Module 5 Overview

Hi! After discussing deontology or duty ethics, we learned that moral actions are based
on the moral act itself, meaning, that it is moral to do the right thing simply because it is
the right thing to do and not because we anticipate some end result or goal such as
happiness or fear of punishment. When we make an action, we must not look at its
consequences nor must we consult our feelings and inclinations. Instead, we must strive
to be moral because it is our duty to be so. In this module, we will tackle a different
approach in ethics and the ethical system we will consider is what is known as
Utilitarianism or Consequentialism. We will answer questions such as “what makes
people happy” and “can happiness of the greatest number determine what is moral”.
Module Learning Outcome
At the end of the module, you should be able to examine the philosophies of utilitarian
philosophers Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill in relation to the contemporary
times.

Pre-Discussion Activity: The Trolley Problem

The Trolley Problem
Our pre-discussion activity for this module is entitled The Trolley Problem. This ethical
dilemma is a thought experiment in ethics which focuses on the differences between
utilitarianism and deontology. Good luck!
There is a runaway trolley barreling down the railway tracks. Ahead, on the tracks, there are
five people tied up and unable to move. The trolley is headed straight for them. You are
standing some distance off in the train yard, next to a lever. If you pull this lever, the trolley
will switch to a different set of tracks. However, you notice that there is one person on the
sidetrack. You have two options:

• Do nothing and allow the trolley to kill the five people on the main track.

• Pull the lever, diverting the trolley onto the sidetrack where it will kill one
person.

Which is the more ethical option? Or simply, what is the right thing to do?
Consequentialism & Utilitarianism
Consequentialism
Consequentialism is an ethical theory which examines the consequences of an
action to determine its rightness or wrongness. More specifically, it argues that an action
is morally right if it will produce the greatest outcome or consequence. In such an ethical
system, say, a student who has a utilitarian tendency, will run through all the red lights
on the road if that will prevent him or her from being late in class and avoiding being
punished and his or her classmates being punished for his or her act. The example may
seem trivial, but it is an example of a consequentialist ethics in which one is willing to
disregard existing rules to be able to attain whatever intended end the person has in
mind, and, in this case, being late in class. Consequentialism is generally interchanged
with a more well-known phrase which is utilitarianism.
Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that determines the morality of an action depending on
its effects. If an action produces the greatest happiness to the greatest number, it is morally
right. In other words, it must be what is most beneficial to the majority. Oftentimes,
utilitarianism is contrasted with deontology. Let us take an example of the DC movie
character Superman. One of Superman’s core beliefs is not to kill his enemy. In a way, he
embodies Kantian ethics that no matter how bad or evil a human person is, we are not in
any position to exact death to him or her as a punishment. Consequently, Lex Luthor,
Superman’s archenemy always gets away from prison—the only punishment that could
be exacted on him. If Superman were utilitarian, he would not then hesitate to take Lex’s
life to save the world from chaos and countless deaths. However, killing is a line that
Superman is not willing to cross. If you were Superman/Supergirl, would you decide
otherwise?
Types of Utilitarianism

1. Act Utilitarianism – This type of Utilitarianism is seen as the most natural

interpretation of the utilitarian ideal. If our aim is always to produce the best
results, it seems plausible to think that in each case of deciding what is the
right thing to do, we should consider the available options, predict their
outcomes, and approve the action that will produce the best result. It follows,
therefore, that whatever means to attain the best result is inconsequential.
Going back to the Trolley Problem, a utilitarian person would choose the
minimal damage of the situation, that is, choosing the death of one person
over the other five.
2. Rule Utilitarianism - Rule Utilitarianism believes that we can maximize utility
only by setting up a moral code that contains rules. The correct moral rules are
those whose inclusion in our moral code will produce better results than other
possible rules. Once we determine what these rules are, we can then judge
 individual actions by seeing if they conform to these rules. The principle of
utility, then, is used to evaluate rules and is not applied directly to individual
actions. Once the rules are determined, compliance with these rules provides
the standard for evaluating individual actions. Rule utilitarianism says that we
can produce more beneficial results by following rules than by always
performing individual actions whose results are as beneficial as possible. The
best examples for this type of utility are traffic rules such as speed limits and
prohibition of driving under the influence of alcohol.

