SUMMARY, REFUTATION OF OBJECTIONS, AND A GENERAL VIEW
8.1 Summary of the Unified Utilitarian Theory
In this chapter I shall present a summary of the unified utilitarian
theory, refute the main objections to utilitarianism, take a general look at the prospect of moral philosophy, and reemphasize my scientific approach to utilitarianism, from the modern point of view of general systems theory. In spite of the appealing of utilitarianism to systematic and quantitative analysis, there are still many objections to it, some of which are quite serious. It is my hope and belief that the unified utilitarian theory is an improvement over the classical and existing utilitarian theories, to the extent that it should be possible to find grounds and elaborated explanations, from the unified utilitarian theory, to refute the arguments supporting these objections. After presenting a summary of the unified utilitarian theory, I shall be in a good position to confirm this. So in Section 8.2, a number of these objections to utilitarianism are answered. In Section 8.3, the most serious objection that utilitarianism is incompatible with the principle of justice is discussed and confuted in detail. Then a general look at the prospect of moral philosophy, i. e., the tendency of its possible development and its position in the whole realm of philosophy, is taken in Section 8.4. Finally, in Section 8.5, the topic of scientific approach is picked up and emphasized again, from the viewpoint of methodology, in relation to the modern trend of development and wide application of the general systems theory. In the previous chapters, there has been presented a comprehensive ethical theory compriSing an explanation of approach, an interpretation of utilitarianism, the basic principles, a theory of value, decision analysis, and moral judgments as separate parts. Now, in this section, these parts will be threaded together to form a coherent and consistent system - a summary of the unified utili tarian theory. A summary of the unified utilitarian theory can most readily be presented along the main I ines of logical reasoning in the theory. Utilitarianism is teleological in nature. Instead of adopting a priori basic principles, it starts from the ultimate objective of human beings, from which the principle of utility is established. Once the principle of utility is established, all other basic principles, moral principles, virtues, moral duties and moral rules are deducible from it. In order that the principle of utility may give an ultimate criterion of maximal utility in the form of aggregate utility, or to take care of the distribution problem as well, the criterion has to be a function of value. Thus, the unified utilitarian theory is partly based on a quanti tative theory of value. In this theory, a starting point is the
assertion that value has a general property of subjectiveness, from
which many proposi tions can be logically inferred. Finally, a social welfare function, which represents aggregate utility and is a function of value, can be established to be the ultimate criterion. A social welfare function is the composi tion of personal utili ty or welfare functions of all members of society. A well-accepted form is a simple or weighted sum of personal welfare functions. It can be used as a cri terion for distributive justice, because at ideal distribution the magnitude of the social welfare function is a maximum. It can also be used as a quantitative criterion for the principle of utility in personal ethics, because any personal action that produces maximal total utility for others also maximizes the aggregate or social utility expressed by the social welfare function insofar as all the alternative actions affect the utilities for others. Social welfare function will be discussed in detail in Part II of this book. It is touched on here because of its appearance in Fig. 8.1-1. These lines of logical reasoning can best be illustrated in a diagram- matic form, as shown in Fig. 8.1-1. In Fig. 8.1-1 the propositions are put in blocks, which are graphically threaded together by implication symbols of double arrows, to form what I call "chains of logical impli- cation." The chapter(s) number(s) in which the proposition is defined, discussed, shown or developed is (are) also put in the same block. A justification or existing argument as side support for a proposition, if any, is put under the block, and any particular question answered or any important problem solved by a proposition is placed above or beside the block indicated by a single arrow. Fig. 8.1-1 consists of two parts: one is a quantitative theory of value starting from the definitions of utility and value, and the other is the unified utilitarian theory starting from the general ultimate objective of human beings. I shall now go along these two chains of implication, and the propositions in the blocks will be used as the headings.
I. A Theory of Value
(1) Value is subjective
Value is expressed inversely in terms of utility, and utility is defined as follows: An object 0 is said to have a utility U for a subject S if and only if S prefers using, possessing, enjoying and/or experiencing 0 to not using, not possessing, not enjoying and/or not experiencing O. S is said to take an interest in 0 if and only if 0 has a utility for S. Since value is ultimately defined in terms of personal preference, naturally and logically it has to be considered subjective. (2) Comparable and commensurable subjectively Values are comparable and commensurable subjectively, in the sense that, in decision-making, one has to make a comparison of, and a choice between, values, even if the values involved are of completely different natures.