JURISPRUDENCE

Arvind Nath Tripathi

Faculty

DSNLU
 Bentham’s Formulation of
Utilitarianism
►Man is under two great masters, pain and
pleasure.
►The great good that we should seek is
happiness. (a hedonistic perspective)
►Those actions whose results increase
happiness or diminish pain are good. They
have “utility.”
 Jeremy Bentham’s basic
assumptions:
►Humans by nature avoid pain and seek
pleasure
►Individual happiness is the supreme good
►Happiness should be measured on a
quantitative scale
►Example: punishment – those who commit
crimes should be punished by the amount of
unhappiness they create; punishment must
create more pain than the pleasure gained
from committing the crime.
 Jeremy Bentham
► He was concerned with
social and legal reform
& he wanted to develop an
ethical theory which
established whether
something was good or
bad according to its
benefit for the majority
of people.
► He called this the principle
of utility.
► Utility= the usefulness of
the results of actions.
 Bentham’s Principle
►“By the principle of utility is meant that
principle which approves or disapproves of
every action whatsoever, according to the
tendency it appears to have to augment or
diminish the happiness of the party whose
interest is in question: or, what is the same
thing in other words to promote or to
oppose that happiness.”
 Pain vs. pleasure
►Bentham, “The principle of utility aims to
promote happiness which is the
supreme ethical value. Nature has placed
us under the governance of two sovereign
masters, pain and pleasure. An act is ‘right’
if it delivers more pleasure than pain and
‘wrong’ if it brings about more pain than
pleasure.”
 Origins of Hedonism
►Utilitarianism 🡪 a Hedonistic theory.
►This is based on the idea that ‘good’ is defined in
terms of pleasure/ happiness.
►Greek Philosophers-- Plato and Aristotle both
argued that ‘good’ equated with the greatest
happiness.
►It is only if we take pleasure in good activities that
pleasure itself is good.
 Hedonic Calculus
Helps us choose the good thing to do and work out
the possible consequences of an action.
P.R.R.I.C.E.D
►Purity – how free from pain is it?
►Remoteness – how near is it?
►Richness – to what extent will it lead to other
pleasures?
►Intensity – how powerful is it?
►Certainty – how likely it is to result in pleasure?
►Extent – how many people does it affect?
►Duration – how long will it last?
 Hedonic Calculus & Euthanasia
►Bentham's Hedonic Calculus can be used to
weigh up the pleasure and pain caused by
two courses of action - in this case, helping
someone to die, or not doing so.
►Bentham would consider the Intensity of
the pain and its Duration. He would have
to weigh that against the number of people
affected (Extent), and consider whether
keeping someone alive would lead to other
pleasures (Richness).
 Hedonic Calculus & Euthanasia
►He would also need to add up the amount
of other 'pains' the patient would face e.g.
loss of dignity (Purity), and consider the
chances that there' might be a cure or
treatment in the future (Certainty). The
pain is immediate, while possible future
benefits are Remote.
►In most cases, the degree of pain is so
great that Bentham's theory would support
euthanasia.
 Thinking Points- Debate
1. Are all actions only good because they
have good results?
2. Suppose a surgeon could use the organs of
one healthy patient to save the lives of
several others. Would the surgeon be
justified in killing the healthy patient for
the sake of the others?
 Thinking Points- Debate
1. You are an army officer who has just
captured an enemy soldier who knows
where a secret time bomb is planted. If it
explodes it will kill thousands. Will it be
morally permissible to torture the solider so
that he reveals the bomb’s location?
If you knew where the soldier's children
were, would it also be permissible to
torture them to get him to reveal the
bomb’s whereabouts?
 Bentham’s Principle
►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 …the standards of
right and wrong”
►The greatest pleasure for the greatest
number of persons
Principle of utility: Maximize good

