CHAPTER 2

UTILITARIANISM
Utilitarianism
An ethical theory that argues for the
goodness of pleasure and the
determination of right behaviour based
on the usefulness of the action’s
consequences.
Root word “utility”
Utility refers to the usefulness of the
consequences of one’s action and
behavior.
 TWO FOREMOST UTILITARIAN THINKERS

JEREMY BENTHAM JOHN STUART MILL

Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832)
 Born on February 15, 1748 in London,
England
 Teacher of James Mill, father of John
Stuart Mill
 Wrote about the greatest happiness
principle of ethics and was known for a
system of penal management called
“panopticon”
 He argues that are actions are
governed by two sovereign masters:
PLEASURE and PAIN
 The usefulness of action is based on its
promotion of happiness
THE PRINCIPLE OF UTILITY
 The principle of utility is about our subjection to these
sovereign masters: Pleasure and Pain.
 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
pleasurable and we do not do what is painful.
 The principle also refers to pleasure as good if, and only if,
they produce more happiness than unhappiness. This means
that it is enough to experience pleasure, but also to 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
 “felicific calculus”
 In determining the moral preferability of actions,
Bentham provides a framework for evaluating pleasure
and pain
 also called “hedonic calculus”
 an algorithm formulated by utilitarian philosopher
Jeremy Bentham for calculating the degree or amount
of pleasure that a specific action is likely to cause.
 a method of working out the sum total of pleasure and
pain produced by an act, and thus the total value of its
consequences; sketched by Bentham in chapter 4 of his
Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation
 Calculating the degree or amount of happiness that a
specific action is likely to cause, and hence its degree
of moral rightness
 Variables of Felicific Calculus
1. Intensity - How strong is the pleasure?
2. Duration - How long will the pleasure last?
3. Certainty - How likely or unlikely is it that the pleasure will occur?
4. Propinquity or remoteness - How soon will the pleasure occur?
5. Fecundity: the probability it has of being followed by sensations of the same
kind
6. Purity - What is the probability that the pain will lead to other pains? To these
six, which consider the pleasures and pains within the life of a person
7. Extent - How many people will be affected
John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)
 Born on May 20, 1806 in Pentoville,
London, UK
 Son of James Mill
 Married to Harriet Taylor after 21
years of friendship
 Died on May 08, 1873 from erysipelas
 Mill supports Bentham’s Principle of
utility
 He reiterates moral good as
happiness and consequently,
happiness as pleasure. He also
clarifies that what makes people
happy is intended pleasure and
what make us unhappy is the
privation of pleasure. The things that
produce happiness and pleasure
are good while unhappiness and
pain are bad.
“It is quite compatible with the principle of
utility to recognize the fact that some kinds
of pleasure are more desirable and more
valuable than others. It would be absurd
that while, in estimating all other things,
quality is considered as well as quantity, the
estimation of pleasure should be supposed
to depend on quantity alone.”
Are all pleasures necessary or
ethically good ?