THE ETHICAL THEORY OF UTILITARIANISM

UTILITARIANISM

• Utilitarianism is a normative ethical theory that places the locus of right and wrong solely on the outcomes (consequences) of choosing one action/policy over other actions/policies. As such, it moves beyond the scope of one's own interests and takes into account the interests of others.

IT IS “CONSEQUENTIALIST”

- asks questions “What good will come from doing this?” “What benefit can one get in performing such an act?” “What harm would come if a particular action is done?” “Who will stand to gain if this action is performed?”

• No action in itself can be considered or called good or bad, right or wrong, apart from its outcome

• The moral worth of an act is dependent to its consequences

• An act is always an instrument to achieve something

ETHICAL HEDONISM

• Emphasizes on the pleasure and happiness/contentment that one can get from doing an act or from a particular course of action

• It abhors pain or unhappiness

• Right or wrong is dependent on the pleasure or pain that an act will bring or result

• This also brings to the mind of famous Freudian idea of the “id”• Pain or unhappiness is something that we all

avoid• Pain and suffering is something that is simply

repugnant to human nature.

ETHICAL HEDONISM

• Advocates a philosophy that holds that the primary reason for living is to seek for pleasure or happiness and to avoid pain and suffering as much as possible.

THE PRINCIPLE OF UTILITY

• 18th Century – European Philosophers – expounded and articulated utilitarianism

• True founders: Jeremy Bethnam and his pupil John Stuart Mill

• Bentham specifically coined the famous phrase “principle of utility” (Utilitarianism)

• The claim that there is one and only one moral principle – that of utility makes utilitarianism an ethical theory than can be sonsidered, in a way, absolutist and a believer in objective morality.

• Usually “utility” means that it serves some purpose or function

• Bentham and Mill• Utilitarianism aims at consequences , which are good,

that everybody wants and this is happinnes or pleasure.• Utilitarianism has also come to be known as

“happiness theory”• Utilitarianism then becomes an ethical priciple that

measures the amount of happiness over unhappiness of a certain act

• “Hedonic Calculus” – a table of measurement invented by bentham to arrive at an exact calculation of the amount of pleasure that act may bring

THE GREATEST GOOD FOR THE GREATEST NUMBER

• What makes utilitarianism appealing?• Emphasis on the social dimension of morality• Utilitarianism offers more practicable alternative than

the other ethical theories

e.g. our political system is so dominated by self-interest of few individuals that the pursuit of the general welfare has been neglected.

• Scottish Philosopher Hutcheson – first formulated the phrase “The Greatest Good for the Greatest Number”

• Utilitarianism goes back to the earliest beginning of the history of ethical thought• Mill insists that it has been presupposed by

practically all ethical philosophers (Epicurus & Aristippus)• Popular for their supreme emphasis on the

pursuit of pleasure or happiness as the central meaning and reason of human existence (Ethical Hedonism)

BENTHAM’S HEDONIC CALCULUS(COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS)

• Its aim is to arrive at a definite basis of when to say that an act or conduct is right or wrong, good or bad

• It’s main goal is to “help individuals as well as lawmakers and legislators decide what ought to be done in any given set of circumstances” (Falikowski 2004)

• What truly matters in the end is the maximization of pleasure or happiness and minimization if not the total eradication of pain or suffering

HEDONIC CALCULUS

• Hedons – greek word means pleasure• Calculus – a science of calculation• it is used for determining morality y

measuring the exact amount of pleasure and pain, happiness and unhappiness

HEDONIC CALCULUS (BENTHAM 1976-67)

INTENSITY the more intense the pleasure, the better

DURATION The longer the pleasure lasts, the better

CERTAINTY the more certain the pleasure, the better

PROPINQUITY The nearer, the closer or more often that pleasures occur, the better

FECUNDITY The greater the possibility that the pleasure that one can derive from an act will be followed by more pleasures, the better

PURITY The purer the pleasure, the better

EXTENT The greater the number of people who can experience pleasure, the better

HEDONIC CALCULUS

• giving a fixed numerical value to each of the seven elements, say from 1-10; 1 signifies the lowest while ten the highest.

