Ethics

Course Code: GE8

Time: 8:00-10:00 am

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CHAPTER 2:
Utilitarianism

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Two Types of Ethics:
• Consequentialism
• Non-Consequentialism

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 Consequentialism vs. Non-Consequentialism

• Consequentialism says that no act is good or bad in and of

itself, rather it is good or bad only in terms of its
consequences.

• Non-consequentialist theory states that the empirical

consequences of any given act have nothing to do with the
moral worth of the act.
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 Utilitarianism

Utilitarianism is a theory of moral philosophy that is

based on the principle that an action is morally right if it
produces a greater quantity of good or happiness than any other
possible action.

It says that the Result or the Consequence of an Act is

the real measure of whether it is5 good or bad.
TWO FOREMOST
UTILITARIAN THINKERS

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 Jeremy Bentham

• Teacher of and father of John Stuart Mill

• Father of Utilitarianism

• One of the two foremost utilitarian

thinker.

• First wrote about the greatest happiness

principle of ethics. 7
 Jeremy Bentham’s Utilitarianism

2 Sovereign Masters:
1. Pleasure
2. Pain
• Right actions result in ‘good or pleasure,’ wrong
actions result in pain or absence of pleasure.

• Maximize pleasure/minimize suffering

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 Bentham’s Calculus of Felicity

• Bentham assumes that humans are all governed by the desire for
pleasure and the aversion to pain.

• He seeks to give advice on how one should pursue the goal of

pleasure. However he did not rule out the possibility of
unselfishness.

• Bentham believed that his Calculus of Felicity was actually the

schematization of something we
9 do semiconsciously anyway.
Calculus of Felicity is made up of seven categories
intended to provide a rational analysis of pleasure.
• Intensity: How intense is the pleasure?
• Duration: How long does it last?
• Certainty: How sure is the pleasure?
• Propinquity: How soon will it occur?
• Fecundity: How many more?
• Purity: How free from pain is the pleasure?
• Extent: How many
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people are affected?
 John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism

• Disciple of Bentham

• Argues that quality is more preferable than

quantity.

• He asks whether a human person would prefer to

accept the highly pleasurable life of an animal
while at the same time being denied of everything
that makes him a person. 11
 J. S. Mill’s Utilitarianism

• Part of the problem, according to Mill, is the Calculus generates

a purely quantitative analysis, and pays no attention to the
“quality” of the pleasure.

• In order to combat the “lowering” of culture, Mill differentiated

between “lower desires” and “higher desires”

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J. S. Mill’s Utilitarianism

• Lower desires (food, sleep, etc.) may be dealt with using

the Calculus of Felicity.

• Higher desires may only be discussed in terms of quality

– which Mill claimed no Calculus of Felicity could
evaluate

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 Criticism
Criticism of Utilitarianism
of Utilitarianism
The Case ofTheSam Case of Sam

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Two Types of Utilitarianism:
• Act Utilitarianism
• Rule utilitarianism

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 Act Utilitarianism

It is the traditional form. It requires that one

perform the specific act that will produce the greatest
amount of happiness for the greatest number of people. In
other words, the Calculus of Felicity is utilized to discover
what specific acts should be done.
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 Rule utilitarianism

Rule utilitarianism argues that the Calculus of

Felicity should be used to determine the rules that, if
followed would produce the greatest good for the greatest
number.

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 Justice
and
Moral Rights
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• Justice

- respect for the rights directed toward society’s pursuit

for the greatest happiness of the greatest number.

• Rights

- This are a valid claim on society and are justified by

utility.
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• Legal rights

- are neither inviolable nor natural but rights are object to

some exceptions.

• Moral Rights

- take precedence over legal rights.

-are only justifiable by considerations of greater overall

happiness.
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 End
Any questions?

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 Activity #2
Look for a newspaper article that tackles an ethical issue. Consider the
following questions:

▣ What is the title of the article? (5 pts)

▣ What makes this a matter of ethics? (5 pts)

▣ What is your own ethical judgement on this case? (5 pts)

▣ What are your reasons for this judgement? (5 pts)

PS. Any PLAGIARIZED answer will be graded ZERO.

Reference:
▣ file:///C:/Users/user/Downloads/pdfcoffee.com_chapter-1-the-
ethical-dimension-of-human-existence-roxas-john-paul-d-
social-philosophy-12-ethics-bsed-iv-f-day-pdf-free.pdf
▣ https://www.slideshare.net/hoovermiller_aimee/unit-4-
utilitarian-ethics
▣ https://www.slideshare.net/sayansarkar2010/utilitarianism

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