Utilitarianism an Overview

Utlitarianism an Overview

Abstract

Utilitarianism is one of the most powerful, persuasive, and influential approaches to ethics and morality in the history of philosophy and is the most influential philosophical position affecting public policy however it should not be relied upon as ones sole method for moral decision making.

Utilitarianism an Overview

Utilitarian’s judge the morality of acts, rules, laws, etc., according to their consequences; simply put Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that states an act, rule, law, etc., is ethically moral if the good consequences outweigh the bad consequences. (Utilitarianism in Political philosophy A-Z, 2007)It is one of the most powerful, persuasive, and influential approaches to ethics and morality in the history of philosophy (Driver, 2009) and is the most influential philosophical position affecting public policy (Utilitarianism in Political philosophy A-Z, 2007)however it should not be relied upon as ones sole method for moral decision making. (Calculating Consequences: The Utilitarian Approach to Ethics)

The first systematic account of utilitarianism was developed by Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) (Morris, 2013), the insight motivating the theory can actually be traced back much earlier. (Driver, 2009)Some of the early classical utilitarian’s were the British moralists, Richard Cumberland, Anthony Ashley Cooper the 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury, Francis Hutcheson, John Gay, and David Hume. (Driver, 2009)

Richard Cumberland (1631 – 1718) believed that elevating human happiness was our duty since it was approbated by God. (Driver, 2009)His ethical theory was that no action can be morally good that does not at least in some way contribute to the happiness of men. (Richard Cumberland (philosopher))

Anthony Ashley Cooper the 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury (1671 – 1715) is believed to be one of the earliest moral sense theorists. He believe that we possess an “inner eye” an innate sense of right and wrong, that when we judge someone with good moral sense that we perceive that person as having a good impact on those around them, that a virtuous or moral person contributes to the good of the whole. (Driver, 2009)

Francis Hutcheson (1694 – 1746) was utilitarian when it comes to action choice and was extremely interested in virtue evaluation. He also adopted the moral sense approach to moral behavior and the importance of moral deliberation when it came to action choice. The moral sense favors actions that benefits others and discourages actions that harm others. Although he was committed to maximization he also believed that if we have a duty to another to afford them fundamental dignity regardless of the number of others who happiness is to be affected by the action. (Driver, 2009)

John Gay (1699 – 1718) believed the same as Cumberland in that elevating human happiness was our duty since it was approbated by God that a person’s salvation and individual happiness depended on their conformity to God’s will as did virtue itself. (Driver, 2009)He held that since God wants mankind to be happy and since abiding by God’s will give us virtue that ensuring the happiness of mankind is virtuous and moral. (Driver, 2009)

David Hume (1711 – 1775) “is considered to be the most important philosopher to write in English and was the last of the great triumvirates of the British empiricists.” (Morris, 2013)He believed that moral principles are rooted in their usefulness, not in God’s will. (Spark Notes Editors, 2005) Hume argued that humans are inclined to support whatever helps society, he used this insight to explain how we evaluate social institutions, government policies, character traits and individual behavior. (Spark Notes Editors, 2005) Hume did not believe that reason plays a role in motivating or discouraging a person’s behavior that passion does. (Spark Notes Editors, 2005)

Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill were the nest two great influences on utilitarianism. Bentham and Mill were both concerned with legal and social reform. (Driver, 2009) The motivation behind the development of classical utilitarianism was the desire to see useless and corrupt laws and social practices changed. (Driver, 2009)To do this a normative ethical theory was required to be employed as a critical tool so classical utilitarianism was born. (Driver, 2009)

Jeremy Bentham (1784 – 1832) held that humans were ruled by two master’s pleasure and pain (Driver, 2009) and that we should try to increase the overall amount of pleasure in the world. (Hinman) He developed his ethical system around the idea of pleasure; it was based on ancient Hedonism which pursued physical pleasure over physical pain. (Anderson) Bentham believed that the most moral acts maximized physical pleasure and minimized physical pain. (Anderson)

The name Utilitarianism is derived from Bentham’s test question “What is the use of it”. He had come up with the idea of this test question when he read the words “the greatest happiness of the greatest number” in Joseph Priestly’s Treaties of Government. (Anderson)

There are advantages and criticism to Bentham’s “Pleasure” approach to moral ethics:

Advantage

Easy to quantify
Short Duration
Bodily

Criticism

Known as “The Pig’s Philosophy”
Ignores higher values
Could justify living on a pleasure machine (Hinman)

John Stuart Mill (1806 – 1873) was Bentham’s godson and he had great respect for Bentham even though he did not agree with all of Bentham’s pleasure theory. Mill’s believed that happiness should be the standard of utility not pleasure. (Hinman) In mill’s style of utilitarian theory, he placed great weight on the effectiveness of internal consequences like guilt and remorse to regulate our actions. (Driver, 2009) He held that we have feelings feeling for others not just for ourselves and that when we discern harms to them it causes you to feel pain as well. (Driver, 2009) Mill also believed that our conscience and our sense of justice, aide in our motivation to for moral decision making. (Driver, 2009)

There are advantages and disadvantages to Mill’s “Happiness” approach to moral ethics:

Advantages

A higher standard that is more specific to humans
It is more about the realization of goals

Disadvantages

It is more difficult to measure
There are competing conceptions of happiness (Hinman)

There are many versions of utilitarianism, In the earlier version talked about above were assessed by Hedonic calculus, a version of the utilitarian calculus (Utilitarianism, 2001) which is “any calculus of consequence that measures the intensity, duration, certainty or uncertainty, propinquity or remoteness, fecundity, purity, and extent of the pleasures or pains constituting the consequences.” (Utilitarianism, 2001) “Later version of the utilitarian calculus focused on conceptions of utility as the good or happiness; from the satisfaction of personal preference, through the satisfaction of needs, as in well-being, a combination of health, prosperity, and satisfaction of ordinary wants and desires.” (Utilitarianism, 2001)

Some of the well-known contributors to the modern day versions of utilitarianism are Henry Sidgwick, and George Edward Moore.

