1. science
2. social science
3. philosophy
4. ethics

Ethics—The Basics
by John Mizzoni
CHAPTER FIVE:
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
• Is it wrong to force feed ducks
and geese in order to make foie
gras?
• Is it wrong to bring about
unhappiness in animals in order
to obtain tasty foods for human
consumption?
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
The Greek philosopher Epicurus
focused on Happiness as a life
goal. He also formulated a kind
of principle of reciprocity:
“Wisdom is a more precious thing even than philosophy;
from it spring all the other virtues, for it teaches that
(341-270 BCE)
we cannot live pleasantly without living wisely, honorably,
and justly; nor live wisely, honorably, and justly without living
pleasantly” (Letter to Menoeceus).
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
• Ethical theories and traditions that focus on
outcomes, such as goals or consequences,
in determining whether an action is right or
wrong are classified as consequentialist
(teleological) ethics.
• Utilitarianism is a tradition of ethics that is
consequentialist. It was first expressed by
David Hume.
WHO IS DAVID HUME?
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
• David Hume was an 18th century Scottish
(British) historian and economist.
• Hume proposed a view of
morality that was based more
on emotions than on reason
(Treatise on Human Nature ).
(1711-1776)
• Hume is regarded as the “grandfather of
utilitarianism.”
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
• Hume’s ethical thinking rejected the rational
foundations of ethics.
• Hume held that “the rules of morality… are not
conclusions of our reason”.
• Instead, Hume believed that “reason is, and
ought only to be, the slave of the passions…”.
• Hume challenged centuries-old traditions that
regarded ethics as philosophical.
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
• Hume called attention to the role of
feelings, or sentiments, in making choices.
• His theory of moral sentiments was later
developed by others into emotivism.
• His ideas were supported centuries later by
Sigmund Freud’s psychology.
• Hume also called attention to our nature as
sentient as well as rational beings.
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
IS —⁄→ OUGHT
One cannot derive an “ought” from an “is”
• Reason and logic alone cannot lead to an ethical
conclusion; we also need to feel something.
• Hume’s rule that we cannot derive an ought from
an is referred to by some theorists as “Hume’s
Law”.
WHERE IS UTILITARIANISM IN ALL THIS?
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
Hume referred in his writings to “utility” or
usefulness, but never developed it.
“…the circumstance of UTILITY…is
constantly appealed to in all moral decisions
concerning the merit and demerit of
actions…it is a foundation of the chief part
of morals...” (An Enquiry Concerning the
Principles of Morals).
WHO DEVELOPED THE CONCEPT OF UTILITY?
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
• Jeremy Bentham was an 18th century English
(British) jurist, philosopher, reformer.
• Bentham proposed a
“Principle of Utility” for
calculating happiness of acts
(1748-1832)
(An Introduction to the Principle of Morals and
Legislation).
• Bentham is the author of act-utilitarianism.
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
• Bentham was a prison reformer, and
designed a model prison, the Panopticon.
• Bentham was an early supporter of
women’s suffrage.
• Bentham was an early proponent of animal
rights.
• Later utilitarians were influenced by
Bentham’s positions on these issues.
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
• Bentham held that feelings of pleasure and
pain are the basic consequences of ethical
choices.
• His theory was that good feelings are
pleasurable, and the experience of pleasure
makes good feelings good; the experience of
pain makes bad feelings bad. Pleasure and
pain rule our lives (An Introduction to the
Principles of Morals and Legislation).
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
• Bentham formulated a calculation, a
Felicific/Hedonistic Calculus, which takes
into account the intensity, duration,
certainty, proximity, fecundity, purity, and
extent of pleasures and pains.
• Hedonism is the theory and tradition that
says that the “good” should simply be
understood as the feeling of “pleasure”.
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
• A phrase attributed to Bentham lays the
basis for equality of persons: “everybody to
count for one, none for more than one”.
• Bentham’s remark “the game of push-pin is
of equal value with…music and poetry”
argued that any one pleasure was equal to
any other pleasure in quality. This was later
rejected by other utilitarians.
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
• Utilitarianism contradicts both psychological
egoism and ethical egoism.
• It holds that human beings sympathize with
each other, that they have genuine feelings
for others (as well as for themselves).
• The utilitarian view of human nature is that
we are altruists rather than egoists.
