Utilitarianism

A History of
Utilitarianism

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

Happiness

John Stuart Mill

Ideals

Jeremy Bentham

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.

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.

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

of factory jobs:

if children in poor regions are denied

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