UTILITARIANISM

A teleological ethical theoryfounded by Jeremy Bentham.

Would you authorise someone to be tortured to save innocent life?

Jeremy Bentham 1748-1832

•Utilitarianism is the ethical theory founded by Bentham.

• Believed that Human beings weremotivated by pleasure and pain

• Can be called a Hedonist (Greek for pleasure. )

“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 as well as determine what we shall do.”

The principle of Utility.

Murder

Stealing

Abortion

War

Lying

Principle of Utility• The rightness and wrongness of an action is determined by its utility

(or usefulness)

Usefulness the amount of pleasure caused by the action This theory is known as the greatest happiness principle, or a theory of

usefulness.

Good= greatest pleasure or happiness.

The least pain and sadness. Greatest number= majority of people..

Goodness according to Bentham• Think about What is good? It is difficult

to define what is good and yet it is a question at the heart of all ethical theories.

1. Describe what Bentham means by “Good”.

2. In your own words explain what is meant by the term Principle of Utility.

TASK

Utilitarianism: The greatest good for the greatest number”

But how can we measure pleasure and pain? How do we know what is the greatest good ?

Hedonic Calculus• The pursuit of happiness is the fundamental purpose of human life.  Bentham

consisted in promoting whatever factors led to the increase of pleasure and in suppressing those which produced pain (Costigan, 1967, p. 8).  In chapter 4 of his Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (1789), Bentham sketched his idea of hedonistic calculus. As his theory implied, law should enforce actions and dispose sentences whereby this maximizing of pleasure and minimizing of pain could be most effective.  In short, Bentham stated that pleasures and pains, which exist only in individuals, could be constructed into a calculus of value   Hedonic calculus considers seven factors which include:

• 1.      The intensity of the pleasure or pain.• 2.      The duration of the pleasure or pain.• 3.      The certainty or uncertainty of the pleasure or pain.• 4.      The remoteness of any pleasure or pain. (Propinquity)• 5.      The chances of the same effects being repeated. (Fecundity)• 6.      The chances of the same effects not being repeated. (Purity)• 7.      The number of people who will be affected by any pleasure or pain

arising as a result of the action(s) in question.                                                                    

• These seven factors weigh up the potential pleasure or pain which might arise from moral actions to decide the best options.  Ideally, this formula should determine which act has the best tendency and is therefore right.  Bentham hoped this theory could be used for criminal law reform.  Incorporating it into criminal law seemed almost too easy.  Given a certain crime, it would be possible to work out the minimum penalty necessary for its prevention (http://faculty.mc3.edu, 2003).  

•             Bentham argues that all human actions arise from this theory of hedonic calculus.  According to him, almost all actions could be placed into this equation. 

• (Altruism, love, asceticism, a desire for freedom, duty, faith, obedience to law, etc. are all able to be reduced and placed in pleasure and pain calculations (http://cepa.newschool.edu, 2003).  Bentham drew a huge and extremely complex table of pleasures and pains.  This table and his theory of hedonic calculus was the basis of Utilitarian morality (Costigan, 1967)

Apply the following case study to the Hedonic

Calculus. (complete ideas on sheet)

Case study 1 (American west, trying to

escape from the bad guys who are asleep in their

Tents . If they hear you and find youAll of you and your family willBe killed. Your baby starts to Cry. If you quickly suffocate

The baby to stop it from crying You wil all be saved. What do

Do???????

answer the following questions:1. Why might the fact that we aren’t always able to predict the future

be a problem for Utilitarianism? Give an example.2. Can you think of any pains that are good and any pleasures that are

bad?3. Are affection or honesty good in themselves, or only because they

have good results?4. Why might a critic of utilitarianism argue that the theory doesn’t

protect the interests of minority groups?5. Why does Bentham’s theory pose a problem for those who believe

we have a special obligation for certain people (parents, family etc)6. Sadistic guards torture a wrongly imprisoned innocent man. What

difficulty does this example pose for Bentham’s theory?

TASK

Jim finds himself in the central square of a small South American town. Tiedup against the wall are a row of Indians, mostly terrified, a few defiant, in front of them several armed men in uniform. A heavy man in a sweat stained khaki shirt turns out to be the captain in charge and after a good deal of questioning of Jimwhich establishes that he got there by accident while on a botanical expedition,

explains that the Indians are a random group of the inhabitants who, after recentacts of protest against the government, are just about to be killed to remind otherpossible protesters of the advantages of not protesting. However, since Jim is an

honoured visitor from another land, the captain is happy to offer him a guest’s privilege of killing one of the Indians himself. If Jim accepts, then as a special mark of the occasion, the other Indians will be let off. Of course, if Jim refuses, then there

is no special occasion and Pedro here will do what he was about to do when Jimarrived and kill them all. Jim with some recollection of schoolboy fiction, wonders whether if he got hold of the gun, he could hold the captain, and the rest of the soldiers to threat, but it is quite clear from the set up that nothing of that kind is

going to work: any attempt at that sort of thing will mean that all the Indians will bekilled and himself. The men against the wall and the other villagers understand the

situation and are obviously begging him to accept. What should he do?

a) On what grounds would a utilitarian kill the single prisoner?b) Would you agree with a utilitarian that the action was good?