Utilitarianism

UTILITARIANISM 

Util: the greatest happiness for the greatest number. 

A posteriori type of ethics

Bentham: quantity based. 

Does it make the majority happy?

E.g. capitalism (a system whereby the vast majority of people are benefiting in England)- would justify the 20% of people suffering. 

Hedonic clause: 

Factors to be considered in decision making- so good, but not very efficient. Do you have time for on the sport moral decisions? Prob not. 

-              Duration 

-              Intensity 

-              Purity 

Mill: quality & quantity:

When both are measured and added, which amount of happiness is greatest?/pain is least?

Mental happiness/quality of pain matters

E.g. capitalism - would not justify capitalism, would ask- ‘how sad/much pain are the 20% in?’

22 million people in England & wales live on benefits. 

Act & rule Util:

Act- Bentham:

Believes we should always perform the act which will end to the greatest balance of good over evil. 

Rule- Mill: believes that we should always follow that rule general adherence to which will lead to the greatest overall balance of good over evil. 

The principle of Util:

Seek always the greatest balance of good over evil

Higher & lower pleasures:

Higher:

Music, art etc

Lower:

Sex, drugs, short terms things. 

Ma Intyre- humans should have basic ‘Natural rights’

Bentham ‘nonsense on stilts’

Peter vardy: better to have 1 higher pleasure than lost of little

Gang **** example 

The trolley problem:

Better to leave train on the path it’s already on and kill 4 people, or make the decision and change direction so it’ll only kill one person. 

S:

-              We follow Util most in our gov- democracy- we take votes, brexit- majority was only slight and they followed it.

-              Provides another approach to ethics other than obedience to religion.

-              Secular 

-              Democratic, avoids absolutism in favour of what people want. Avoids dictating. 

-              Priorities (m)- higher & lower pleasures. ‘It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied’. Lower pleasures = sex, drugs etc.- not beneficial in long run, so avoid. Higher pleasures should be encouraged= academia, fitness etc. 

-              Bernard Williams: Jim and the Indians, Util is attractive for 4 reasons:

1.     does not require any religious beliefs and so suggests a rational kind of ethics. This fits a world with competing religions, and provides a way of doing morality that is nit obscure(unclear).

2.     it’s basic good, happiness, wellbeing, or preferences seem quite reasonable. We want to do this (this being maximise our and presumably others happiness and our own wellbeing. 

3.     it suggests moral problems can be solved through a reasonable process, RATHER than a religious theory, which is not universally agreed or a conceptual approach (which some might find unclear)

4.     it offers a common currency of moral thought that seems…