Anchuelo, Avy Liezel B.

GED0114 – Section 7
Macalino, Sophia Avril K. November 22, 2019
Samonte, Jade Ann O.

Written Output

Jeremy Bentham defined Utilitarianism in 1776, from his published book A fragment on Politics.
He invoked what he described as a ‘fundamental axiom, it is the greatest happiness of the
greatest number, that is the measure of right and wrong. Jeremy Bentham developed around the
idea of pleasure his ethical system. He built it on ancient hedonism pursuing physical pleasure
and avoiding physical pain. According to Bentham, those that maximize enjoyment and alleviate
suffering are the most virtuous deeds. An act would be moral if it brings the greatest amount of
pleasure and the least amount of pain.
Utilitarianism in the context of ignorance is shown through narration of three story of different
people namely: Tomas, Stacey and Lola. These stories are all about ignorance which later on
connected to utilitarianism.

Story 1: Farmers
Scene Description:
Once upon a time, there is a farmer namely: Tomas, together with his co-workers
depend on agriculture for their livelihood. These farmers were not able to have the
chance to enter schooling because of poverty. Despite their poverty, they owned a small
farm in order to sustain their basic needs. One day, while they were busy cultivating
their crops, a fine young lady approached them and handed them a paper that needs
their signature on it. Little did the farmers know, it was indicated in the paper that their
land will be sold to the young lady. Unfortunately, since the farmers were illiterate, with
no hesitations, they immediately signed the paper that was handed to them.
Tomas and other farmers did not have a chance to attend school because of deprivation in the
presentation entitled "The Farmers," which makes them illiterate and unaware of laws in the
society. This naivety was taken for granted by a young lady who handed them a legal document
stating that their land was handed over in which they later signed, resulting in the loss of their
own lands. In this story, Utilitarianism is for the people who made the farmers signed the
document and for the business people who want to expand their establishments. Aside from that,
it is goodness for other people for they can benefit from the established that may arises from that
land.
Story 2: College Girl
Scene Description:
Stacey, a freshman student who came from the province of Cavite, went to Manila
to pursue her college degree at one of the famous universities in the metro – Far Eastern
University. It was just her first day at the university, but she already gained new friends
because of her personality. Stacey dedicated most of her time in studying. She persevered
and worked hard in order to excel in her classes which made her one of the most
outstanding students in their batch. With that, her friend invited her to go to a party and
have some drink. They were wildly hanging out at the bar together for an hour or so
when a woman approached Stacey. The woman offered Stacey a job at the bar with a
doubled compensation in exchange for her service. Her friends pressured Stacey to grab
the offer. Since Stacey is a “provinciana” girl who needs extra income to purchase
anything that she desires and for her tuition fee, she accepted the woman’s offer. Stacey
became very pre-occupied by her job which made her grades lower than what it usual.
All her efforts were wasted because of the result of her negligence.

EXPLANATION

Story 3: A Slave
Scene Description:
Lola secured a job as a Nurse in Ukraine. She was very excited after her
application was approved by the agency. She now prepared everything she will be
needing for she will be heading off to Ukraine in a day or so. When she reached Ukraine,
she was disappointed because the job she had there was a house helper instead of being
a nurse. She asserted her boss and had nothing to do but just accepted her faith there.
Months had passed, the family where Lola works started to have economic problems. She
was even told that her salary will be raised after a year. Lola was not able to get her
compensation and the crisis become worst. They treated her as a slave. She did
everything such as doing the laundry, folding the clothes, and picked up the kids. She
never stopped cleaning and cooking. Lola offered her service despite the family’s
shortcomings. Lola was taken for granted by the family because she was not able to live
her life accordingly. She cannot denounce the family since her resources were not
enough.

Ignorance in this story is when Lola was deceived by her employers wherein she does not
informed about that she will be offered a different job and gave her false hope by telling things
that is not going to be fulfilled. Utilitarianism in this story is when Lola sacrifice her own
freedom just to take care of the people she worked for. Even though those people violate her
rights are a human, she still chose to take care of them because she knows that no one will take
good care of her employers except for her.

Ignorance in ethics can be explained by having an acceptance of what is being given by the
reality for the sake of the humanity. With that, the ethical position that is best to define these acts
is utilitarianism. As portrayed in the different stories, it is evident that the main characters
became ignorant in their own beneficial ways. Each character chose what is good for the greatest
number of people and sacrificed their own dignity in order to bring goodness to everyone.

References

Bentham, J. (1776). A Fragment on Politics.

Burns, J. (2005). Happiness and Utility: Jeremy Bentham’s Equation. Cambridge University
Press