...Explain the differences between Bentham’s and Mill’s Utilitarianism (25): Utilitarianism is a consequentialist ethical theory as the consequence of an action or rule is the main principle to judge whether an action is right or wrong. Act Utilitarianism is a teleological theory which was designed by Bentham, states that the act which produces the most pleasure was the most desirable act. Rule Utilitarianism is a deontological theory which was designed by Mill, states that that the act which produces the best act is the most desirable act - – “The greatest happiness for the greatest number”. The principle of utility states that actions are right if they promote pleasure but are wrong if they bring pain – “The greatest good [pleasure]for the greatest number.” Bentham believed that all pleasures are equal. However, Mill disagreed and stated that there were lower and higher pleasures. Firstly, Bentham stated that “quantity of pleasure being equal, push-pin (a simple child’s game) is as good as poetry” – he believed that all pleasures were the same. For example, the pleasure received from listening to music would be considered to be the same as the pleasure someone may gain from murdering someone. Mill disagreed with this. He believed that pleasures are split into two categories – higher and lower pleasures. Higher pleasures were satisfaction of the mind such as listening to classical music, and lower pleasures were pleasures of the body such as eating. He reasoned that desires...
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...Explain how Bentham’s version of Utilitarianism may be used to decide on the right course of action. (25 marks) Utilitarianism is a teleological theory. It states that something is morally right if it produces pleasure and it’s morally wrong if it produce pain. The principle of Utility refers to the greatest amount of pleasure or happiness for the greatest number of people. According to Bentham, most moral acts are those that maximise pleasure and minimise pain. An action is correct according to Bentham if it gives higher quantity of happiness. Jeremy Bentham’s principle of utility states that ‘greatest happiness for the greatest number.’ Bentham stated that human being is governed by two sovereign masters: pain and pleasure. By pleasure he means the benefits, advantage, goodness and happiness. By pain Bentham refers to evil and unhappiness. An example of this will be childbirth. During the period of pregnancy and throughout the labour the mother goes through different level of pain. However, the result is pleasure as baby is born. This not only brings happiness to the mother, also to a greater amount of people especially the family members. The greatest happiness is given to greatest number. Bentham said: ‘Nature has placed us under the governance of two sovereign master, pain and pleasure. An act is right if it delivers more pleasure than pain and wrong if it brings about more pain than pleasure.’ This approach of Bentham can be used to decide on the right course of...
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...Key Features of utilitarianism and its weaknesses. The Theory of Utilitarianism comes from its name from the Latin word ‘Utilis’, meaning ‘useful’. It was first developed by Jeremy Bentham, Philosopher and legal theorist of the 18th century. Bentham produced a modern approach of morality which would suit the changing world of the industrial age. This was also the era of enlightenment. Utilitarianism can be regarded as a consequentialist and teleological system of ethics, providing no strict moral rules but judging an action by its consequence or end result. Bentham believed in Francis Hutcheson’s belief which is known as the utility principle (the greatest good for the greatest number)and argued that one should maximise happiness for the majority and that happiness is equated with moral goodness. This identified Bentham as a ‘Hedonist’, sing he look ed at humans as being primarily motivated by pleasure and avoidance of pain. Bentham put forward what he regarded as a scientific and empical process for making moral decisions, known as the ‘hedonic calculus’ which he brought reason and evidence to the field of ethics. This consisted of sever key ccriteria which a person must consider when making a moral choice: - intensity - duration - certainty - propquity - fecundity - purity - extent ( on how people feel) Later in the 19th century, John Stuart mill modified his theory. Mill was a leading politician and philosopher of his day. He advocated radical causes such...
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...morally right or wrong. In this paper, I will explain the fascinating ethical theory of Utilitarianism and discuss about two very influential people to Utilitarianism, who are Jeremy Bentham, and John Stuart Mill. Along with discussing their contributes to this theory, I will evaluate their personal perspective on Utilitarianism and determine which is more plausible between the two. Ultimately, by doing this I will be able to support the idea that Utilitarianism is not an overall plausible ethical theory to follow. Utilitarianism is a type ethical theory from the ethical objective theory called Consequentialism. Much like in the Consequentialism theory, where morally right and wrong decisions are completely dependent on the consequences produce by an action, morality in Utilitarianism is reliant on the utility of the consequences produced by an action. Utility in this sense means the usefulness of a consequence or the benefits the consequence brings to those all affect by the action. Utilitarians have a strong focus on doing actions that produce the most good. This is due to the principle of utility, which in Utilitarianism states that an action is right if it produces the greatest possibly utility for all those affected by the action. In other words, if an action produces the most good, pleasure, for that situation then that action is right. Unlike in other ethical theories, in Utilitarianism an action is morally right only when it produce the most pleasure. According to Epicurus...
