UTILITARIANISM

u·til·i·ty
the state of being useful, (profitable, or
beneficial).
 UTILITARIANISM
■ Argues for the goodness of pleasure
and the determination of right
behavior based on the usefulness of
the actions consequences.
■ Is an ethical theory that determines
right from wrong by focusing on
outcomes. It is a form of
consequentialism.
■ Claims one action and behavior are
good in as much as they directed
toward the experience pof the
greatest pleasure over pain for the
greatest number of persons.
 TYPES OF
UTILITARIANISM
RULE UTILITARIANISM
■ Belief that an action can be morally right if it
comforms to the rules that will lead to the
greatest good or happiness.
■ belief that the correctness of an action is
determined by the correctness of its rules and
that if the correct rule is followed, the
greatest good or happiness is achieved.
 ACT UTILITARIANISM
■ Belief that it is the right action that brings the
greatest happiness to the greatest number of
people.
■ Concept that believes that the morality of an
action is determined by its usefulness to most
of the people, that this act is in accordance
with the moral rules since it brings greater
good or happiness.

If yes it is the Act Utilitarianism
because this maximizes
happiness while causing no
future pain.
If no is the Rule Utilianism
because in general convicts
must be punished for their
crimes, even if there is no
chance that they will commit
future crimes. The judge should
follow the rules, according to this
argument, even if in this
particular case the rule isn’t
necessary.
A judge sending a murderer to
prison.The judge knows the convict
will not commit any more violent
crimes, and wants to be lenient based
on this knowledge (maybe the
convict is very old or terminally ill). The
judge knows that this will make the
convict very happy, not to mention
their family and friends. Imagine that
the victim’s family has forgiven the
convict and will not feel pain as a
result of this decision. Are you going to
free the murder or not?
 Their system of ethics emphasizes the
consequences of the actions.
 Utilitarianism is consequentialist.
 For them, utility refers to a way of
understanding the results of people's
action.
 Values of actions= Happiness
 pursuit for happiness amd the
avoidance of pain are not only
important principles but they are
principle in assessing an action's
morality.
 Felicific Calculus
 - calculates the pleasure that
some actions cam be produce,
an action can be evaluated on
the basis of intensity or strenght
of pleasure.
- allows us to measure
pleasure and pain.
- it is a single scale that
evaluate the actions regardless
the preferences and values.
 DIMENSION
1. Fecundityor the chance it has of
being followed by sensation of the
same kind and purity or the chance it
has not being followed by sensations
of the opposite kind.

2. Considering the number of persons

who are affected by pleasure and
pain.

3. Extent ( degree or limit to which

something extends)
 Pleasure and pain can only
quantitavely differ but not
qualitatively differ from other
experiences of pleasure and
pain
 Human pleasure is quantitatively
different from animal pleasure.
 Comparative choice between the
intellectual and bestial pleasure,
because he thinks that there is
higher intellectual and lower base
pleasure.
 Argues quanlity is more preferable
than quantity. (Too much= pain)
ex. Eating is pleasurable but
excessive eating is not.
 In deciding two comparable
pleasure experience to discover
which one is actually more
preferred than the other.
“It is better to be human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied;
better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied. And if the
fool or the pig is of a different opinon, it is because they only
know theor own side of the question. The other party to the
comparison knows both side.”

J.S Mill
Utilitarianism
 The principle of
utility states that actions
or behaviors are right in
so far as they promote
Principle happiness or pleasure,
wrong as they tend to
of Utility produce unhappiness or
pain. Hence, utility is a
teleological principle.
“Nature has placed mankind under the government
of two sovereign masters,
pain and pleasure.”

Jeremy Bentham,
An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (1789)
 Help us to determine what is good
and bad.
 The motivation of our actions as
guided by our avoidance of pain
and pleasure.
 Things that produce happiness
and pleasure = GOOD
 Things that produce unhappiness
and pain = BAD
 MORAL VALUE= utility
- we do things or choose our
decisions based on what can
produce happiness to avoid the
pain.
 “The said truth is that it is the greatest happiness of the
greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong.”

Jeremy Bentham
It is not only about the
individual pleasures,
regardless of how high,
intellectual, or in other
Principle of
ways noble it is, but it is
also about the pleasure
Greatest
of the greatest number
affected by the
Number
consequences of our
actions.
 Utilitarianism interested to everyone's
happiness. Greatest number of Happiness

J.S. Mill
Utilitarianism
 It is not lead to selfish acts and also
not about the sacrifices that
procure more happiness for others.
 Utilitarianism considers everyone's
happiness including our own as the
standard by which to evaluate
what is moral.
 It is not separate from liberal social
practices that aim to improve the
quality life for all persons.
 Moral value does not discernible in
the intention or motivation of
person doing the act, it based
solely and exclusively on the
difference it makes on the world's
total amount of pleasure and pain.
“The utilitarian morality does recognize in human beings
the power of sacrificing their own greatest good for the
good of others. It only refuses to admit that the sacrifice
which does not increase, or tend to increase, the sum
total of happiness, it considers as wasted.”

J.S. Mill
Utilitarianism
OPLAN EXODUS