CLASS RESOURCES IN GENERAL ETHICS

1st Semester SY 2020-2021

Utilitarian Ethics: Epicurus, Bentham & Mill

In this lesson, learn the key ideas of utilitarianism. We'll look at three thinkers who saw the benefits
of pursuing pleasure while still considering the needs and rights of others.

Weighing the Options

Regina is the owner of a company that produces tables. The company has found through research
that out of 100,000 tables produced, one is likely to collapse after many years of use. Regina's
company has sold about a million tables, so probability says that about ten tables may collapse over
time.
The company is struggling financially. Regina is considering issuing a recall for the tables now that
they know the flaw, but this will likely bankrupt the company if they publicize it. Bankrupting the
company will put a large number of people out of work.
In this lesson, we'll look at the ethical approach taken by utilitarian thinkers and how they might
view Regina's challenge. We'll refer to the philosophies of three individuals: Epicurus, Jeremy
Bentham, and John Stuart Mill.

Epicurus
Epicurus was an ancient Greek philosopher who considered the topic of how to make decisions that
lead to the greatest amount of happiness. He was known as a hedonist because he was a person
who focuses their life on maximizing pleasure.
In his text, 'Letter to Menoeucus', Epicurus writes about pleasure in different terms than we might
normally think. He says that pleasure can be described as the absence of pain in the body and of
trouble in the soul. You can aim to remember the name of Epicurus by thinking of how he
was curious about human pleasure.
You might think that someone like Epicurus would look at Regina's company's situation and respond
that she should ignore the potential problems of the faulty table and enjoy better profits instead.
This might sound like the more pleasurable option, yet Epicurus was interested in more than short
term self-interest. For Epicurus, the consequences of our actions do matter and other people matter
too.
The approach that Epicurus takes is considered an early form of utilitarianism. In this philosophy,
the best action is the one that increases pleasure for the greatest number of people. You can
remember the term utilitarianism by thinking of the utility or usefulness of an action and whether
the action increases pleasure and human happiness.
But what about when it's unclear what is the best action? Take the one table in 100,000 that will
bankrupt Regina's company if it's recalled. Should she recall it even if only a few people will ever be
affected? Should she opt to keep the company running and have all of her employees able to earn a
living instead? How does a utilitarian come to a conclusion about what is best?
Jeremy Bentham
About 2,000 years after Epicurus, Jeremy Bentham was continuing a utilitarian hedonist approach in
his own work, An Introduction to the Principles and Morals of Legislation. Sounds exciting, right?
Well believe it or not, this sleepy-sounding title actually starts out with a bold statement about
human beings.
He kicks off his text by writing, 'Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign
masters, pain and pleasure. It is for them alone to point out what we ought to do...' He's saying that
people are ruled by pain and pleasure and that this helps us to know what is moral. Bentham then
makes the case that it's not just our own pain and pleasure that should matter, but the pain and
pleasure of all human beings. Everyone's pain and everyone's pleasure are of equal importance.
So in the case of Regina's problem at her table company, Bentham could look at the situation and
ask, 'Which action truly maximizes happiness for the most people?' Using Bentham's approach,
Regina would weigh the needs of her employees versus the concern for very few customers. She
would have to consider factors such as the intensity and length of pain or pleasure that might result
for both groups. The consequences of a bankrupt company for all of her employees and the
consequences of a faulty table for a few customers.
Bentham's approach has been called moral calculus because it's almost like a math equation for
calculating human happiness. You can remember Bentham by thinking of how he could look at
the benefits of actions using his moral calculus.

John Stuart Mill

A follower of Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill ultimately saw pleasure in a different way than
Bentham. He pointed out that while everyone's pleasure is of equal importance, all pleasures are not
equal. To Mill, some pleasures are more valuable than others. Some pains are more troubling. While
Bentham might argue that enjoying an ice cream cone is the same pleasure as a conversation with a
loved one, Mill saw variations in the importance of one pleasure over another.
He also was especially eager to highlight the rights of individuals and focused on this in his text, On
Liberty. Mill wanted to emphasize that, 'Unless an action hurts someone else, others do not have a
basis for regulating what a person should do. Our own internal feelings also help regulate our
actions.'
Regina's question about whether to recall the tables involves both the law and her own feelings. The
laws where her business is located might dictate that she must order a recall or face penalties since
her faulty tables could cause harm. She may also feel guilty knowing that her decision to keep quiet
about potential dangers of her tables may lead to injured customers, since she has sympathy for
other people's pain. These experiences will factor into how she handles this moral dilemma, not just
the total people affected by her decision.

Lesson Summary
Utilitarianism is the belief that the best action is the one that increases pleasure for the greatest
number of people. In this lesson, we looked at the utilitarian ideas of three philosophers: Epicurus,
Jeremy Bentham, and John Stuart Mill.
Epicurus defined pleasure as the absence of pain in the body and of trouble in the soul. He was an
early hedonist, a person who focuses their life on maximizing pleasure. To remember his name,
you can think about how Epicurus was curious about pleasure.
Jeremy Bentham also believed that human beings are governed by pain and pleasure and aimed to
calculate how to achieve the most good for the most people. To remember his name, consider that
Bentham wanted to calculate benefits.
John Stuart Mill agreed with Bentham on some things, but had his differences too. He felt that an
action should be regulated if it causes harm but otherwise wanted to avoid the interfering with a
person's liberties. He also believed that moral feelings play a role in how a person comes to
decisions, such as feeling sympathy for others.

Learning Outcomes
This lesson on utilitarian ethics can be studied as you prepare to:

 Recall the definitions of hedonist and utilitarianism

 Recite and compare the beliefs of Epicurus, Jeremy Bentham, and John Stuart Mill in regards
to utilitarianism

https://study.com/academy/lesson/utilitarian-ethics-epicurus-bentham-mill.html
Instructor: Christine Serva

Christine is an instructional designer, educator, and writer with a particular interest in the social
sciences and American studies.