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
Bentham’s Principle of Utility states:
“By the Principle of Utility is meant that
principle which approves or disapproves of
every action whatsoever, according to the
tendency which it appears to have to
augment or diminish the happiness of the
party whose interest is in question…”
(Principles of Morals and Legislation).
IN OTHER WORDS…
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
The Principle of Utility:
“One ought always to do
whatever will have
the most utility for
all concerned”.
Bentham’s last resting place,
University College, London
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
The ancient Chinese philosopher Mo Tzu
taught a doctrine of universal love
and so may have taught an
ethical ideal similar to
utilitarianism, over 2000
years before Bentham.
(470-391 BCE)
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
• Aristotle defined “happiness” (eudaemonia)
as flourishing
• Early utilitarians (act-utilitarians) defined
“happiness” as pleasure (following
hedonism)
This is a common-sense and easily understood
approach, since a happy life is a pleasant life, and
an unhappy life is full of pain/suffering.
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
• Utilitarianism advises us to evaluate whether an
act, rule, policy, or motive is really good by
examining the consequences of our actions to
see if they contribute to the happiness (pleasure)
of all concerned.
• Bentham and his successor, John Stuart Mill,
restated and expanded the Principle of Utility as
the Greatest Happiness Principle.
WHAT IS THE GREATEST HAPPINESS PRINCIPLE?
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
The Greatest Happiness Principle
One ought always to do whatever
will result in the most happiness (utility)
for all concerned.
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
Is Utilitarianism Relativist or
Universalist?
To the critics of utilitarian ethics:
Utilitarianism is relativist, since the morality of an
action depends on the consequences of all
affected, and so almost any action can be
regarded as moral; in other words the morality of
an action is relative to its consequences.
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
Is Utilitarianism Relativist or
Universalist?
To the supporters and defenders of utilitarian
ethics:
Utilitarianism is universalist, because it posits a
universal human nature, and it supports an
objective ethic that recognizes universal values
and principles.
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
What Is the Origin of Ethics, According
to Utilitarian Ethics (UE)?
Utilitarians seem to view ethical standards as
originating in human feelings. They look no
deeper than human emotion and human
happiness in explaining their solution to the
problem of the origins of ethics.
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
What is human nature, according to UE?
Utilitarians seem to endorse the view of human nature
supported by David Hume:
•
Human beings are sentient beings; we have feelings,
emotions, and social sentiments.
•
Human beings are also rational beings; we think
and reason, but our sentiments rule our reason.
•
Human beings have egoistic and altruistic
elements, but are naturally altruistic, with genuine
concern for others.
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
What is human nature, according to UE?
• All human beings have equal ethical standing
(egalitarianism), according to utilitarianism.
• Is there really a difference in importance between my
joys and pains and your joys and pains, or anyone else’s
joy and pains?
• If there is no difference, then we should regard the
suffering and joy of others as important as our own;
there is no important difference between your welfare
and my own welfare.
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
The Principle of Equality
The interests of every being affected by an
action are to be taken into account and
given the same weight as the like interests
of any other being.
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
• John Stuart Mill was a 19th century English
(British) philosopher, economist,
legislator, and social reformer.
• Mill modified and refined many
of the utilitarian ideas of Bentham. (1806-1873)
He proposed a theory of ruleutilitarianism.
SO WHAT RULES DID MILL PROPOSE?
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
The Golden Rule
“The happiness which forms the utilitarian
standard of what is right in conduct is not the
agent’s own happiness, but that of all
concerned… In the golden rule of Jesus of
Nazareth, we read the complete spirit of the
ethics of utility. To do as you would be done by,
and to love your neighbor as yourself, constitute
the ideal perfection of utilitarian morality”
(Utilitarianism).
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
• Mill further developed the Greatest Happiness
Principle that Bentham originated.
• Mill interprets The Greatest Happiness Principle
as a principle of altruism, which says we should
be impartial with regard to our well-being and the
well-being of others.
• With the Principle of Equality, Mill considers the
happiness of women as well as men.
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
• Mill differentiates between sensual pleasures – such as
the pleasure of eating good food, and moral and
intellectual (higher) pleasures – such as reading great
literature. Quality is preferable to quantity.
• Mill argues that utilitarianism is compatible with virtue
ethics.
• Mill argues that human rules that are formed to benefit
the whole of society by ensuring for all the best possible
outcomes can guide utilitarian action.
