UTILITARIANISM

An ethical theory founded by Jeremy Bentham

and developed and popularized by Stuart Mill.
 Principle of Utility
"An act is good or morally right if it promotes happiness
and bad or immoral if it tends to produce pain."

KEY PRINCIPLE IS HAPPINESS

 In utilitarianism, an act is good or morally right if it
produces greatest happiness to the greatest number of
people; and bad or immoral if it produces more harm or
pain than benefits or happiness to the greatest number of
people.

ASSET = GOOD
LIABILITY = BAD
UTILITARIANISM IS ALSO KNOWN AS
CONSEQUENTIALISM
Utilitarians do not care whether the action is done out of
deception, lie or manipulation as long as it produces
maximum benefits to many people.
 CHEATING
KILLING
MURDER
EUTHANASIA
ABORTION
INJUSTICE
INHUMANITY
DIVORCE
 Felicific Calculus

the intense (intensity) the pleasure, the better. the longer

(duration) it lasts, the better.
the more certain (certainty) that it will happen, the better.
the closer (propinquity) that it will occur, the better. the
greater the possibility (fecundity) that it will be followed by
another pleasure, the better.
the purer (purity) the pleasure, the better; the greater the
number of people that it benefits (extent), the better.
 JEREMY BENTHAM'S MODEL OF UTILITARIANISM
Happiness - Pain = Balance

The Balance is the basis of the morality of an action. In

other words, for Bentham, if the balance is in favor of
happiness, then the act is morally right, and if it is in favor
of pain, then it is morally wrong.
 simple mathematical calculation,
12 Pleaures - 6 Pains = 6 pleasures (Balance)
Hence, if this is the case, then for Bentham the action is
morally right.

20 Pains - 5 pleasures = 15 pains(Balance)

If this is the case, then for Bentham the act is morally
wrong
 For John Stuart Mill - UTILITARIANISM
We cannot calculate the amount of pleasure or pain that
an act produces.
 The felicific calculus cannot be the basis of morality but
the majority of the people that attains happiness.
"an act is morally right if it produces greatest happiness to
the greatest number of people and it is morally wrong if it
produces more pain than pleasure to the greatest number
of people concerned."
Mill’s utilitarianism is considered qualitative
Intellectual pleasure > Sensual pleasure.
Bentham treats all forms of Happiness as equal

For Mill, Intellectual and Moral pleasures must be

regarded as (higher) pleasures. Must be higher than
sensual pleasures