• The amount of pleasure is deducted from the amount of pain to arrive at the balance

• If total amount is more on pleasure = pursue the act for it is morally good or right

• If total amount is more on pain = do pursue the act for it is morally bad or wrong

HEDONIC CALCULUS

• Is somewhat similar to cost-benefit analysis• Cost are pains; benefits are pleasures

• E.g. going abroad• Benefit – economic benefit• Cost – leaving one’s family

• E.g. Commit oneself to marriage• Benefit – marital bliss• Cost – loss of freedom

TWO KINDS OF PLEASURE

• Bentham’s formulation of hedonic calculus put him (rightly or wrongly) under the level of a psychologist hedonist

• He emphasized that we must not only pursue our own self-interest (like the ethical egoist) but also that of the group or majority

• Mill developed his own version that enables his view to deviate from that of his mastes

TWO TYPES OF PLEASURE

• According to Mill, pleasures have two tyoes: quantity and quality

• Pleasure differ not just in amount but also in quality

• Pleasure of the mind and spirit is higher than the pleasure of the flesh and of the body

• According to Mill, seek the higher pleasure than the pleasure of lower kind (sensual satisfaction

• “It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied: better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied” – Mill

• Bentham – only pleasure or is happiness is the only good in itself

• Mill – values not just the amount of pleasure that one can get but the particular type of pleasure that follows from it

• E.g. you receive an allowance of one thousand pesos from your parents for the week. What will you buy?

A. food, drinks and other physical vices(cigarettes and liquors)

B. Ethics book, Theology book, Pharmacognosy book, Microbiology book, Remmington, etc

• One should spend part of it to feed one’s mind and soul and not just to satisfy one’s bodily needs and physical carvings – Mill’s Prescription Rx

“A life with only bodily pleasures is not as good as good as one containing pleasures of the mind and spirit. The pleasure that one gets from acquiring love, having knowledge, being morally good, securing freedom, knowing God, and so on makes life much more worth living than a life that wallows in the mire of bodily pleasures alone”

CRITICAL ASSESSMENT

STRONG POINTS OF UTILITARIANISM

• Utilitarianism is able to transcend the narrow view of morality that only confines itself to the interest of the individual (Ethical Egoism)

• The utilitarianism view that claims that humans by nature seek what is pleasurable has been empirically observed and tested

• Utilitarian ethical theory somehow provides a system with a single and absolute moral principle with a potential answer for every particular situation that anyone finds himself or herself in.

STRONG POINTS OF UTILITARIANISM• The categorization of pleasures escapes the simplistic view on

pleasure• The hedonic calculus help us to determine which course of

action gives more pleasure or happiness• The primary consideration of the consequences of actions as the

sole basis of morality affirms the common sense belief that all our actions do have consequences and that more importantly, they matter

• Utilitarianism to a large extent provides every ordinary man and woman in the street a practical, simple and clear cut procedure for making ethical decisions

• It allows for a great deal of flexibility and sensitivity to the particular circumstances surrounding an action

• Utilitarianism finds various practical and specific applications not just in the field of morality and ethics but also in the area of politics, economies and business, among others

• A philosophy that considers one’s well being of equal value with everyone else easily makes utilitarianism very endearing and attractive to a kind of a democratic system that gives everyone equal treatment in its rules and policies.

WEAK POINTS OF UTILITARIANISM

• Obvious difficulty and problem of knowing the exact consequences of our actions

• It appears that utilitarianism justifies the doing of something that is intrinsically wrong such as murder or stealing. The end does not justify the means

• If we apply the theory of utilitarianism in all our actions, it would be impractical since we simply do not have enough time in all situations to weigh the pleasure or the pain that an act brings

• The principle of the greatest good of the greatest number does not give justice to the rights of the minority

• Utilitarianism simply ignores the role of motive or intention.

• Utilitarianism rejects all forms of moral duties that we usually accept such as the duty to tell the truth, the duty to help those in need and the duty to protect the innocent

• Utilitarianism seems to make goodness a mater of individual taste and personal preference: “is an act good or right because it is pleasurable or it is pleasurable because it is good or right”

• What is happiness or pleasurable for one may not be pleasurable for other

• Utilitarianism which only values actions that produce good consequences, is a “heartless” ethical philosophy

• The utilitarian fundamental but subtle assumption that all man’s actions are purposive is based on false psychology.

THE END