Utilitarianism - John Stuart Mill

Sometimes referred to as rule utilitarianism.

What 2 problems did Mill believe Bentham’s utilitarianism had?

(remember there is an analogy for the first problem)

1. Act utilitarianism could justify bad actions (as it was only concerned with maximising pleasure.)

   • Mill explains this with the analogy of the sadistic guards.

   • In the event that there were sadistic guards inflicting pain onto a prisoner, then Bentham’s utilitarianism would say that as long as the guards were creating more pleasure than pain then it is acceptable.

   • On the other hand, Mill says that the amount of pleasure by the sadistic guards shouldn’t outweigh the brutal pain of the prisoner.

   • Mill didn’t agree with Bentham’s quantitative happiness/pleasure approach, he did not agree that all pleasures are of equal value and believed the pleasure of animals cannot be on the same level as the pleasures of a human.

2. The second problem was that Bentham’s hedonic calculus was too complex and time consuming.

What did Mill introduce to address the first problem?

• To address the first problem, Mill introduced higher and lower pleasures and the harm principle.

What type of happiness did Mill introduce?

• Mill introduced qualitative happiness and a system of higher and lower pleasures.

What are higher and lower pleasures, including examples?

Which one is superior and why?

Which one is more satisfying, and why?

• He recognised that higher pleasures are superior to lower pleasures.

• The higher pleasures (intellectual) - satisfy the mind

  • e.g. reading, learning to play an instrument

• Lower pleasures (physical) please the body

  • e.g. food, sex - lower pleasures are common with animals.

• The higher pleasures are more satisfying as they help humans progress, therefore cannot be experienced by non-humans.

What does Mill recognise about lower pleasures?

However what does he say about focusing solely on them?

• Mill did recognise that people must satisfy their lower pleasures, they do need to eat, sleep etc.

• However it is not good to focus solely upon lower pleasures and the aim in life was to aspire to achieve higher pleasures.

• Higher pleasures are more challenging to gain satisfaction but result in more happiness.

• This way Mill moves away from quantitative pleasures and takes a more qualitative approach to pleasure.

What is a key quote about higher and lower pleasures, and what does it mean?

• ‘It is better to be a human dissatisfied than a pig satisfied’ - Mill

  • A person who has experienced higher pleasures will not give these up when there is no satisfaction, for pleasures which animals seek.

What is the harm principle?

• Bentham’s approach focussed much more on individual situations and had no concept of protecting the common good universally.

• In essence, as society is made up of individuals, for society to be happy, individuals collectively need to be happy too.

• It is therefore the ‘duty’ or ‘rule’ for society to protect the happiness of its subjects by preventing harm to others.

• This is referred to as the harm principle.

• The harm principle states an individual must be allowed the freedom to pursue pleasure as they wish, unless they will cause harm to others by doing so.

How does Mill address the second problem with Bentham’s approach?

(Rule utilitarianism)

• To address the second problem with Bentham’s approach (hedonic calculus is too complex) Mill believed in order for a society to operate it has to have rules, using utilitarianism.

• For example, nobody gets pleasure from paying a bus fare (established rule), but the community gets pleasure from a good public transport system.

• Mill’s theory is sometimes referred to/associated with rule utilitarianism (deontological).

Why can his theory be viewed as deontological?

• His theory can be viewed as deontological because once the principle of utility has been used to establish a law, a moral agent has an obligation to obey it.

So how do we know which rules tend to promote the greatest happiness for the greatest number - teleological?

• Suppose we have two societies, one which the rule ‘do not steal’ is followed and one where this rule isn’t followed.

• Which society are people better off in? - clearly the first one.

• A similar principle can be applied to cruelty, lying etc.

• By following these pre-prepared rules which are justified by the principle of utility, society’s welfare is established and there is not a requirement to work out every problem on the spot.

• In this way we do not need to turn to the hedonic calculus and look at each situation separately but instead we can look to previous knowledge, experiences, and rules to make decisions quickly.

• These rules are necessary as they save time, and a moral agent can be prepared for any moral situation.

In summary what is rule utilitarianism?

• In summary rule utilitarianism is every action does not need to be assessed as actions are right if they conform to a historical rule that has demonstrated that it fulfils the principle of utility.

What is strong rule utilitarianism?

• One should never break a rule that is established on utilitarian principle.

• This is because the rules were made in order to promote happiness.

What is weak rule utilitarianism?

• There may be some situations when the end result (greatest amount of happiness, teleological) may take priority overt the rule.

• Therefore rules may need to be broken

• For example, do not kill may not apply to war, in this case you switch back to act utilitarianism.

What is Mill’s approach seen as in terms of ethics?

• Mill may be seen as a hybrid of deontological and teleological ethics, whereas Bentham is just teleological.

What are the strengths of using Mill’s approach?

• Considers the pleasure of minorities.

• Tries to give all people equal rights

• It suits a modern society which does look at outcomes and pleasure.

• Enforces collective happiness through the harm principle.

What are the weaknesses of using Mill’s approach?

• In reality it is still difficult to protect the minority.

• Someone may not be able to know the differences between higher and lower pleasures.

• Progress does not only take place with higher pleasures.

• Surely other factors need to be taken into account in moral issues, not just consequences and pleasure, like duty.

• Are there any situations when pain is a good thing?

  • Growth due to struggle - loss, rejection, failure often leads to resilience, empathy and personal growth.

• Giving rules makes this deontological rather than teleological.