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Utilitarianism

&Bentham Nature has placed mankind under the governanceof two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure

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JEREMYBENTHAM

Theoryof

Utility

Pleasure& Pain

Theory of Value

Quantification of Action

Action ofJudges

Legislation

PropertyRight

PunishmentTheory

Precedent

Max. PleasureMin. Pain

Parliamentarysovereignty Action

And More

Consequentialisttheory ?

Forms ofUtilitarianism

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Utilitarianism

[I]t is the greatest happiness of the greatestnumber that is the measure of right and wrong

and every action is governed by pain and pleasure

Introduction

Utilitarianism ( from Lat. utilis: useful

) is a tendency within normativeethics.

Complex instrument for the empirical-rational justification of action

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Introduction Cont..

The origins of utilitarian thinking go back to antiquity (Plato,

Aristotle and Epicurus),.Also found in mediaeval times (Thomas Aquinas)

The early modern period (in particular, David Hume, Claude-Adrien Helvetius and Cesare Beccaria)

Of prime importance is Jeremy Bentham, whose work AnIntroduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (1798)laid the foundation of classical utilitarianism

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The Utility Principle and the Felicific Calculus

Bentham begins his principal work An Introduction to thePrinciples of Morals and Legislation with the assertion thatboth our is and our ought are determined by pleasure andpain

Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereignmasters, pain and pleasure. It is for them alone to point out what weought to do, as well as to determine what we shall do. On the one handthe standard of right and wrong, on the other hand the chain of causesand effects, are fastened to their throne

Next, Bentham introduces the principle of utility, which applies notonly to private individuals but also to the government:

By the principle of utility is meant that principle which approves ordisapproves of every action whatsoever, according to the tendency whichit appears to have to augment or diminish the happiness of the partywhose interest is in question: or, what is the same thing in other words,to promote or to oppose that happiness. I say of every actionwhatsoever; and therefore not only of every action of a private

individual, but of every measure of government

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Utilitarianism and Consequence

For the utilitarian, analysis of the consequences of actions is central tomoral thinking. Utilitarianism measures the moral quality of an action bythe quality of its consequences, not by its conformity to rules.

Accordingly, actions should be judged according to whether they areuseful on the basis of their consequences. Hence, utilitarianism is also

called a consequentialist theory.

Actions or rules for action are not adjudged right or wrong on their ownaccount, but by reference to their consequences for the people theyaffect.

However, if the ethics of all actions are judged by their consequencesalone, it means that there are no good or bad actions per se. It alsoimplies that the intentions which underlie these actions are of noimportance. Nor is there any such thing as a good or bad motive per se.A motive is only bad if it gives rise to an action with adverse

consequences

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Sanction Source Time

frame Physical Ordinary course of nature This Life

Political Institutional order This Life

Moral Popular community This Life

Religious Supernatural power This andafterlife

Bentham obviously established an analogybetween physical and legal causation

asdsdfddf A binding force to any law or rule ofconduct

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Utilitarianism Depends on a Theory of ValueIt is claimed that morality depends on the consequences ofan action

Utilitarianism presupposes knowledge of how good or badconsequences can be recognized.

That is, it requires a theory about a suitable criterion forassigning something a value, so that it can be designated asgood or bad .

For an action is not useful in its own right, but only with

reference to something else. In view of that, utilitarianismneeds a theory of value which defines the scale of utility, sothat the utility generated can be measured.

So utilitarianism is a combination of consequentialism, on theone hand, and a value theory on the other

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Utilitarianism Depends on a Theory of Value

According to Bentham and J. S. Mill, utilitarianism itself takes up a valuetheoretical position in which the fulfilment of human needs humanhappiness, in other words is held to be the highest value.

Thus the goal is the maximum satisfaction, or the minimum frustration,of needs. For Bentham, human happiness is whatever the peopleconcerned believe it to be.

The means for achieving happiness cannot be determined a priori.

Knowledge of happiness, of the means to maximize happiness, and theform of action most conducive to it, is a matter of experience alone.

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What is needed in the first instance is empirical knowledge;that is, knowledge of the consequences of an action and the

meaning of these consequences for the welfare of society.Thus the utilitarian theory of ethics is firmly rooted inreality.