►“... the greatest happiness of the whole

community, ought to be the end or object of
pursuit. . . . The right and proper end of
government in every political community, is
the greatest happiness of all the individuals
of which it is composed, say, in other
words, the greatest happiness of the
greatest number.”
 Jeremy Bentham’s Hedonistic
Calculus
►In determining the quantity of happiness
that might be produced by an action, we
evaluate the possible consequences by
applying several values:
 Application of Utilitarian Theory
►If you can use eighty soldiers as a decoy in
war, and thereby attack an enemy force and
kill several hundred enemy soldiers, that is a
morally good choice even though the eighty
might be lost.
►If lying or stealing will actually bring about
more happiness and/or reduce pain, Act
Utilitarianism says we should lie and steal in
those cases.
 Criticisms of Utilitarianism
►If I am to bring the greatest happiness to
the greatest number, not putting my own
happiness above others, that may lead to a
dilemma. I live in a neighborhood where
83% of my neighbors use drugs. I could
make them most happy by helping supply
them with cheap drugs, but I feel
uncomfortable doing that. What should a
utilitarian do?
 Application of Utilitarian Theory
►What is right?
►Should I lie to save a person from a difficult
situation?
►Should I kill a person to relieve her from
severe suffering?
►Should I break a promise if this can help
someone in real trouble?
 Criticisms of Utilitarianism
►Bernard Williams criticizes the implied
“doctrine of negative responsibility” in
Utilitarianism. For example, a thug breaks
into my home and holds six people hostage,
telling us he will kill all of us. “However,”
the thug says, “if you will kill two of your
family, I will let you and the other three
live.”
►With Utilitarianism, the good thing to do is
to kill two members of my family.
 Criticisms of Utilitarianism
►Utilitarianism plays fast and loose with
God’s commandments. If lying, stealing, or
killing could lead to an increase of
happiness for the greatest number, we are
told we should lie, steal or kill. Isn’t that a
rejection of God’s commands?
 Utilitarianism
►What it means: the most moral action is the
one that causes the most good for the most
people over the longest period of time.

►In other words, we should consider the

happiness and well-being of the majority
over the individual

►Focuses on the effects of the action

 Rule Utilitarianism
► Three main ideas
1. the moral worth of an act is judged according
to the good or bad consequences that result
from following a moral rule of conduct
2. a person should follow a moral rule that brings
more good consequences than another rule
would
3. all moral rules which produce the greatest
happiness for the greatest number should be
obeyed
 Four Theses of Utilitarianism
►Consequentialism: The rightness of actions is
determined solely by their consequences.
►Hedonism: Utility is the degree to which an act
produces pleasure. Hedonism is the thesis that
pleasure or happiness is the good that we seek
and that we should seek.
►Maximalism: A right action produces the
greatest good consequences and the least bad.
►Universalism: The consequences to be
considered are those of everyone affected, and
everyone equally.
Problems with Utilitarianism

• Don’t always know the consequences of our

actions
• Difficulty in measuring pleasure and
happiness
• May be counterintuitive – sacrifice one to
save many
• Concerned only with ends – only the bottom
line matters
• Does not take moral significance of
individuals seriously enough, we are mere
conduits of utility
 John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism

John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism

►A more sophisticated form of Utilitarianism.
►Concerned with quality of pleasure and
quantity of people who enjoy it.
►Recognized higher and lower types of
human pleasure.
 John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism

►Lower pleasures: eating, drinking, sexuality,

etc.
►Higher pleasures: intellectuality, creativity
and spirituality.
►‘Better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a
fool satisfied’
►‘Rule’ Utilitarian?
 John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism

►Your military strategists have targeted a significant

munitions factory located next to a children’s hospital.
Obliterating the factory is crucial to the success of your
overall campaigning. Any hit on the factory will impact
the hospital.
►How would you decide what to do using Utilitarian
principles?
►Do you find the Utilitarian recommendations morally
satisfactory?
 John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism

►Do you think that Mill’s version of utilitarianism is an

improvement of Bentham’s?
►What is the chief difference?
►Can you think of situations in which an action that
wold maximize happiness would, nonetheless, be a
wrong act?
►Give some examples and explain them?