CHAPTER 2

UTILITARIANISM
 What is utilitarianism ethics?
• 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.
• Is an ethical theory that argues for the goodness of pleasure and the
determination of right behavior based on the usefulness of the actions
consequences.
• Utilitarianism is a theory in normative ethics, or the ethics that define the
morality of actions, as proposed by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. The
greatest happiness principle states that a moral action is one that maximizes utility,
or happiness, for the greatest number of people.
 The Principles of Utility
• The principle of utility states that actions or behaviors are right in so far as they promote happiness or pleasure, wrong as they tend to
produce unhappiness or pain. Hence, utility is a teleological principle. This once again raises some of the same basic issues of
associated with hedonism, as discussed in the earlier section on Teleological Theories. Recall that a hedonist believes that the good
life consists solely in the pursuit and experience of pleasure or happiness. The feelings of pleasure and pain are biological events
involving our central nervous system, which are controlled by our cerebral cortex. We obviously experience pleasure when we
perform certain acts that fulfill biological functions such as eating, drinking, and having sex. We also experience pleasure when we
perform certain intellectual activities, such as reading a philosophy textbook, playing guitar, or drawing a picture. We sometimes, but
not always, experience pleasure when we do the right thing. Conversely, we experience pain when these functions are left
unfulfilled.
 Jeremy Bentham
• The philosopher and jurist Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) was born in Spitalfields, London, on 15 February 1748. He
proved to be something of a child prodigy: while still a toddler he was discovered sitting at his father's desk reading a
multi-volume history of England, and he began to study Latin at the age of three.

• British philosopher and social reformer. He is regarded as the founder of utilitarianism – a philosophy advocating the
greatest happiness of the greatest number. Bentham was a social activist arguing for the abolition of slavery and an
early advocate of animal rights.

• He defined the community as "the sum of the interests of its members" and stated that utilitarianism aims at the
"greatest happiness of the greatest number." To determine the specific utility of actions, Bentham proposed a
"felicific calculus" by which one can balance the pleasures and pains consequent upon one's acts.
 The Principle of Utility
• 1. Recognizes the fundamental role of Pain and Pleasure in human life.
• 2. Approves or disapproves of an action on the basis of the amount of pain or pleasure brought about (“consequences”).
• 3.Equates the good with the pleasurable and evil with pain.
• 4.Asserts that pleasure and pain are capable of “quantification”-and hence of measure.
• As with the emerging theory of capitalism in the 18th and 19th Century England, we could speak of “pleasure” as “pluses” and
“pains” as “minuses.” Thus the utilitarian would calculate which actions bring about more pluses over minuses. In measuring
pleasure and pain, Bentham introduces the following criteria: It’s intensity, duration, certainty (or uncertainty), and its nearness
(or fairness). He also includes its “fecundity” (more or less of the same will follow) and its “purity” (its pleasure won’t be
followed by pain & vice versa). In considering actions that affect numbers of people, we must also account for their extent. As a
social reformer, Bentham applied this principle to the laws of England– for example, those areas of the law concerning crime
and punishment. An analysis of theft reveals that it not only causes harm to the victim, but also, if left unpunished, it endangers
the very status of private property and the stability of society. In seeing this, the legislator should devise a punishment that is
useful in deterring theft. But in matters of “private morality” such as sexual preference and private behavior, Bentham felt that it
was not at all useful to involve the legislature.
Bentham also thought that the principle of utility could apply to our treatment of animals. The question is not whether they can
talk or reason, but whether they can suffer. As such, that suffering should be taken into account in our treatment of them. Here
we can see a moral ground for laws that aim at the “prevention of cruelty to animals” (and such cruelty was often witnessed in
Bentham’s day.) (Cavalier) John Stuart Mill (1806 – 1873) “It is better to be a human being dissatisfied that a pig satisfied; better
Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied.” For Mill, it is not the quantity of pleasure, but the quality of happiness. Bentham’s
calculus is unreasonable – qualities cannot be quantified (there is a distinction between ‘higher’ and ‘lower’ pleasures). Mill’s
utilitarianism culminates in “The Greatest Happiness Principle.”(Cavalier) If I am asked what I mean by difference of quality in
pleasures, or what one pleasure more valuable than another, merely as a pleasure, except its being greater in amount, there is but
one possible answer.
Of two pleasures, if there be one to which all or almost all who have experience of both give a decided preference, irrespective of
any feeling of moral obligation to prefer it, that is the more desirable pleasure. If one of the two is, by those who are competently
acquainted with both, placed so far above the other that they prefer it, even though knowing it to be attended with a greater
amount of discontent, and would not resign it for any quantity of the other pleasure which their nature is capable of, we are
justified in ascribing to the preferred enjoyment a superiority in quality so far outweighing quantity as to render it, in comparison,
of small account. (Cavalier) The principle of utility tells us to produce the greatest balance of happiness over unhappiness, making
sure that we give equal consideration to the happiness and unhappiness of everyone who stands to be affected by our actions. The
principle of utility can be applied in two different ways. The first is to apply it to individual acts. How are we to do that? Well, we
might ask ourselves every time we act which of the options open to us will maximize happiness, but Mill did not recommend that
procedure because it would be much too time consuming. Since we know that lying and staling and cheating will rarely maximize
happiness when everyone is taken equally into account, the sensible thing to do is avoid such behavior without worrying about the
principle of utility. (Barry pg.8) The learning process of Bentham and Mill was very strange and different.
 John Stuart Mill
• John Stuart Mill, (born May 20, 1806, London, England—died May 8, 1873, Avignon, France), English
philosopher, economist, and exponent of Utilitarianism. He was prominent as a publicist in the reforming
age of the 19th century, and remains of lasting interest as a logician and an ethical theorist.