Henry Sidgwick (1838 – 1900) is concerned with developing an account of the different methods of ethics including egoism, intuition based morality, and utilitarianism. (Driver, 2009) He sees utilitarianism as the more basic ethical theory and that it is a theory that relies on intuition. (Driver, 2009)His views “developed out of and in response to those of Bentham and Mill.” (Driver, 2009) Sidgwick worked to clarify the theory of utilitarianism and in this he was very influential to later writers of ethical theories utilitarian’s, consequentialists, and intuitionists as well. (Driver, 2009) His thorough discussion of the Utilitarianism theory raised many of the concerns that have been developed by recent moral philosophers. (Driver, 2009)

George Edward Moore (1873 – 1958) views state that we should maximize ideal values such as freedom, knowledge, justice, and beauty not pleasure as Bentham believed. (Hinman) That the world might not be a better place with more pleasure in it but it would in fact be a better place with more freedom, knowledge, justice, and beauty in it. (Hinman)

Utilitarianism provides a straightforward method for deciding the moral course of action for any situation we find ourselves in. (Calculating Consequences: The Utilitarian Approach to Ethics) There are many ways in which use Utilitarian calculations in our everyday lives to make decisions without even realizing we are doing it. (Calculating Consequences: The Utilitarian Approach to Ethics) One example of this is when we make the decision to stay home sick from work or school even though we will lose that days’ pay in an effort to prevent others from getting sick.

“While utilitarianism is currently a very popular ethical theory, there are some difficulties in relying on it as a sole method for moral decision-making. First, the utilitarian calculation requires that we assign values to the benefits and harms resulting from our actions and compare them with the benefits and harms that might result from other actions. But it's often difficult, if not impossible, to measure and compare the values of certain benefits and costs.” (Calculating Consequences: The Utilitarian Approach to Ethics)

We can’t ever really be certain of all the consequences of our actions and decisions, but the greatest problem with utilitarianism is that it does not take into account considerations of justice. (Calculating Consequences: The Utilitarian Approach to Ethics) For example an “instance where a certain course of action would produce great benefits for society, but they would be clearly unjust.” (Calculating Consequences: The Utilitarian Approach to Ethics)

While Utilitarianism is a powerful and popular ethical theory that definitely has its place in providing us guidance in making moral decisions it has its limitations and therefor, should not be used as ones sole method for moral decision making as stated clearly in this excerpt from (Calculating Consequences: The Utilitarian Approach to Ethics)

“If our moral decisions are to take into account considerations of justice, then apparently utilitarianism cannot be the sole principle guiding our decisions. It can, however, play a role in these decisions. The principle of utilitarianism invites us to consider the immediate and the less immediate consequences of our actions. Given its insistence on summing the benefits and harms of all people, utilitarianism asks us to look beyond self-interest to consider impartially the interests of all persons affected by our actions.” (Calculating Consequences: The Utilitarian Approach to Ethics)

References

Anderson, K. (n.d.). Utilitarianism: The Greatest Good for the Greatest Number. Retrieved from Probe Ministries: Freeing Cultural Captives... Building Confident Ambassadors: http://www.probe.org/site/c.fdKEIMNsEoG/b.4224805/k.B792/Utilitarianism_The_Greatest_Good_for_the_Greatest_Number.htm

Dictionary of World Philosophy. (2001). Retrieved from Credo: http://libproxy.chartercollege.edu:2063/content/entry/routwp/utilitarianism/0?searchId=afeeffb1-ad88-11e3-878e-0aea1e24c1ac&result=2

Driver, J. (2009). The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2009 ed.). (Z. Edward N, Ed.) Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2009/entries/utilitarianism-history/

Hinman, L. M. (n.d.). Utilitarianism. Retrieved from Ethics Update: http://ethics.sandiego.edu/theories/Utilitarianism/

Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. (n.d.). Retrieved from Santa Clara University: The Jesuit University in Silicon Valley: https://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/calculating.html

Morris, W. E. (2013). David Hume. In Z. Edward N (Ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Srping 2013 ed.). Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2013/entries/hume/

Richard Cumberland (philosopher). (n.d.). Retrieved 2014, from Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Cumberland_%28philosopher%29

Spark Notes Editors. (2005). Spark Notes on David Hume (1711-1776). Retrieved 2014, from Spark Notes: http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/hume/

Utilitarianism in Political philosophy A-Z. (2007). Retrieved from Credo: http://libproxy.chartercollege.edu:2063/content/topic/utilitarianism?searchId=af956e00-ad88-11e3-878e-0aea1e24c1ac