Utilitarianism

Utilitarianism

  • choosing the greater good that benefits the MOST people

Kinds of utilitarianism:

  1. Limited Utilitarianism

  • This states that it only benefits a certain amount of people or group making the rest of the populace worse off

  1. Universal Utilitarianism

  • Pure form and most common utilitarianism, against maximizing the good for only a small group, it must be for the benefit of the most people

Utility principle: we should act always so as to produce the greatest good for the greatest number

John Stuart Mill: Principles of Utilitarianism

  1. Individual Happiness: One’s own happiness (pleasure) is the only thing desired by each person.

  2. General Happiness: Therefore, the general happiness (the happiness of all) is the only thing desired for itself by all.

  3. Desirability: The only test of something’s being desirable is its being desired.

  4. Intrinsic Value: The general happiness is the only thing desired in itself.

  5. The Greatest Happiness Principle: The only test of the rightness or wrongness of actions is their tendency to promote the general happiness (the greatest happiness for the greatest number).

  • He argues that the best type of pleasure is something that is artistic, intellectual, spiritual

Jeremy Bentham

  • create Hedonic calculus, this is what helps us measure the quantity of mesure over pain suggesting it is better than another

Criteria

  • Intensity

  • Duration

  • Certainty or Uncertainty

  • Propinquity or Remoteness

  • Estimating the tendency of an act by which it is produced

  • Fecundity

  • Purity

  • Extent

These must be the things we use to measure which choice to make in utilitarianism

Example

Criterion

Option A: Play Games Now

Option B: Get 8 Hours of Sleep

1. Intensity

High. It's exciting and fast-paced.

Low. Sleep isn't "exciting," it's just peaceful.

2. Duration

Short. The fun ends the moment you turn off the console.

Long. You feel focused and energized for the next 16 hours

Forms of utilitarianism

  1. Rule utilitarianism: Twe ought to live by rules that, in general, are likely to lead to the greatest good for the greatest number.

  2. Act Utilitarianism in any given situation, you should choose the action that produces the greatest good for the greatest number.