• Some of John Stuart Mill’s notable works included Principles of Political Economy, Autobiography, Examination
of Sir William Hamilton’s Philosophy, On Liberty, A System of Logic, The Subjection of Women, and Utilitarianism.

• Most well-known for his 1848 work, "Principles of Political Economy," which combined the disciplines
of philosophy and economics and advocated that population limits and
slowed economic growth would be beneficial to the environment and increase public goods.
 Theory of Value and the Principle of Utility
• Adjusted the more hedonistic tendencies in Bentham's philosophy by emphasizing (1) It is not the quantity of
pleasure, but the quality of happiness that is central to utilitarianism, (2) the calculus is unreasonable -- qualities
cannot be quantified (there is a distinction between 'higher' and 'lower' pleasures), and (3) utilitarianism refers to "the
Greatest Happiness Principle" -- it seeks to promote the capability of achieving happiness (higher pleasures) for the
most amount of people (this is its "extent").
• Mill defines "utilitarianism" as the creed that considers a particular “theory of life” as the “foundation of morals”
(CW 10, 210). His view of theory of life was monistic: There is one thing, and one thing only, that is intrinsically
desirable, namely pleasure. In contrast to a form of hedonism that conceives pleasure as a homogeneous matter, Mill
was convinced that some types of pleasure are more valuable than others in virtue of their inherent qualities. For this
reason, his position is often called “qualitative hedonism”. Many philosophers hold that qualitative hedonism is no
consistent position. Hedonism asserts that pleasure is the only intrinsic value. Under this assumption, the critics argue,
there can be no evaluative basis for the distinction between higher and lower pleasures. Probably the first ones to raise
this common objection were the British idealists F. H. Bradley (1876/1988) and T. H. Green (1883/2003).
Which inherent qualities make one kind of pleasure better than another, according to Mill? He declares that
the more valuable pleasures are those which employ “higher faculties” (CW 10, 211). The list of such better
enjoyments includes “the pleasures of intellect, of the feelings and imagination, and of the moral
sentiments” (CW 10, 211). These enjoyments make use of highly developed capacities, like judgment and
empathy. In one of his most famous sentences, Mill affirms that it “is better to be a human being
dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied” (CW 10, 212). This
seems to be a surprising thing to say for a hedonist. However, Mill thought that we have a solid empirical
basis for this view. According to him, the best obtainable evidence for value claims consists in what all or
almost all people judge as valuable across a vast variety of cases and cultures. He makes the empirical
assertion that all or almost all people prefer a “manner of existence” (CW 10, 211) that employs higher
faculties to a manner of existence which does not. The fact that “all or almost all” who are acquainted with
pleasures that employ higher faculties agree that they are preferable to the lower ones, is empirical evidence
for the claim that they are indeed of higher value. Accordingly, the best human life (“manner of existence”)
is one in which the higher faculties play an adequate part. This partly explains why he put such great
emphasis on education.
 Principle of Great Number
• Equating happiness with pleasure does not aim to describe the utilitarian moral agent alone and independently from
others. This is not only about our individual pleasures, regardless of how high, intellectual, or in other ways noble it
is, but it is also about the pleasure of the greatest number affected by the consequences of our actions.

• Bentham defined as the "fundamental axiom" of his philosophy the principle that "it is the greatest happiness of
the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong.“

• Therefore, he introduced the harm principle, which states that the “only purpose for which power can be rightfully
exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good,
either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant.”
 Justice and Moral Rights
• Mill understands justice as 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.
• Justice is about living with other people, while morality is about living with yourself. Justice is about right relation to
others as measured against the mores of society, while morality is about right relation to right itself, as measured
against your own beliefs.
• The right to due process, he 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 defends it.
• A right is justifiable on utilitarian principles in as much as they produce an overall happiness that is greater than the
unhappiness resulting from their implementation.
• Utilitarians argue that issues of justice carry a very strong emotional import because the category of rights is directly
associated with the individual’s most vital interests. All of these rights are predicated on the person’s right to life.
The principle of utility can theoretically obligate us to steal, kill and the like. We say
“theoretically” because this merely constitutes a thought experiment and need to not be
actualized. Since what matters in the assessment of what we do is the resultant happiness,
hen anything maybe justified for the sake of producing the greatest happiness of the
greatest number of people.

While there is no such thing as a laudable and praiseworthy injustice, Mill appeals to the
utilitarian understanding of justice as an act justified by the greatest happiness principle.
There is no right to violate where utility is not served by the social protection of individual
interests. While he recognizes how utilitarian principles can sometimes obligate us to
perform acts that would regularly be understood as disregarding individual rights, he argues
that this is only possible if it is judged to produce more happiness than unhappiness.
 Group 2
• MEMBERS:
• Lawas, Pete Xier Francis
• Wagas, Rendon
• Gipgano, John Michael
• Regis, Jovie Lyn
• Mangrubang, Sean Marlo
• Lugsanay, Vincent Kurt
UTILITARIANISM REPORT

Submitted To:

Elizabeth Peralta
Ethics Instructor