Jeremy Bentham on Pleasure

Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832)
Jeremy Bentham was born in London on February 15, 1748 and died on June 6, 1832.
He was a jurist and political reformer. Since his father was a wealthy man, at the age of
12, he was able to go to the University of Oxford in 1760. It is in the said university that
Bentham was inspired to have a legal career. His legal career was cut short because of
his extreme dissatisfaction with the current state of society and with the theories from
which it developed. His interest on ethics stemmed from his interest with law and
government, his dissatisfaction with injustice and his desire for social and legal reforms.
Bentham, then, became a philosopher whose name is most closely associated with the
foundational era of the modern utilitarian tradition.
Pleasure: The Hedonist principle, that is, the maximization of pleasure and avoidance of
pain, influenced Jeremy Bentham in his works. For him, pleasure is the only source of
value. We, human beings, are natural pleasure-seekers, Bentham tells us. We do things
to derive pleasure. When we experience pleasure, we become happy.
In Bentham’s work An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, he states,
“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 do. On the one hand, the standard of right and wrong, on the other chain
of causes and effects, are fastened to their throne.”
This statement is the fundamental ethical principle of Bentham. This principle showed
two types of hedonism: psychological and ethical. Psychological hedonism states that the
causes of human behavior are pain and pleasure. Pain and pleasure determine our
actions. On the other hand, ethical hedonism tells us that the rightness and wrongness of
an action depends on the amount of pleasure or pain that it produces. Here, we can see
that Bentham proposes the idea of pain and pleasure as the determinants of our actions
whether behavioral or ethical.
Utility Principle & the Hedonistic
Calculus
Utility Principle
Since we took the hedonistic principle of pain and pleasure, we know that the morality
of an action is to be evaluated through their consequences. Actions are evaluated
depending on their utility either as usefulness or pleasure-producing or pain-avoiding
types. Bentham writes, “by utility is meant that property in any object whereby it tends
to produce benefit, advantage, pleasure, good, or happiness (all this in the present case
comes to the same thing), or (what comes again to the same thing) to prevent the
happening of mischief, pain, evil or unhappiness to the party whose interest is
considered.” Thus, to Bentham, the principle of utility is the greatest happiness
principle that can be applied to all actions. Hence, morality means acting always toward
the promotion of the greatest happiness to the greatest number.
Hedonistic Calculus
Seeking to apply the scientific method into his ethics, Bentham provided a method to
scientifically quantify and calculate the value of different pleasure. This is called
the Hedonistic Calculus. Why is this his approach? To him, ethics is a science that must
come from an observation of actual events and derivation principles based on facts. He
proposes that pleasure must be calculated with its quantity.
These are the seven dimensions of the Hedonistic Calculus:

1. Intensity – How strong is the pleasure?

2. Duration – How long will the pleasure last?
3. Certainty or uncertainty – How likely or unlikely is it that the pleasure will
happen?
4. Propinquity or remoteness – How soon will the pleasure happen?
5. Fecundity – How likely is it that the proposed action will produce more
sensation of the same kind?
6. Purity – Will pleasure be followed by sensation of the opposite kind?
7. Extent – How many other people will be affected?

To determine which action is morally superior, all these factors must be considered and
calculated. If the option passes the Hedonistic Calculus, the action is morally superior. An
important question that we may consider is if it is possible to measure happiness?
John Stuart Mill's New Approach to
Utilitarianism
John Stuart Mill
John Stuart Mill was a naturalist, utilitarian and liberal. He was considered one of the
most influential English language philosophers. He was born on May 20, 1806 in London.
His father, James Mill, was the one who educated him. In his Autobiography, he wrote
that his father taught him Greek at the age of three and Latin at the age of eight. When
he was 14 years old, he had read most of the major Greek and Latin classics. His father,
who was associated with Bentham, prepared him to understand different philosophical
tenets. By reading Bentham’s works, he soon realized that he would be a reformer of the
world. Throughout his life, he edited Bentham’s manuscript, conducted discussion
groups, wrote letters to the press and articles concerning laws and government. Mill died
on May 7, 1873.
Mill adopted the moral theory of Bentham. He accepted the principle that happiness is
the experience of pain and pleasure with few revisions.
A New Approach to Utilitarianism
Bentham’s work was often criticized as making human beings act like animals or at least
treating human beings as subject to scientific or mathematical experiment. Part of that
criticism is that Bentham seems to not put emphasis on the value of the human person
and reduced the person as a mere pleasure-seeker. His theory of utility, however,
approaches the concept of happiness not from a quantitative or calculative approach but
from a qualitative one. His focus is not so much on consequences but on the means of
utility. Seen from this perspective, the means by which the Marvel
character Thanos intends to bring back balance in the universe does not pass Mill’s
theory of utility. Further, Mill accentuates that intellectual pleasure has greater
importance than other types of pleasure. He still points out that happiness is the goal of
an action, but it must not be limited to satisfying our pleasure. Happiness must be
reached only by doing good things that makes a person happy but not disregarding the
rest of humanity. Mill writes, “it is better to be a human dissatisfied than a pig satisfied;
better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied.”

