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Utilitarianism
A History of
Utilitarianism
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Intrinsic Value
Many things have instrumental value, that is, they have value as means to an end.
However, there must be some things which are not merely instrumental, but have value in
themselves. This is what we call intrinsic value.
What has intrinsic value? Four principal candidates:
Pleasure
Jeremy Bentham
Happiness
John Stuart Mill
Ideals
G. E. Moore
Preferences
Kenneth Arrow
Jeremy Bentham
1748-1832
Bentham believed that we should try to increase the overall amount of pleasure in the world.
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Pleasure
Definition: The enjoyable feeling we experience when a state of deprivation is replaced by fulfillment.
Advantages
Easy to quantify
Short duration
Bodily
Criticisms
Came to be known as the pigs
philosophy
Ignores higher values
Could justify living on a pleasure
machine
John Stuart Mill
1806-1873
Benthams godson
Believed that happiness, not pleasure, should be the standard of utility.
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Happiness
Advantages
A higher standard, more
specific to humans
About realization of goals
Disadvantages
More difficult to measure
Competing conceptions of happiness
Utilitarianism
Theory of Utilitarianism
CONSEQUENTIALIST APPROACH We should decide what to do by considering the consequences of
our actions.
We should act in ways that produce better consequences than the alternatives we are considering.
The Good: Things (goals, states of affairs) that are worth pursuing and promoting.
The Right: the moral rightness (or wrongness) of actions and policies.
Consequentialists say that actions are Right when they maximize the Good.
Theory of Utilitarianism
WHAT IS MEANT BY BETTER CONSEQUENCES? Better consequences are those that promote human well-being:
happiness, health, dignity, integrity, freedom, and respect of all the people affected.
maximize the overall good
the greatest good for the greatest number
put aside self-interest for the sake of the whole.
Ultimate ethical goal from this theory: to produce the best consequences for all
the parties affected by the decisions
Theory of Utilitarianism
IT PROVIDES STRONG SUPPORT FOR DEMOCTRATIC INSTITUTIONS AND POLICIES
It opposes policies that aim to benefit small social, economic, or political
minority.
Government and all social institutions exist for the well-being of all, not to
further the interests of the monarch, the nobility, or some small group of the
elite
The economy and economic institutions exist to provide the highest
standard of living for the greatest number of people, not to create wealth
for few.
CHILD LABOR
Problematic consequences:
Children suffer physical and psychological harms
They are denied opportunities for education
Their low pay is not enough to escape a life of poverty
CHILD LABOR
Alternative Decisions:
Consequences if children in poor regions are denied of factory jobs:
These children would still be denied opportunities for education
they would live in worse poverty
They would have less money for food and family support.
Young children who are prohibited from joining the workforce might
include crime, drugs, and prostitution
Child labor can have beneficial results for bringing
foreign investment and money into a poor country.
Theory of Utilitarianism
Utilitarians decide on the basis of consequences
Consequences depend on the specific facts of each
situation
Utilitarians tend to be very pragmatic thinkers
No act is ever absolutely right or wrong in all cases in
every situation; right and wrong will always depend on
the consequences.
Theory of Utilitarianism
Happiness
the ultimate good
the only thing that it and can be valued for its own sake
the best and most reasonable interpretation of human well
being