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...Situation Ethics * Situation ethics was most famously championed by Joseph Fletcher (1905-1991). * He believed that we should follow the rules until we need to break them for reasons of love. * It is based on agape love (Christian unconditional love), and says that we should always do the most loving thing in any situation. * Fletcher rejected following rules regardless (legalism) and also the idea that we should not have any rules (antinomianism) and said that we need to find a balance between the two. Four working principles When establishing his version of Situation Ethics, Fletcher used four key principles which he aimed to fulfil in writing his theory: 1. Pragmatism (it has to work in daily life - it must be practical) 2. Relativism (there should be no fixed rules) 3. Positivism (it must put faith before reasoning – "I am a Christian, so what should I do?") 4. Personalism (people should be at the centre of the theory) Six Fundamental Principles There are six fundamental things that underlie Fletcher's Situation Ethics: 1. Love is the only absolute (it is intrinsically good) 2. Christian decision making is based on love 3. Justice is love distributed 4. Love wants the good for anyone, whoever they are 5. Only the end justifies the means 6. Love is acted out situationally not prescriptivally Advantages of Situation Ethics The key advantage is that it uses rules to provide a framework but allows people to break rules to reflect life's complexities...
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...How fair is the judgment that Bentham’s Utilitarianism is a ‘pig philosophy’ or ‘swine ethic.’ (10 marks) Thomas Carlyle was a critic of Bentham’s approach of Utilitarianism. He reflects on Bentham’s approach as a ‘pig philosophy’. This is because he saw it more as a morality based on the ‘swinish pleasure of the masses.’ Bentham’s philosophy was referred as a swinish or the pig’s philosophy as it endorsed on the greatest amount of pleasure for the greatest number of people. This is degrading humans viewing them as animals that focus mainly on the needs of the majority whether even if the minority is morally approved. An example of this will be abortion. Bentham’s theory will support the act of abortion. According to his theory the majority will receive pleasure through the abortion of an unborn. The pregnant women might have conceived the unborn by an accident. If the woman and her family are financially broken she will choose not to keep the child. This will lead them to take a decision to abort the unborn. This will not make the financial system better for the family however it will decrease the amount of materials they would need to spend for another person, allowing them to save some money. This will lead them to take a decision to abort the unborn child. Even though it is not acceptable to abort a child Bentham’s theory can be used to support this act. Majority will benefit from this abortion. However, utilitarianism advocates injustice as the innocent is unjustly...
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...* 1. In Mill’s Essay on Utilitarianism, how does Mill refute the notion that, as some ancient Epicureans and even modern ones have held, utilitarianism is just a philosophy of “eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die”? 2. Explain the humorous but meaningful and important phrase of Mill: “It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied”. Even when we as humans are dissatisfied, our knowledge of such higher pleasures makes humans lives better than those of animals. Even when we are feeling a little melancholy, our memories of happiness can keep us going, and the thought of once again being happy can keep us suspended. In difference, animal pleasures are simplistic. Their pleasures include things like eating and mating. While we enjoy these pleasures as well, this is the height of pleasure for animals. They will never experience anything better than a good meal and a hump. 3. Why does Gustafson think utilitarianism might be the ethical approach most suited for business? Utilitarianism may be the ethical approach most suited for business because it helps calculate happiness. In addition, this ethical approach helps keep businesses sane and supports higher aspirations. 4. Now, look at the example given on pp. 80-81 - embellishing the expense report. After applying the 7 considerations criteria to help calculate how much pleasure and pain will result in the decision to cheat on the report, it...
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...(i) Examine the key features of utilitarianism (21) (ii) To what extent are the concepts undermined by relevant criticisms (9) Utilitarianism was founded by the scholar Jeremy Bentham in the time in which both enlightenment (the point at which people were starting to turn to science over religion) and the industrial revolution ( when an influx of people flocked to the cities to find work- this caused extreme poverty, poor living conditions and an outbreak of disease and death. Bentham’s theory is teleological and focuses mainly on the end goal. Similarly it is consequentialist, therefore its main focus is not on the process but on the outcome. The theory is also secular and is therefore non-religious (hence the link to enlightenment) and it is relativist, making it flexible as there are no fixed rules. The principle of utility and the key to Bentham’s utilitarianism, also known as act utilitarianism is that it seeks the greatest good for the greatest number. This means that in a circumstance where there is a lot of people to think about you would do the thing which caused pleasure or benefitted the majority, e.g torturing a terrorist to find out where they had planted a bomb so that more lives could be saved. The famous principle of utilitarianism was coined by Sir Francis Hutchson. Another important feature of Act Utilitarianism is that it is hedonistic and therefore tries to seek out the greatest amount of pleasure for the greatest number of people....
