PHIL 2525 Contemporary Moral Issues Lec 10 Utilitarianism

Lifeboat Ethics... Garret Hardin maintains that we have a duty to not help the poor and starving of other countries... Garret Hardin maintains that we have a duty to not help the poor and starving of other countries... Rich nations are like lifeboats. The poor are like the drowning people in the water. If we let them into our lifeboat, we will all die.

Garrett Hardin: Freedom of the Commons and Resource Allocation

Evaluating Lifeboat Ethics... Are rich nations like lifeboats? Are rich nations like lifeboats? Where did the lifeboats come from? Where did the lifeboats come from? Why aren’t there enough lifeboats? Why aren’t there enough lifeboats?

Chapter 6 Epigraph...sententious Christian doctrine that “the end does not justify the means.”...sententious Christian doctrine that “the end does not justify the means.” We have to ask now, “If the end doesn’t justify the means, what does?” The answer is, obviously, “Nothing!”

18 th Century upheavals…

David Hume suggested that we are somehow hard-wired to approve of things that help not only ourselves, but also society… suggested that we are somehow hard-wired to approve of things that help not only ourselves, but also society…

JEREMY BENTHAM, Reading Hume made him feel as though “scales had fallen from my eyes.” Reading Hume made him feel as though “scales had fallen from my eyes.”

Jeremy Bentham Morality is about making the world as happy as possible Morality is about making the world as happy as possible

Jeremy Bentham “Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters: “Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters: pain and pleasure.

Why was Utilitarianism Revolutionary?

Why was Utilitarianism revolutionary? Because it dispensed with God or the Hereafter as a moral marker.... Because it dispensed with God or the Hereafter as a moral marker....

Jeremy Bentham “The greatest good for the greatest number” “The greatest good for the greatest number” the “Hedonic Calculus” as a standard for judging laws and social institutions the “Hedonic Calculus” as a standard for judging laws and social institutions

The Utilitarian Calculus Criteria for measuring pleasure and pain: Intensity Intensity Duration Duration Certainty (or uncertainty) Certainty (or uncertainty) Nearness (or farness) Nearness (or farness) Extent Extent

Social Reform... Government has no place in the bedrooms of the nation….

The sole factor to be considered …. is the balance of social good vs. social evil. Moral intuitions, social traditions or God’s wishes are not relevant. The sole factor to be considered …. is the balance of social good vs. social evil. Moral intuitions, social traditions or God’s wishes are not relevant.

Bentham advanced the principle of utility Advocated “the greatest happiness of the greatest number” Advocated “the greatest happiness of the greatest number” Suggested the “Hedonic Calculus” as a standard for judging laws and social institutions. Suggested the “Hedonic Calculus” as a standard for judging laws and social institutions.

J. S. Mill Not merely the quantity of pleasure, but the quality of happiness had to be calculated. Some pleasures are better than others…

"Better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied. "Better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied. Better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied.” Better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied.” John Stuart Mill

J. S. Mill “Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness; wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.”

Lifeboat situations...

Utilitarian Beliefs: Moral rules are merely rules of thumb Moral rules are merely rules of thumb The point is to achieve the greatest good for the greatest number The point is to achieve the greatest good for the greatest number Utilitarianism is a Consequentialist Theory Utilitarianism is a Consequentialist Theory

Matthew Donnelly and his right to die...

Utilitarianism and non-human animals… The question is not whether they can talk or reason..... The question is not whether they can talk or reason but whether they can suffer.

The Meatrix...

Jeremy Bentham The time will come when humanity will extend its mantle over everything which breathes... " The time will come when humanity will extend its mantle over everything which breathes... "

Midterm sneak peek.... Pages 1 to 99 Pages 1 to 99 Lectures, text and readings Lectures, text and readings Short answer and multiple choice (40 marks) Short answer and multiple choice (40 marks) Ten essay questions (60 marks) Ten essay questions (60 marks) I will choose six I will choose six You will choose three You will choose three