According to Bentham, the utility of an action can bedetermined precisely by making reference to seven criteria

(1) Intensity(2) Duration(3) Certainty or uncertainty(4) Propinquity or remoteness(5) Fecundity(6) Purity(7) Extent

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Extent refers to the number of people affected by the action.

For the calculation of utility, the nature of the pleasures and pains concerned makes no difference.

Bentham analyses the different utilities quantitatively, notqualitatively.

In contrast, John Stuart Mill introduced a qualitativeanalysis of utility.

It is plain that if you say Colour alone is good as an end, then youcan give no possible reason for preferring one colour to another.Your only standard of good and bad will then be colour ; and since

red and blue both conform equally to this, the only standard, youcan have no other whereby to judge whether red is better than blue.[. . .] If we do really mean Pleasure alone is good as an end, thenwe must agree with Bentham that Quantity of pleasure beingequal, pushpin is as good as poetry

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Utilitarianism as a Normative Ethical Theory

Utilitarianism as a Teleological Theory

Utilitarianism like eudemonism or hedonism is ateleological ethical theory, which is the contrary of adeontological theory

A deontological theory of ethics, such as Kants moral

philosophy, comprises a system of norms which arecredited with absolute and unqualified validity.

Acting in accordance with a deontological orientationmeans considering these rules alone, regardless of what

consequences the action may entailUtilitarians view this as a reality-blind rule fetishism whichdisregards not only the vicissitudes of life but also humanneeds

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That action or action rule is morally right, the consequences of whichare optimal for the welfare of all parties affected.......,, According to Hoffe

Bentham talks about the principle of the greatest happiness of thegreatest number or the greatest happiness or greatest felicity principle

The originator of the utility principle is acknowledged to be Francis

Hutcheson, the teacher of Adam Smith. As early as 1725, he wrote inAn Inquiry into the Original of our Ideas of Beauty and Virtue .

Action is the best, which procures the greatest Happiness for thegreatest Number, and that, worst, which, in like manner, occasionsmisery

The utility principle represents the crux of Benthams entire theory ofethics, and can be traced in various forms through all his writings

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The rightness of the utility principle is self-evident because it isinstilled in man by nature.

The utility principle, according to Bentham, is the sole ethical principle.

The inference of this claim to absoluteness is that all otherethical principles must be wrong. In particular, it precludes theexistence of any human rights which could prevail over theutility principle.

According to Bentham, natural rights stem from mere wishfulthinking and hence they are nothing but rhetorical nonsense

In proportion to the want of happiness resulting from the want ofrights, a reason exists for wishing that there were such things as rights.But reasons for wishing there were such things as rights, are not rights; a reason for wishing that a certain right were established, is not aright want is not supply hunger is not bread. [. . .] Natural rights is

simple nonsense: natural and imprescriptable rights, rhetoricalnonsense, nonsense upon stilts

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Strength and Weaknesses of Utilitarianism

Strengths of Utilitarianism:

Convincing assumptions: preference for pleasure and happiness.

Explains morality as a social extension of natural inclinations.

Transforms difficult moral deliberations into manageable empiricalconsiderations.

Advances flexibility over dogmatic persistence on principles. The stressis on the practices conducive to happiness not on natural rights ornorms.

Weaknesses:

The concept of happiness is not clear. Very vague: equated either withpleasures or with the public good.

Measurements and the units of happiness are arbitrary and subjective.

Disregard for motives and intrinsic values could lead to immoral andunjust consequences.

The social (altruistic) component could be too demanding if pursuedstrictly.

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Critique of Utilitarianism

Firstly, any quantitative estimation of a sentiment is a matter ofimprecision per se

Secondly, the following difficulties arise:if the sensations to be compared are present

simultaneously, then they are difficult to separate from oneanother because interference can take place between the two.

if the sensation is not actually present, it must beconjured up with the aid of the imagination. Such a sensation is

particularly difficult to assess, especially when it has neveractually occurred and may very well only occur in the future

Thirdly, the strength of the sensation can be influenced by thedeliberate act of reflecting upon it and trying to quantify it

The effective impossibility of interpersonal utility comparisons isthe main objection to the technical practicability of a utilitariantheory of ethicsThe Confusion of Is and Ought