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...Explain how moral decisions should be made according to Act utilitarianism and Rule Utilitarianism. (30) The crucial difference between Jeremy Bentham's Act and John Stuart Mill's Rule Utilitarianism is their usage of the hedonic calculus. Bentham's Act Utilitarianism requires the use of the calculus in every single situation whilst Mill abandons it altogether. For example, a true Act Utilitarian would use the hedonic calculus to decide whether he should eat eggs, waffles or both for breakfast. He would need to input figures for each of the 7 for each of the three options and then choose the ones suits best based on the product of the calculus. This means that Act Utilitarianism takes a lot. Although it takes much longer to get an outcome whatever is that the decision is more likely to be the right one than Rule Utilitarianism, and since even something as dull as breakfast could lead to an important consequence, the added effort might be worth it for example waffles might provide the extra energy that day for an important life changing decision. Rule Utilitarianism as stated does not use the hedonic calculus but instead focusses around rules that generally lead to the greatest good. Parts of Mill’s changes to Bentham’s work however include the addition of quality to pleasure, as Mill put it: "it is better to be an unsatisfied Socrates than a satisfied pig'. In the case of the breakfast example, a Rule Utilitarian may decide that although he likes the taste of waffles more...
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...Explain how Bentham’s Version of Utilitarianism may be Used to Decide on the Right Course of Action Bentham has been quoted saying ‘an act is right if it delivers more pleasure than pain and wrong if it brings about more pain than pleasure.’ From this; we are able to add up and compare the amount of pleasure or pain coming from each act we partake in and choose weather it is the right and good thing to do. This calculation can be done through the hedonic calculus, formed of 7 parts. The first is the intensity of the pleasure coming from the act, or the depth of pleasure. The second is the duration of the pleasure, how long it lasts – the pleasure of having a baby and so child would last longer than the pleasure of keeping the job or promotion you may loose, therefore assisting with decisions like abortion. The third is the certainty of pleasure, or uncertainty. Forth is the remoteness of the pleasure, will it directly effect you or effect people far away all over the world – like giving to charity. Then comes the chance of a succession of pleasures, this looks at the consequences of the act, questioning weather this act will continue to have good outcomes or if good could lead to bad. The sixth is the purity of pleasure, how secure the pleasure will be. The final element if the extent of the pleasure, how many people will it effect in a positive or negative way – this element reminds us of the greatest good for the greatest number of people, not just for you as an individual...
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...Explain the main features of the theory of Utilitarianism The theory of Utilitarianism takes its name from the Latin word Utilis, meaning ‘useful’. It was first developed by Jeremy Bentham, a philosopher and legal theorist of the 18th century. Bentham sought to produce a modern and rational approach to morality which would suit the changing society of the industrial age. Utilitarianism may be regarded as a relativist and teleological system of ethics, prescribing no fixed moral rules and judging an action by its consequences or end result (Greek: telos). Bentham argued that one should maximise happiness for the majority, ‘the greatest good for the greatest number’ a view which is known as the ‘Utility Principle’. Happiness was thus equated with moral goodness. Good is seen by Bentham as the maximisation of pleasure and minimisation of pain or Happiness=pleasure-pain. This idea further identifies Bentham as a ‘psychological hedonist’, since he regarded humans as being primarily motivated by pleasure and the avoidance of pain. A contented society would be a good society. In assessing the consequences of actions, Utilitarianism relies upon a theory of intrinsic value: something is held to be good in itself, apart from further consequences, and all other values are believed to derive their worth from their relation to this intrinsic good as a means to an end. Bentham and Mill analysed happiness as a balance of pleasure over pain and believed that these feelings alone are...