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
• Peter Singer is a 20th
century Australian
philosopher, and a professor
at Princeton University.
• Singer originated the theory
of preference-utilitarianism. (1946-present)
• Singer is the author of Animal Liberation.
WHAT IS PREFERENCE-UTILITARIANISM?
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
• Preference-utilitarianism can be differentiated from actutilitarianism and rule-utilitarianism by its
acknowledgement that each individual’s preference for
satisfaction/utility/happiness is unique, and must
therefore be considered in calculating the “greatest
good.”
• Like other utilitarians, preference-utilitarians view a
morally right action as that which produces the most
favorable consequences for the people involved;
however, what is “favorable” must be defined by an
individual’s preferences.
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
Preference Utilitarianism
One should take into consideration the preferences
of the person concerned in each case, unless
those preferences are outweighed by the
preferences of other people.
“O Great Spirit, keep me from ever judging a man
until I have walked a mile in his moccasins.”
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
ACT-UTILITARIANISM
Act in such a way as to maximize pleasure and minimize pain
Actor/agent defines pleasure and pain
RULE-UTILITARIANISM
Act following rules that maximize happiness/minimize unhappiness
Actor/agent defines satisfaction/happiness
PREFERENCE-UTILITARIANISM
Act to maximize satisfaction or minimize dissatisfaction of all
Agent does not define satisfaction; everyone’s preferences do
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
Utilitarians have argued that if we
regard the Principle of Equality as
applicable to all sentient beings,
then we must consider some
nonhuman sentient life forms, such
as animals, in our ethical
considerations.
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
Some Applications of Utilitarian Ethics:
• Mo Tzu on wars and funerals
• Jeremy Bentham on robbery
• John Stuart Mill on gender equality
• Peter Singer on species equality and
animal rights
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
Advantages of Utilitarianism:
1. It is non-anthropocentric
2. Utilitarianism is egalitarian rather than elitist
3. It challenges absolutist moral rules
4. While Divine Command and Natural Law Ethics
are “top-down”, it is “bottom-up”
5. It calls for reform of the criminal justice system,
from retribution to rehabilitation
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
The Advantages of Utilitarianism:
• Does not give us a lot of moral rules to follow, but a few
principles that stand behind the rules
• When an leader such as a president or general chooses
for others based on the greatest happiness principle, the
ethic is utilitarian; when an individual chooses for himself
based on this principle, the ethic is altruistic
• Tells us how much morality can demand of us (we must
be impartial, and surrender our loyalties)
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
The Disadvantages of Act-Utilitarianism :
1. It focuses only on pleasure as a good/goal
– What about friendships, aesthetics (G.E. Moore)?
2. It focuses only on consequences as essential
What about justice, rights, truth, integrity, reputation (such as
keeping promises)?
– What about backward-looking reasons (experience)?
– Do the ends justify the means?
3. Its impartiality is demanding, and ignores loyalties and
supererogatory actions
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
The Disadvantages of Rule-Utilitarianism:
• See criticisms #2 and #3 of ActUtilitarianism
• Rule-Utilitarianism focuses on happiness as
a good/goal. Is happiness what we really
want/need?
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
The Advantages and Disadvantages of
Preference-Utilitarianism:
CAN YOU THINK OF ANY EXAMPLES?
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
Utilitarian Ethics in Biblical Times
“But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest
that year, said to them, ‘You know nothing, nor
do you consider that it is better for you that one
man should die instead of the people, so that the
whole nation may not perish’"(John 11:49-50).
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
Utilitarian Ethics in American History
• The decision to use the atom bomb on Hiroshima is not
an example of utilitarian ethics, since the Americans did
not regard the lives of Japanese civilians as equal to
those of American soldiers.
• However, it is clear that American military history is
about sacrifices made by the few (e.g., soldiers) for the
benefit of the many (other soldiers).
• This may be a factor in scientific trials, in which some
subjects receive placebos to help advance science…
Ethics—The Basics
UTILITARIAN ETHICS
Utilitarian Ethics in Popular Culture:
• The Death of Spock in Star Trek II: The Wrath of
Khan: “The needs of the many outweigh the
needs of the few… or the one.”
• See Daniel Greenberg’s essay, The Good of the
Many or the One: Morality in Command
• Sometimes in sports, an athlete has to “take one
for the team” (e.g. a sacrifice bunt in baseball).