Utilitarianism: Bentham and Mill
Utilitarianism: A Teleological and Consequentialist Theory
Teleological Theory: From the Greek word 'telos' meaning 'goal' or 'end'. A teleological theory evaluates actions based on their ultimate goal or result. The primary goal for utilitarianism is happiness or 'good'.
Consequentialism: Utilitarianism is a consequentialist theory because it judges the morality of an action based solely on its consequences or outcomes (the 'ends'). The result determines if something is good or bad.
Ends vs. Means: Utilitarianism focuses exclusively on the 'ends' (results), not the 'means' (intentions or actions themselves). This contrasts sharply with Kantian ethics.
Example (Hit and Run):
Scenario: Arandi stops to help an injured Yoli, pulling her out of the road. Yoli becomes paralyzed as a result.
Kantian View: Kant would focus on Arandi's intent. If her intention was pure (to help), the action was good, regardless of the negative outcome.
Utilitarian View: Utilitarianism would focus on the result (Yoli's paralysis). Since the result is bad, the action (even with good intent) is considered immoral. The end result defines morality.
Jeremy Bentham: The Founder of Utilitarianism
Historical Context:
Lived from to . He was a contemporary of Immanuel Kant (born in ), and their philosophies often contrasted.
His era coincided with the Enlightenment in Europe and the American Revolution ().
Bentham found the concept of 'natural rights' (as articulated in the Declaration of Independence) 'laughable', believing there were no inherent, God-given rights.
He also disagreed with Kant's notion of a priori moral knowledge, arguing that knowledge and moral understanding come from empirical experience in the world, similar to Aristotle's emphasis on habit/practice.
Key Contribution: Coined the term "utilitarianism" in the s.
Colleague of Adam Smith: Shared Smith's (economist, proponent of the 'invisible hand' theory of self-regulating markets) focus on the ultimate positive outcome, opposing government intervention.
Two Basic Principles:
The Pleasure Principle: Bentham posited that humans are fundamentally driven by two masters: the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain. All human actions are aimed at these ends.
Society is structured to increase pleasure and reduce pain (e.g., easy access to food, avoiding difficult tasks).
The Utility Principle (Greatest Happiness Principle): An action is ethical if it produces the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people in society.
Measurement: Happiness is measured by taking a vote, where everybody counts for one (one person, one vote). The majority's happiness prevails, and the minority's unhappiness is disregarded in the overall calculus.
Social Hedonism: This approach is a form of social hedonism, where decisions are made for the collective good, potentially requiring individuals to sacrifice their personal happiness for the majority.
Example (Pizza vs. Sushi): If a vote indicates more people want sushi than pizza, everyone eats sushi, even the pizza-loving minority. Their unhappiness is considered less significant than the collective happiness of the sushi-lovers.
Example (Cannibalism in Shipwreck): In a dire situation, if a vote determines that killing and eating one person would ensure the survival and happiness of the greater number, a utilitarian might deem it acceptable.
Lying: If lying creates the greatest happiness for the greatest number (e.g., protecting someone who is about to cure cancer from an assassin), then lying is considered moral.
John Stuart Mill: Bentham's Protégé and Refinements
Life and Influence:
Son of James Mill, a British historian and friend of Bentham. Mill was a child prodigy, fluent in Greek by age and Latin by age . He became a schoolmaster for his siblings at age , an accomplished logistician at , and an economist at , experiencing a nervous breakdown at age .
Significantly influenced by Bentham's utilitarian thought.
Motives: Like Bentham, Mill believed that only the outcome matters, not the motive. Saving someone for personal fame is still a good action if the person is saved.
Refinement of Pleasure (Greater Happiness Principle):
Mill refined the concept of pleasure, asserting that not all pleasures are equal; they can be qualitatively ranked.
"It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied."
Human vs. Pig: Human pleasures (companionship, productivity, art, literature, charity, intellectual pursuits) are superior to simple animalistic pleasures (eating, sleeping, mating, rolling in mud).
Socrates vs. Fool: Even among humans, intellectual and moral pleasures are superior to purely base or unthinking satisfactions. An unhappy intellectual experience is preferable to a happy ignorant one.
Measurement: Unlike Bentham's one-person, one-vote system, Mill believed that the ranking of pleasures and what constitutes 'greater happiness' should be decided by those with experience, knowledge, and wisdom – essentially, educated individuals (like himself or college students).
This introduces a qualitative judgment to happiness, making it the greater happiness rather than merely the greatest quantity of happiness.
Example (Fine Wine vs. Draft Beer): An 'experienced' or 'intellectual' authority figure might decide that drinking fine wine is a 'higher' pleasure than draft beer, or vice versa, based on their judgment of what is 'good' for society, regardless of a popular vote.
Other Works:
Ethics of War: Argued that war, though terrible, can be justified if its 'end' or 'goal' is a greater good like peace, freedom, or stopping an invasion, even if it means using soldiers as a 'means to an end.'
The Subjection of Women: Advocated for women's suffrage (right to vote) and the political, social, and economic equality of men and women. He is considered a feminist, emphasizing equality of opportunity rather than biological equality.