5.Utilitarianism

Advantages of Bentham's Utilitarianism

-It is reasonable to link morality with the pursuit of happiness and the avoidance of pain and misery. -It is also natural to consider the consequences of our actions when deciding on what to do.

John Stuart Mill

Mill believed that quality was more important than quantity when it came to pleasure. For example, the pleasures of the mind are far superior to the gratification of the body's desires. This deals with the problem of sadistic torturers, as their pleasure is of a significantly lower kind. 'It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied.' -John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) was uncomfortable with some of the implications of Bentham's Utilitarianism. He suggested that utilitarian principles could be used to make 'rules of thumb' to live by. He took a qualitative approach - some pleasures are more valuable than others. He divided pleasures into higher pleasures and lower pleasures. Higher pleasures are things such as poetry and music; lower pleasures are things such as eating and drinking. He said that it is 'better to be a human being dissatisfied rather than being a pig satisfied; better to be Socretes dissatisfied than a fool satisfied'. (J. S. Mill, Utilitarianism, 1863) Mill felt that we should aim not for pleasure but for happiness - the general happiness of society.

General Advantages of Utilitarianism

-A large number of people benefit as the principal is greatest good for the greatest number. -Mill's Utilitarianism promotes general societal happiness and it is natural to see physical and mental pleasures are different. -It is natural to consider consequences, so it is easy to use Hedonic Calculus. -It is applicable to real-life situations because it doesn't generalise and recognises the complexity of life.

General Disadvantages of Utilitarianism

-We do not know the consequences of our actions. -Strong rule utilitarianism is not really sticking by utilitarianism but is absolutist and nothing will benefit the greater good in certain situations. -Weak rule utilitarianism becomes the same as Act utilitarianism, so is worse for minorities as the majority always rules. -It is impractical to calculate what you should do to such an extent in day-to-day life.

Criticisms of Bentham's Utilitarianism

-You cannot predict the future so the calculations cannot always be accurate. -Pain can be good and pleasure can be bad, therefore utilitarianism can be contradicted. -There are certain things that are intrinsically good or bad, so there is no reason to do calculations each time. -Should animals be considered in the equation? The environment? -Some would say that we have a particular obligation to our family. -The majority may sometimes be corrupt (for example two prison guards who got pleasure out of torturing a prisoner might be allowed to do it under Bentham's Utilitarianism).

Bentham

-developed his ethical system around tha ancient ideas of pleasure and ancient hedonism, focusing on the persuit of physical pleasure rather than pain. An act is moral if it brings the most amount of pleasure and least amount of pain the right actions are those that create: 'the greatest good for the greatest number' 'maximize pleasure and mimimze pain' happiness = pleasure minus pain His scientific mind led him to believe that the study of ethics could be undertaken in a practical way, carefully measuring the possible consequences or outcomes of an action before deciding which choice to take. His felicific calculus (also called the 'hedonic' or 'utility' calculus) was helpful in determining how to measure different amounts of pleasure:

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Bentham, being a Hedonist, believed that all humans naturally pursued pleasure and conversely tried to avoid pain. To measure this pain and pleasure, Bentham created the 'hedonic calculus', in which happiness was measured with seven different elements, including duration of happiness, the intensity of it and the purity of it. However if applying even one of these factors, let alone all seven, it causes a problem. For example it is impossible to know the duration of the pleasure or pain, because we would all quantify it differently, some are more susceptible to feeling pain, unlike others who are much stronger. We can never predict an accurate duration of the pleasure and a some argue that it is not possible for pleasure to be quantified

Bentham 2

His felicific calculus (also called the 'hedonic' or 'utility' calculus) was helpful in determining how to measure different amounts of pleasure: The Hedonic Calculus Remoteness - how near it is Purity - how free from pain it is Richness - to what extent it will lead to other pleasures Intensity - how powerful it is Certainty - how likely it is to result Extent - how many people it affects Duration - how long it lasts

Rule Utilitarianism

Some general principles are formulated. From these, certain actions will be ruled out as unacceptable. The principle of utility is therefore applied to a rule, so the rule will hold if in general following it leads to greater happiness. This means that in an individual case, even though an injustice might bring about greater happiness, if it goes against the general principle that injustice tends to lead to misery and a reduction in happiness, it is deemed wrong. Bentham is generally seen as an Act Utilitarian, as the Greatest Happiness Principle seems to demand. As we saw, he is open to the criticism that Utilitarianism goes against justice and human rights, as it allows abuses of rights if they bring enough happiness. Mill may be seen as a Rule Utilitarian, as he clearly thinks certain rules have a Utilitarian justification. In his book 'Utilitarianism', Mill defends the idea of rights: "To have a right, then, is, I conceive, to have something which society ought to defend me in the possession of. If the objector goes on to ask, why it ought? I can give him no other reason than general utility."

Rule Utilitarianism 2

Ultimately, Mill would break a rule if breaking it lead to the greatest happiness. Elsewhere in the book, Mill says: "...to save a life, it may not only be allowable, but a duty, to steal, or take by force, the necessary food or medicine, or to kidnap, and compel to officiate, the only qualified medical practitioner." Does this make him an Act Utilitarian? Peter Vardy says this is how most people view Mill. Others describe him as a 'soft' Rule Utilitarian, 'Hard' Rule Utilitarians would disagree with breaking a rule even if doing so led to the greater good. Many criticise 'soft' Rule Utilitarians, saying that this is effectively the same as Act Utilitarianism. Mill strongly believed that the individual is sovereign over himself, which is an unusual principle for a Utilitarian! This means that, for example, we should allow people to smoke in private (banning smoking is an attack on the individual's sovereignty) even though smoking leads to terrible illness etc. Mill's belief in individual sovereignty could be justified by a Rule Utilitarian (can you explain how?)

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Utilitarianism was developed by Jeremy Bentham and is a teleological theory where the moral value of an action can be judged by the likely consequences. The aforementioned Bentham lived in an era of great social and scientific change and unrest. He therefore, because of his social surroundings developed a theory that stated that right actions are those that produce the most pleasure for everyone affected and wrong actions consequently are those that do not. He coined the phrase 'the greatest good for the greatest number' - which summarises his aim which was to iron out the deep inequalities of his time.

Act Utilitarianism

You look at an action to determine what is moral, and from this general rules can be derived. E.g. when faced with a road traffic accident (rta) a paramedic will treat a pregnant woman first. This is because in any given situation, the pregnant woman and her unborn child have a greater potential for future happiness than any individual involved in the crash. By deciding how to act in a specific case, the general rule 'Always treat a pregnant woman first' can be derived. This rule is only a guideline, and should be discarded if doing so will bring about more happiness (e.g. if a brain surgeon is in need of treatment). -demands when faced with a choice we must first consider the likely consequences of potential actions and, from that, choose to do what we believe will generate the most pleasure d least pain