Utilitarianism Morality Depends on the Consequences Chapter 23 Utilitarianism Morality Depends on the Consequences

John Stuart Mill and Ideal Utilitarianism The form of utilitarianism advanced by Mill recognizes qualitative distinctions: And not just the quantitative measure of pleasure endorsed by Bentham How are we to tell which of two pleasures is the qualitatively better one? © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Bentham’s Hedonistic Calculus The value of a pleasure or pain considered by itself, will be greater or less by: 1. Its intensity 2. Its duration 3. Its certainty or uncertainty 4. Its propinquity or remoteness © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Bentham’s Hedonistic Calculus When the value of any pleasure or pain is considered for the purpose of estimating: The tendency of any act which is produced, two circumstances taken into account: Its fecundity Its purity © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Introduction of Qualitative Distinctions Mill thinks that the person who has experienced two (or more) forms of: Entertainment will naturally prefer the “higher” of the pleasures, but is this necessarily so? What can he mean by better when he says “Better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied”? © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Introduction of Qualitative Distinctions Why is it better to be a dissatisfied human being than a satisfied pig? Surely Aristotle would say because we are human beings And every creature must be true to its nature Mill cannot take this line of argument © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Rule and Act Utilitarianism Mill consistently denied that pleasure or happiness to be sought was only that of: The person acting—it should include the greatest number possible The greatest happiness principle was reworded to include the: Greatest happiness of the greatest number © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Further Difficulties of Utilitarianism Contemporary defenders recognize that there are several basic difficulties with the: Original formulation of the utilitarian view Fairness and Minority Rights The Problem of Conflicting Rules Proof for Utilitarianism © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

John Stuart Mill: Utilitarianism English philosopher, economist, social critic One of the leaders in the social movement known as utilitarianism Mill was a staunch advocate of individual liberty and women’s equality. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

John Stuart Mill: Utilitarianism Among his books are: System of Logic (two volumes), Principles of Political Economy (two volumes), and Utilitarianism Of What Sort of Proof the Principle of Utility Is Susceptible The only proof capable of being given that an object is visible, is that people actually see it © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.