Utilitarianism

“Useful is good.”

Theory Proponents (pasimuno):

Jeremy Bentham
John Stuart Mill
This theory opposes Kant’s belief that
motive is more important than the
consequence and it also does not
believe in reason as the determiner of
morality as taught by Thomas
Aquinas (philosopher, great theology
doctor of the Roman Catholic Church,
proponent of Natural Law).
While absolutists believe that acts which are in
conflict with natural laws* are immoral even if
their outcome is good, consequentialist ethics
like Utilitarianism believe that no action must
be judged independent of its consequence. For
utilitarianism, an act is moral if its consequence
is useful. Thus, what is useful is good.

* Natural laws are concepts of right and wrong that are naturally
known by man because he has God-given reason/rationality and
so society need not teach them to him. An example is “thou shall
not kill nor harm others”.
For utilitarianism, the right course
of action is one that maximizes
overall happiness. Utilitarianism is
therefore hedonistic– it identifies
happiness with pleasure. An action
is right if it amplifies/increases
pleasure and minimizes pain.
Act Utilitarianism
The right act is the one which brings about the
best results, or, the least amount of bad results
for the greatest number of people.
Examples:
 You could produce more happiness by doing

charity work than by watching TV all day.

 You could produce more good by throwing

yourself on an activated grenade to save

more people versus just yourself.
Rule Utilitarianism
A particular rule of conduct/moral principle is
correct if it makes us achieve the greatest
good/ good for the greatest number of people.
Examples:

 To live by the rule “murder is wrong” so we

don’t go killing one another.
 To follow road rules to avoid injuries and

possible deaths.
Bentham’s Utilitarianism
 Pleasure and pain are the two powerful
masters of man.
 There are four sources of pleasure– the

physical, moral, religious, and political but

the physical source is the basis of all others.
 Since the source of pleasure is the physical,

quality of pleasure is not important but

rather the quantity.
Bentham’s Hedonic/Felicific Calculus
This is a method of working out the sum total of
pleasure and pain produced by an act and thus
the total value of its consequences.
We can quantify the amount of pleasure or pain
an action brings through the following seven
criteria:
1. Intensity- How intense is the pleasure/pain?

2. Duration- How long will the pleasure/pain

last?
3. Certainty/uncertainty- How likely or unlikely
is it that the pleasure/pain will occur?
4. Propinquity/nearness- How soon will the
pleasure/pain occur?
5. Fecundity/fruitfulness- How
probable/possible is it that the pleasure/pain
will lead to other pleasures/pains?
6. Purity- How probable/possible is it that the
pleasure will not be followed by pain and vice
versa?
7. Extent- How many persons will be affected
by the pleasure/pain?
When determining what action is
right in a given situation, we should
consider the pleasures and pains
resulting from it using the 7
criteria. We should also consider
alternative courses of action in case
one action produces more pain than
pleasure for the greatest number of
people.
An Application of the
Hedonic/Felicific Calculus
 In deciding whether to go for abortion or not,
the issue centers on the future pleasure/pain
to the potential child versus the
pleasure/pain to the mother and other
individuals affected by the abortion decision.
 If the potential child is handicapped, the

issue centers on the future pain of the child

due to his/her disability– so the
reasonable/rational decision might be to
abort the fetus and replace it with a
potentially pleasurable one.
Mill’s Utilitarianism
 Mills rejects Bentham’s quantitative treatment
of pleasure. He focuses on the quality of
pleasure instead. According to him, physical
pleasures belong to the lower pleasures like
what animals experience– food, drink, and sex.
 Higher pleasures are the intellectual pleasures
which include artistic, political, and even
spiritual pleasures. These are pleasures
exclusive to humans like reading a good book,
listening to good music, enjoying visual arts,
meditating, etc.
 Though Mill does not deny the lower
pleasures as part of a happy life, for him,
happiness is made up primarily of the
higher pleasures. He also believes that past
experiences teach us which kinds of action
promote happiness and which do not. He
calls this belief “secondary principles”.
Thus, we do not need to burden ourselves
with using the hedonic/felicific calculus
every time we act.
The Positive Points of Utilitarianism
 It encourages people to act morally to improve
life on earth (for the happiness of the greatest
number) regardless if one believes in a God.
 Utilitarianism cannot lead to selfish acts. It
considers mostly everyone’s happiness
including one’s own as the standard for what
is moral.
 Unlike Deontology, it allows an exception to
the rule like in the case of lying when one has
to lie to protect another from sure danger.
The Negative Points of Utilitarianism
 It is not easy to foresee for sure the consequence
of an act.
 It is a hassle to perform a computation of pleasure
vs. pain especially if one does not have the time
and has to act immediately.
 It is also hard to predict all the people who might
be affected by our choice of action and whether
they will be pleased or pained and to what extent.
 An act may have a combination of
short-range/immediate and long-range effects
which makes it hard to decide.
 If we rely on past experiences to teach us
which kinds of action promote happiness and
which do not, our action may not produce the
outcomes we expect. Besides, no problems
are exactly the same.
 If a student cheats in an exam because it

produces more pleasure than pain, does

cheating become moral?
 For utilitarianism, an act is right even if done

with an evil motive as long as it results to

pleasurable effects for the greatest number
of people.
 A drug company may release an approved
drug with some side effects as long as it
helps more people heal from a disease not
minding the few suffering from side effects.
 Based on the example above, if a certain

product is good for the greatest number and

also results to high profits for the company,
then the company’s action is right because
everybody is happy (though we know the
truth that not “everybody” is happy).
Group Activity
A. Quantify the amount of pleasure and pain SMOKING will bring through the following
seven criteria (only 1 sentence/preferably a phrase for every answer):

1. Intensity
 How intense will be the pleasure?____________
 How intense will be the pain?____________

2. Duration
 How long will the pleasure last?___________
 How long will the pain last?___________

3. Certainty/uncertainty
 How likely (how possible) or unlikely (not possible) is it that the pleasure will occur?
___________
 How likely or unlikely is it that the pain will occur?___________

4. Propinquity/nearness
 How soon will the pleasure occur? ____________
 How soon will the pain occur? ____________
5. Fecundity/fruitfulness
 How probable/possible is it that the pleasure will lead to other
pleasures? __________
 How probable/possible is it that the pain will lead to other pains?
___________

6. Purity
 How probable/possible is it that the pleasure will not be followed by
pain? __________
 How probable/possible is it that the pain will not be followed by
pleasure? __________

7. Extent
 How many persons will be affected by the pleasure? ____________

 How many persons will be affected by the pain? ____________

In conclusion, smoking is a ____________ (pain/pleasure).

B. Give a specific instance when the application of utilitarianism goes
wrong in the following areas. Limit you answer to two sentences per
number.

1. Business/the economy:
2. Cultural values (marriage, friendship, caring for children/elders…) :
3. Legal laws (Constitution, ordinances…) :
4. School/education:
5. Religion:

Ex. Business/the economy- Houses of illegal settlers are demolished to make way for a new
mall which will have the following benefits: additional income for the government,
accessibility of resources for nearby residents, and forms of entertainment for the people.
More people will be reaping the benefits, but what about the now homeless residents?

*Put answers in a Word file and send it as an attachment in the GC. Please do not use
WPS or those apps/programs with an expiration for opening/viewing the file.
Deadline is on Monday.