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...Abortion, the deliberate termination of a pregnancy, has been the subject of discussion and controversy for many decades. Utilitarianism is the chief teleological ethical theory today which considers the consequences of an action; such as abortion. This ethical approach to abortion is useful because it determines that “an action is right if it produces the greatest good for the greatest number”. It considers the hedonic calculus, designed by Bentham, which weighs up the pleasure and pain generated by the available moral actions; the theory mainly focuses on both pleasure and pain and the ability to maximize pleasure over pain. It also emphasises the ends of abortion over its means; so it judges the rightness of abortion by the end result, possible pleasure, it produces. The views of Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill are significant in illustrating the effects of a Utilitarian approach to abortion. Firstly, Bentham’s version of utilitarianism, known as Act utilitarianism, is the most relevant theory to the issue of abortion. His theory remains teleological, using the outcome of an action to determine whether it is good or bad. With abortion being a personal issue, it seems that act utilitarianism is the most adequate theory because it looks at the consequences of an abortion, taking each situation into separate account of all others. This would then enable women who have been raped, for example, to choose whether they go ahead with the birth because they may not be able to...
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...Ethical Judgments ! Utilitarianism ! An Introduction to the Moral Theories of Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill Ethical philosophy differs from the sciences because it is normative or prescriptive, rather than descriptive. In other words, ethics tell us how we ought to act or what we should do, while the sciences are more likely to observe how things are in nature or society. Making Ethical Judgments Areas of Emphasis in Making Moral Judgments Purpose or Act Rule Act, Rule, Motive or Maxim Results or Consequences Making Ethical Judgments in Utilitarianism ! ! ! Utilitarianism says that the Result or the Consequence of an Act is the real measure of whether it is good or bad. This theory emphasizes Ends over Means. Theories, like this one, that emphasize the results or consequences are called teleological or consequentialist. Bentham’s Formulation of Utilitarianism ! ! ! Jeremy Bentham Man is under two great masters, pain and pleasure. The great good that we should seek is happiness. (a hedonistic perspective) Those actions whose results increase happiness or diminish pain are good. They have “utility.” 1 Jeremy Bentham’s Hedonistic Calculus ! Four Theses of Utilitarianism ! ! ! In determining the quantity of happiness that might be produced by an action, we evaluate the possible consequences by p q y applying several values: Intensity, duration, certainty or uncertainty, propinquity or remoteness, fecundity, purity,...
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...cannot measure pleasures on quantity alone, but must include quality. Since Mill has come down on the side of Socrates instead of the fool, he has separated mental pleasures, which he called “higher” pleasures, from physical pleasures, which he implies are “lower” pleasures. 2. Why does Gustafson think utilitarianism might be the ethical approach most suited for business? * Gustafson thinks utilitarianism might be the ethical approach most suited for business because it is “outcome-oriented.” It is a goal that brings about happiness and social benefit. Utilitarianism when tied to business has a method of “making decisions which are essentially expedient and concerned with making the most money possible.” 3. Now, look at the example given on pp. 80-81 - embellishing the expense report. After applying the 7 considerations criteria to help calculate how much pleasure and pain will result in the decision to cheat on the report, it is not until the final criterion that other people, the company, and society, are considered in the equation. Will cheating harm anyone else? It seems for Bentham that the act itself is unimportant, only the consequences. It almost seems in Bentham's approach that the effect our actions have on others is an afterthought. This might be a bit unfair, for Bentham eventually expanded his understanding of the greatest happiness principle to include the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people; nevertheless, we can see that his line of reasoning...
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...Utilitarianism has more strengths than weaknesses. Evaluate the view include Bentham and Mill. Utilitarianism can be defined in several ways; the definition is effectively that an action is deemed morally correct if it produces more happiness of all affected by it than any other alternative and wrong if it does not. Utilitarianism provides a clear method for deciding on a course of action that disregards personal confusion. Bentham and Mill both argue different ways in which Utilitarianism can be applied in order to bring about happiness to an individual. However, Utilitarianism on its own has some strengths and weakness. One can argue that it has more strengths than weaknesses, yet in my opinion, it has more weaknesses than strengths. On one hand, Utilitarianism has it strengths that back up the reasons as to why one’s action can bring about pleasure. One main strength is that it gives happiness an intrinsic value. Moreover utilitarianism seems to be in line with our intuitions that harming people is intrinsically wrong. It makes sense that the right course of action is the one that leads to the most happiness and least harm. Bentham’s theory on utilitarianism looks to the consequences of one’s actions, it also is a guarding principle that does not allow discrimination, mainly in the principle of commensurability; in other words it is an equalitarian. In addition it is also not religious; in the modern, multicultural society with a range of religious beliefs and a growing...
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