LESSON 2:
UTILITARIANISM
KRISTEL JEAN B. YCOY
Instructor
Learning Outcomes:
At the end of the discussion, you should be able to:
1. Identify the ethical aspect of human life and the scope of ethical
thinking;
2. Define and explain the terms that are relevant to ethical thinking;
and;
3. Evaluate the difficulties that are involved in maintaining certain
commonly-held notions on ethics.
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UTILITARIANISM
‐ An ethical that argues for the goodness of pleasure
and determination of right behaviour based on the
usefulness of the action’s consequences.
‐ Utilitarianism claims that one’s actions and behaviour
are good in as much as they are directed toward the
experience of the greatest pleasure over pain for the
greatest number of persons.
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The Principle of Utility
Jeremy Bentham • The principle refers to the
motivation of our actions as
“sovereign masters” guided by our avoidance of pain
and our desire for pleasure.
• The principle also refers to
PLEASURE PAIN pleasure as good if, and only if,
they produce more happiness
These “master” are given to us by than unhappiness.
nature to help us determine what is
good or bad and what ought to be
done and not; they fasten our choices “Bentham equates happiness
to their throne. with pleasure”
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The Principle of Utility
John Stuart Mill
• He reiterates moral good as happiness and,
consequently, happiness as pleasure.
• Mill clarifies that what makes people happy is
intended pleasure and what makes us unhappy is
the privation of pleasure.
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BENTHAM MILL
What kind of pleasure is morally preferable and valuable? Are
all pleasures necessarily and ethically good?
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What kind of pleasure is morally preferable and valuable? Are all pleasures
necessarily and ethically good?
BENTHAM
a common currency framework that
FELICIFIC CALCULUS calculates the pleasure that some
actions can produce.
• intensity or strength of pleasure;
• duration or length of the experience of
pleasure;
• certainty, uncertainty, or the likelihood
that pleasure will occur; and
• propinquity, remoteness, or how soon
there will be pleasure.
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What kind of pleasure is morally preferable and valuable? Are all pleasures
necessarily and ethically good?
BENTHAM
However, when we are to evaluate our tendency to choose these
actions, we need to consider two or more dimensions:
• fecundity or the chance it has of being Felicific calculus
followed by sensations of the same kind, and means that actions are
• purity or the chance it has not being followed evaluated on this single
by sensations of the opposite kind. scale regardless of
preferences and values.
• extent, when considering the number of
persons who are affected by pleasure or pain QUANTITATIVELY
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What kind of pleasure is morally preferable and valuable? Are all pleasures
necessarily and ethically good?
MILL
He thinks that the principle of utility must distinguish
pleasures qualitatively and not merely quantitatively.
Contrary to Bentham, Mill argues that quality is more preferable than quantity.
An excessive quantity of what is otherwise pleasurable might result in pain.
If the quality of pleasure is sometimes more important
than quantity, then it is important to consider the
standards whereby differences of pleasure can be
judged.
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What kind of pleasure is morally preferable and valuable? Are all pleasures
necessarily and ethically good?
MILL
In deciding over two comparable pleasures, it is important to experience
both and to discover which one is actually more preferred the others.
Actual choices of knowledgeable persons
point that higher intellectual pleasures are
preferable than sensual appetites.
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PRINCIPLE OF THE GREATEST NUMBER
Equating happiness with pleasure does not aim to describe the
utilitarian moral agent alone and independently from others.
“Pleasure of the greatest number affected by
the consequences of our actions”
Therefore, it is necessary for us to consider everyone’s happiness,
including our own, as the standard by which to evaluate what is moral. Also, it
implies that utilitarianism is not at all separate from liberal social practices
that aim to improve the quality of life for all persons. Utilitarianism is
interested with everyone’s happiness, in fact, the greatest happiness of the
greatest number.
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JUSTICE AND MORAL RIGHTS
Mill understands that justice is a respect for rights directed toward
society’s pursuit for the greatest happiness of the greatest number. For
him, rights are a valid claim on society and are justified by utility.
Mill expounds that the abovementioned rights referred to the
interests that serve general happiness. The right to due process, the right
to free speech or religion, and others are justified because they contribute
to the general good. This means that society is made happier if its citizens
are able to live their lives knowing that their interests are protected and
that society (as a whole) defends it.
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THANK you for listening!
Any questions?
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