What would be

more ethical?
Killing one person
in front of 5 people
or killing 5 people
in front of one
person?
1 Meaning of Utilitarianism

2 JEREMY BENTHAM

3 The Principle of Utility

4 JOHN STUART MILL

5 Principle of The Greatest Number

Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that argues for
the goodness of pleasure and the determination of
right behavior based on the usefulness of the
action’s consequences. This means that pleasure is
good and that the goodness of action is determined
by its usefulness.
Putting these ideas together, utilitarianism
claims that one’s actions and behavior are
good in as much as they are directed toward
the experience which refers to the usefulness
of the consequences of one’s action and
behavior.
 Their system of ethics emphasizes the
consequences of actions:

This means that the goodness or the

badness of an action is based on
whether it is useful in contributing
to a specific purpose for the
greatest number of people.
 Their system of ethics emphasizes the
consequences of actions:

For instance, most people would agree

that lying is wrong. But if telling a
lie would help save a peroples life,
Utilitarianism, says it's the right
thing to do.
Utilitarianism as consequentialist

This means that the moral value of actions

and decisions is based solely or greatly on the
usefulness of their consequences; it is the
usefulness of results that determines
whether the action or behavior is good or
bad.
What would be
more ethical?
Killing one person
in front of 5 people
or killing 5 people
in front of one
person?
 The utilitarian value pleasure and
happiness:

This means that the usefulness of actions is

based on its promotion of happiness as the
experience of pleasure for the greatest
number of people, even at the expense of
some individual rights.
 JEREMY BENTHAM
JEREMY BENTHAM
Born on February 15, UTILITARIANISM
1748 in London,
England. Died on June He was the teacher of
6, 1832. James Mill, the father of
John Stuart Mill.

Bentham first wrote about

the greatest happiness
principle of ethics and was
known for a system of
penal management called
PANOPTICON.
JEREMY BENTHAM
JEREMY BENTHAM UTILITARIANISM
• Intellectual inheritor of David Hume
• Recognized as ‘Act Utilitarian’
• Right actions result in ‘good or
pleasure,’ wrong actions result in pain
or absence of pleasure.
• The Principle of Utility
• Law and Social Hedonism
• Felicific Calculus
 JEREMY BENTHAM

In the book An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation

(1789), Jeremy Bentham begins by arguing that our actions are
governed by two “sovereign masters”--which he calls pleasure and
pain. These “masters” are given to us by nature to help us determine
what is good or bad and what ought to be done and not; they fasten our
choices to their throne.

The principle of utility is about our subjection to

these sovereign masters: PLEASURE and PAIN.
 JEREMY BENTHAM

On one hand, the principle refers to the motivation of our actions as

guided by our avoidance of pain and our desire for pleasure. It is like
saying that in our everyday actions, we do what is a pleasure as good
if, and only if, they produce more happiness than unhappiness. This
means that it is not enough to experience pleasure, but to also
inquire whether the things we do make us happier. Having identified
the tendency for pleasure and the avoidance of pain as the principle
of utility, Bentham equates happiness with pleasure.
Actions that lead to PLEASURE ARE RIGHT, ones that produce
PAIN ARE WRONG.
 JEREMY BENTHAM

 Government should not pass laws that protect tradition, customs,

or rights
 Government should base all laws on the happiness principle
 The greatest happiness for the greatest number

Moral worth judged by the presumed effect

Action guided by pleasure/pain
 JEREMY BENTHAM

Felicific calculus allows the evaluation of all

actions and their resultant pleasure. This means
that actions are evaluated on this single scale
regardless of preferences and values. In this
sense, pleasure and pain can only quantitatively
differ but not qualitatively differ from other
experiences of pleasure and pain accordingly.
JOHN STUART MILL
He studied Greek at Was born on May 20,
the age of three and 1806, in Penton- vile,
His ethical theory Latin at the age of London, United
and his defense of eight. He wrote a Kingdom.
utilitarian views history of Roman Law Died on May 8, 1873,
are found in his at age eleven. He was in Avignon, France
married to Harriet from Erysipelas.
long essay entitled
Taylor after 21 years
UTILITARANISM of friend- ship.
(1861).

A more sophisticated form of Utilitarianism.

Concerned with the quality of pleasure and quantity of people who enjoy it.
Recognized higher and lower types of human pleasure.
PRINCIPLE OF THE GREATEST NUMBER
JUSTICE AND MORAL RIGHTS
JOHN STUART MILL
 JOHN STUART MILL

Utilitarianism cannot lead to selfish acts. It is neither about our

pleasure nor happiness alone; it cannot be all about us. If we are
the only ones satisfied by our actions, it does not constitute a
moral good. In this sense, utilitarianism is not dismissive of
sacrifices that procure more happiness for others.

Utilitarianism is interested in everyone’s happiness, in fact, the greatest happiness

of the greatest number.
 JOHN STUART MILL

 Utilitarianism is interested in the best consequence for the

highest number of people. It is not interested in the intention of
the agent. Moral value cannot be discernible in the intention or
motivation of the person doing the act; it is based solely and
exclusively on the difference it makes in the world’s total amount
of pleasure and pain.