More than a Pleasure-Seeker &

Altruistic Utilitarianism
More than a Pleasure-Seeker
One of the criticisms of Bentham’s theory is that he had a limited view of human nature.
Mill discusses that human beings are not just pleasure-seekers. Human beings are more
than this notion. Human beings have the tendency to seek and develop their higher
faculties to become well developed human beings. Hence, another end of the human
person is to pursue spiritual perfection. It is, then, emphasized by Mill that character is
necessary in the ethical decisions made by the human person. It must also be out of
respect for the humanity that this person respects the humanity of other people. We can
conclude that human beings are more than just a mere pleasure-seeker.
Altruistic Utilitarianism
There is also a sense of altruism in Bentham’s ethical theory. Although utilitarianism is
characterized generally by “egoism,” that is, actions based on self-interest, Bentham,
nevertheless, added the component of societal welfare. In other words, our decisions
must not only be motivated by our self-interest but also the interest of society. Mill tells
us, “…the happiness which forms the utilitarian standard of what is right in conduct is not
the agent’s own happiness, but that of all concerned. As between his own happiness and
that of others, utilitarianism requires him to be as strictly impartial as a disinterested
benevolent spectator.” In addition, Mill states, “In the golden rule of Jesus of Nazareth,
we read the complete spirit of the ethics of utility. To do as you would be done by, and
to your neighbor as yourself, constitute the ideal perfection of utilitarian morality.”

Questions for Discussion Forum 5

1. Many have pointed out that former president, Rodrigo Duterte, is a utilitarian.
Do you agree? Why or why not?
2. How can utilitarianism support actions that harm the rights of a few people if
it benefits the majority?

Summary and Conclusion 5

We discussed in this module consequentialism and utilitarianism, an ethical system which
depends on the moral valuation of an action by examining its consequences. The most
basic principle of the ethics of utility is that the morality of an action depends if its
consequences produce the greatest happiness to the greatest number. We also learned
about two modern philosophers, Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, as proponents of
the ethics of utility. Bentham focused on the quantitative approach and emphasized that
the morality of an action is determined by the amount of pain and pleasure that it
produces. John Stuart Mill, on the other hand, proposed a new approach
by considering the welfare of society alongside one’s self-interest. To sum up,
utilitarianism is an ethical theory which focuses on the consequences of our action—the
principle of the greatest happiness of the greatest number is relevant to us. In the next
module, we will learn another ethical theory as an alternative to the ethics of utility.

Recommended Online
Videos/Readings 5
Recommended Online Videos: (Kindly click the following links for recommended online
videos)

Utilitarianism: Crash course philosophy #36Links to an external site.

Ethics defined: ConsequentialismLinks to an external site.

Ethics defined: UtilitarianismLinks to an external site.

Mother Forkin' morals with Dr. Todd May - Part 2: Utilitarianism - The Good Place

(Exclusive)Links to an external site.

Recommended Online Readings: (Kindly click the following links for recommended
online readings)
Is Dutertismo utilitarian? | Inquirer OpinionLinks to an external site.
[Link] to an external site. (?)
Avengers: Infinity War sets up an irresolvable moral dilemmaLinks to an external site.
References 5
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Bentham, J. (1789). An introduction to the principles of morals and
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Crisp, R. (1997). Mill on Utilitarianism. London: Routledge.
Gensler, H. (2011). Ethics: A contemporary introduction (2nd ed.). London: Routledge. (ECI)
Gill, M. (2006). The British moralists on human nature and the birth of secular ethics.
New York: Cambridge University Press.
Mill, J.S. (1843). A system of logic. London: John W. Parker.
Mill, J.S. (1859). On liberty. London: Longman, Roberts & Green.
Mill, J.S. (1861). Utilitarianism. Roger Crisp (ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1998.
Rosenblum, N. (1978). Bentham's theory of the modern state. New York: Cambridge
University Press.
Ryan, A. (1990). The philosophy of John Stuart Mill. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books.
Scarre, G. (1996). Utilitarianism. London: Routledge.
Schofield, P. (2006). Utility and democracy: the political thought of Jeremy Bentham.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Shafer-Landau, R. (2012). The fundamentals of ethics. New York, NY: Oxford University
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Shafer-Landau, R. (2013). Ethical theory: an anthology. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-
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Skorupski, J. (1989). John Stuart Mill. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.