C.13 Utilitarianism

1) What is Utilitarianism?

2) What type of theory is it?

> What is the ultimate goal?

3) Who is the father of Act Utilitarianism

1) Utilitarianism: is a teleological ethical theory which judges the morality of actions according to their consequences, specifically whether they produce the greatest overall balance of pleasure over pain.

2) Consequentialist theory: the moral value of an action depends entirely on its outcomes.

> Utility: is the promotion of happiness (pleasure) and the reduction of suffering for all affected.

3) Jeremy Bentham is regarded as the founder of act utilitarianism which evaluates each action individually.

1) Who was Bentham? + What did he reject + quote

- who he was

2) What was Bentham influenced by?

+ What did this mean

3) Who did Bentham agree w/? Nut what did he also think

> What did Bentham want to create

1) An atheist and rejected moral systems grounded in religion or natural law > "Natural law is nonsense on stilts"

2) Influenced by Enlightenment optimism, Bentham believed society could be improved through rational calculation and education.

3) agreed w/ Hume we are 'psychological egoists' (self-interested) but believed we could be altruistic (unselfish) to act morally

> wanted to create science of morality where moral decisions could be made

1) What was Bentham quote on Principle of Utility

> What is the Hedonic Calculus + What does Bentham assume about Pleasure and Pain?

1) "Create all the happiness you are able to create; remove all the misery you are able to remove"

> Quantitative means of determining right thing to do in each situation

> Bentham assumes pleasure and pain are commensurable (measurable by the same standard) and therefore measurable

1) What 7 criteria does the Hedonic calculus use? (EPIC PDF)

E. extent: how many ppl will be effected

P. purity: how likely the action will lead to pain rather than pleasure

I. intensity: how strong is pleasure

C. certainty: how likely pleasure will acc happen

e.g. bd party invites how certain ppl will come

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P. propinquity: how soon pleasure will occur

D. duration: how long pleasure will last

F. fecundity: how probable (likely) pleasant situations will follow in the future

e.g. learning instrument, leads to more pleasure in future: more friends, money (as u can teach others) or enjoyment

Criticisms of Act Utilitarianism (4)

- Rawls

- Anscombe

- Anscombe; Many moral procedures do not have measurable or predictable outcomes + an action cannot be judged solely on an unpredictable outcome

- It is incalculable as it is impossible to add up all of the pain and pleasure + not all pleasures are equal

- Rawls; "Utilitarianism does not take seriously the distinction between persons." > Util allows the sacrifice of individuals for greater good

- no moral rules e.g. if lying leads to more happiness then it's acceptable.. problematic

Strength's of Act Utilitarianism

+ Hare

+ Hare; Argues moral thinking must consider consequences and treat everyone equally Act util is flexible as avoids ridged rules and each action judged case by case

+ Has had real life impact, Influenced real social reforms (e.g. prison reform, law reform) focused on reducing suffering in society

+ Hedonic calculus encourages reasoned moral judgement

How does utilitarianism view natural rights?

- Bentham view

- Mills view

• Bentham: Rejected natural rights, calling them "nonsense." Only real, legal rights matter, and laws should maximise happiness.

• Mill: Also rejected natural rights but believed in maximum personal freedom, unless someone's actions harm others (harm principle).

• Utilitarianism's View: Rights are not absolute; they only matter if they increase overall happiness

1) Who is J.S Mill

2) What is Rule Utilitarianism

3) What is Mill's view on liberty and rule utilitarianism?

1) - Educated intensely from a young age; trained to be a rational utilitarian thinker

- Mental breakdown in his 20's led him to reject Bentham's Util and amend weaknesses

- Influenced by thinkers like Wordsworth who valued personal dev

2) Endorsed by Mill; Actions should follow moral rules which, if generally adopted, would maximise happiness.

> This approach avoids some weaknesses of act utilitarianism by promoting consistency and fairness.

3) Freedom creates the most happiness overall, even if some people make bad choices and harm themselves.

• Rule utilitarianism prioritises following rules (like maximizing liberty) even when it might not help individuals.

Evaluate Rule Utilitarianism (3 each)

+ Brandt

- Strict rule-following results in treating ppl as means to an end so instrumentalism prevails where our misused liberty is an instrument to preserve rules (Violates 2nd Cat imperative)

- unclear whether following rules will always produce the best outcomes, e.g. always following rules can result in more harm

- Permits construction of multiple rules which could conflict with each other

+ Recognises that intellectual and moral pleasures are superior. Values education, autonomy, and culture

+ Rules provide consistency in moral decision-making

Builds trust in society

+ Brandt; "An act is right only if it would not be prohibited by the ideal moral code" expresses view that moral rightness comes from adherence to socially optimal rules

1) What is Preference Utilitarianism (Singer)

> What does the capacity to suffer do?

> What is Speciesism?

1) Moral actions are those which satisfy the preferences or interests of those affected.

> The capacity to suffer gives beings moral significance

> Excluding animals from moral consideration is speciesism comparable to other forms of discrimination

Singer does not argue animals have rights, but that their suffering must be weighed equally.

- Some preferences are immoral or harmful (e.g. racist preferences) > Singer gives no clear way to rank or reject them

+ Focuses on interests and preferences, not just pleasure, avoiding crude hedonism

+ Sidgwick; Advocates maximising well-being across sentient beings