this
theory of consequentialism, an action is morally right in proportion
to how much it tends to promote happiness and reduce suffering for
the greatest number of people affected. Therefore, morality is
determined by the consequences of actions, specifically their ability
to produce a greater overall balance of pleasure over pain.
ACTIVITY:
APPLYING THE GREATEST HAPPINESS PRINCIPLE
Moral dilemma 1: A doctor has five patients in
need of organ transplants and one healthy patient
who could save them all. Should the doctor
sacrifice one to save five?
Apply the Greatest Happiness Principle:
• Who benefits?
• Who suffers?
• Does this maximize overall happiness?
Utility and Greatest Happiness Principle
Bentham called idea of Utilitarianism as the Principle of Utility,
while Mill referred to it as the Greatest Happiness Principle.
According to Mill:
“Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote
happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of
happiness.”
This makes utilitarianism a consequentialist theory—the moral
worth of an action is judged not by intentions, but by the
outcomes it creates.
Utility means the quality of something that makes it
useful because it brings benefit, pleasure, or happiness,
or helps avoid harm, pain, or unhappiness. Since it
values happiness and pleasure as the greatest good, it is
called hedonistic.
Activity: Assessing Consequences
Consider these two scenarios:
Scenario A: A government raises taxes to fund free
education.
Scenario B: A company lowers prices but cuts
employee wages.
Choose which scenario produces more happiness
for the majority?
A key idea in utilitarianism is that the good of everyone
should be promoted, and everyone’s happiness counts
equally. When deciding what to do, you must consider not
only your own happiness but also the happiness of all
others affected, without giving special treatment to
anyone. This requires impartiality or being fair to all.
The Utilitarian Calculus
(Hedonic Calculus)
A method developed by philosopher Jeremy Bentham to
determine the moral rightness of an action by calculating the
total amount of pleasure and pain it produces considering seven
factors: Intensity, Duration, Certainty, Propinquity, Fecundity,
Purity, and Extent. The action that results in the greatest overall
net pleasure is considered the most morally correct choice.
To determine the right action, we need only to compute
the amount of happiness that each possible action
generates and choose the one that generates the most.
Bentham thinks that happiness varies
only in quantity—different actions produce
different amounts of happiness. To judge
the intensity, duration, or fecundity of
happiness is to calculate its quantity.
Mill contends that happiness can vary in
quantity and quality.
Mill’s Utilitarianism
There are lower pleasures, such as eating,
drinking, and having sex, and there are higher pleasures,
such as pursuing knowledge, appreciating beauty, and
creating art.
The higher pleasures are superior to the lower ones. The
lower ones can be intense and enjoyable, but the higher
ones are qualitatively better and more fulfilling
Act and Rule Utilitarianism
Act-Utilitarianism
We must examine each action to see how much
good (or evil) it generates.
An act-utilitarian tries to judge the rightness of actions
by the consequences they produce, occasionally relying
on “rules of thumb” (such as “Usually we should not
harm innocents”) merely to save time.
Rule-Utilitarianism
The morally right action is not the one that directly brings
about the greatest good, but the one covered by a rule that,
if followed consistently, produces the greatest good for all.
Rule-utilitarianism would have us first determine what rule an
action falls under, then see if that rule would likely maximize utility
if everyone followed it. In effect, the rule utilitarian asks, “What if
everyone followed this rule?”
Learning from Utilitarianism
• First, utilitarianism begs us to consider that the
consequences of our actions do indeed make a difference in
our moral deliberations.
• Second, utilitarianism—perhaps more than any other moral
theory—incorporates the principle of impartiality, a
fundamental pillar of morality itself.
• Third, utilitarianism is through and through a moral theory
for promoting human welfare.