Utilitarianism

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”

Case: Intervention? The morally relevant aspects: how will an intervention affect the suffering and utility of the peoples concerned? A possible reasoning: If one can estimate that the genocide and oppression in the long run implies more suffering then an intervention will do in the short run and If there is no other alternative that will imply less suffering then, an intervention is justified

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?

Consequentialism – Teleological ethics (telos= goal) Def. The goal/the consequences determines the rightness of an action Consequences for whom? (myself? “My country right or wrong?” …) What consequences? (fame, knowledge, leisure, pleasure…)

Jeremy Bentham,

Utilitarianism Definition The moral end to be sought is the greatest possible balance of good over evil The greatest pleasure for the greatest number of persons

“Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to promote the reverse of happiness” John Stuart Mill ( )

For whom? ”Everyone counts for one, nobody for more than one” (Bentham) ”The question is not Can they reason? nor Can they talk? but Can they suffer?

What consequences? Good Pleasure Happiness = Hedonism: pleasure is the only intrinsic value (value sought for itself)

Quantitative hedonism: Bentham’s felicific calculus: It is possible to quantify the amount of pleasure and pain (intensity, duration…)

J S Mill: It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied. And if the fool, or the pig, are of different opinion, it is because they only know their own side of the question. The other party of the comparison knows both sides”

C1: Is pleasure all that counts? The pleasure machine Suppose there was an experience machine that would give you any experience you desired. Superduper neuroscientists could stimulate your brain so that you would think and feel you were writing a great novel, or making a friend, or reading an interesting book. All the time you would be floating in a tank, with electrodes attached to your brain. Should you plug into this machine for life, pre-programming your life’s experiences” (Nozick, 1974)

Preference utilitarianism The criterion of a right action is the amount of preferences satisfied What preferences? Interests Needs – what is good for a person Capabilities (Sen and Nussbaum) – what makes a person prosper

Objections C 2, Can we foresee the consequences? C1C2 Utilitarian answer: this problem is common for all morality C2C2 The problem with Act-utilitarianism Rule-utilitarianism should be preferred to Act-utilitarianism, Def Rule – utilitarianism Act according to the rule that has the greatest utility C3C2 Two levels of moral thinking (R M Hare) “The prole and the archangel” Intuitive level - follow the rules and intuitions The critical level (with all information etc) – determine the right action

C 3 Should we always treat persons equal? (“Ones own children and other´s brats”) C1C3 According to utilitarianism/universalism: the best consequences follows from a rule saying that everyone has special obligations C2C3 Morality is demanding!

C 4 Can it be morally right to sacrifice a one or a few persons in the interest of the many? Dostoevsky’s question