Utilitarianism

John Stuart Mill

 defended the Benthams Utilitarianism
 promoted Benthams cause of please as the only defensible truth pertaining to
morality
 his ethical ideas were focused on the theory of Utilitarianism
 his analytical mind was seen when he asked, “It is better to be a human being
miserable than a pig satisfied?”

Benthams
 believed that pleasure and pain are the motivating factors of human behavior ,
and as such, all beings act towards attaining pleasure and avoiding pain
 the value of pleasure is seen in the Philosophy of Utility known as hedonism
 while utility is understood as the property of any object that produces benefit,
advantage, and pleasure, hedonism holds that pleasure or happiness is the
most important goal in life.
 2 Kinds of Hedonism
1. Psychological Hedonism – states that human actions are motivated by
pleasure and pain, which means that man acts in such a way that pleasure is
achieved and pain is avoided
2. Ethical Hedonism – holds that the only good and that good actions are
considered good only if they lead toward the attainment of pleasure, while
they are evil if they inflict pain

Utilitarianism
 Is part of another framework of morality which is known as the teleological or
consequentialist theory of morality
 The focus of which is not on the doer of the action who makes the moral
choices, and not even on the act itself that carries the decisions, but on
the consequences of the action.
 It looks into the effects of the action committed.
 Thus, the morality of the matter lies on the consequences that the action
may bring about, whether it is good or evil.
 If the action has benefits to more people, despite the nature of the action
itself, then the choice is considered good.
 It describes the greatest happiness principle which is the principle of utility
which states, “Action is best when it produces the greatest happiness for
the greatest number.” – Price, 2000
 Sanctions are given to person/persons who fail to provide pleasure to people,
rather, he/they become cause/s of other’s pain and suffering.
 Four types of sanctions are: physical, political, moral and religious
 Since Bentham views that consequences are more important than
motives, then people who inflict pain against another will be sanctioned
inspite of their motives

 John Stuart Mill further discussed that pain and pleasures are objectively
immeasurable, thus, we just rely on our experiences to determine the level of
pain we can and cannot endure.
 Mill likewise emphasized that concept of altruism or selflessness, which
indicates that utilitarian morality must recognize that human beings have
the power to sacrifice their own pleasure and happiness for the good of
others
 When you act to attain happiness and pleasure, you are good, then it
implies that when you do sacrifices for the sake of others, you are better
and you are more moral being.
 One can avoid inflicting pain on others, some follow the golden rule of
Confucius, that is, “Do not do unto others what you don't want others do
unto you."

A. Origins and Nature of the Theory

 Although, Utilitarianism's idea has its origin from and already was implied
from the thoughts of Bentham, it was John Stuart Mill who actually coined
the term "Utilitarianism".
 Mill started by holding that human beings are social by nature, and
thus, his primary desire is to be united with others which is
considered as good.
 Vaughn (2008) "The action is right if it brings the greatest amount of
happiness for the greatest number of people".
 According to Mill, education is a means for people to learn skills
needed to be productive citizens, and eventually to become
effective workers who can promote dignified and healthy living.

B. Business’ Fascination with Utilitarianism

 Since utilitarianism seeks for the happiness of the greatest number of
people in society, it became a strong instrument for social reforms and
provided rationale for the promulgation of women’s rights, creating
programs for the poor and improving the conditions of prisoners.
 Utilitarian Principle still strongly influences decision in making
policy construction in the areas of public services like healthcare,
criminal justice and government (Vaughn, 2008).
 In business industry, the actions that both the employers and the
employees perform must always lead towards their greatest happiness.

 Four Aspects of Utilitarianism

 Consequentialism - the aspect that determines the wrongness or
rightness of an action based on the outcomes or results of the
action
 Welfarism – the aspect of Utilitarianism which determines the
rightness and wrongness of actions of business operations on
society’s concept of welfare or well-being.
 Individualism – is focused on the individual whose behavior is
expected to gear towards actions that will bring him happiness
 Aggregation – states that the rightness and wrongness of actions
depend on the ability to bring happiness to everybody