Moral Theory An explanation of why an action is right or wrong or why a person or a person’s character is good or bad Tells us what it is about an action.

Slides:



Advertisements
Similar presentations
Utilitarianism Maximize good.
Advertisements

Hedonism & Utilitarianism
Jeremy Bentham ( CE) John Stuart Mill ( CE) Goodness/rightness and badness/wrongness are located in the consequences an act (consequentialism).
RECAP – TASK 1 What is utilitarianism? Who is Jeremy Bentham?
Utilitarianism.
Introduction to Ethics Lecture 11 Utilitarianism By David Kelsey.
UTILTARIANISM ONE BENTHAM MILL EPICURUS SINGER.
Utilitarianism Guiding Principle 5.
Chapter Seven: Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism and Classical Economics Utilitarian ethical theory has sources in Greek and Roman philosophy and in the work of Hobbes and Locke Scottish.
Consequentialist Ethical Theories Egoism: the good is whatever promotes my long-term interests Hedonism: we should pursue pleasures that are not mixed.
How Actions Can Be Morally Evaluated l Teleological Ethics: we are morally obligated to do X because of its good consequences l Deontological Ethics: X.
Standards of Conduct DoD’s Standards of Conduct
Consequentialist Ethical Theories u Egoism: the good is whatever promotes my long-term interests u Hedonism: the good is pleasure l Pursue pleasures not.
ETHICS BOWL CONSEQUENTIALism.
UTILITARIANISM: A comparison of Bentham and Mill’s versions
Utilitarian Approach. Utilitarianism The founder of classical utilitarianism is Jeremy Bentham. According to Bentham human beings always try to avoid.
Utilitarianism. Counting Costs & Making Tough Calls  Military decision-making, and public policy generally (including economic policy), frequently make.
Utilitarianism Utilitarianism is a relative ethical theory It based on the concept of utility Utilitarianism is a teleological/consequentialist theory.
An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation Jeremy Bentham.
Introduction to Utlilitarianism What do we already know about Utilitarianism? It’s a Consequentialist Theory: focuses on outcomes. It’s a Teleological.
Consequentialism Utilitarianism. John Stuart Mill ( ) Principle of Utility: actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness,
Utilitarianism Lesson # 4 Leadership and Ethics. Utilitarianism What is Utilitarianism?
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.
The Morality of Consequences. Utilitarian Ethics We ought to perform actions which tend to produce the greatest overall happiness for the greatest number.
Utilitarianism How ought we to act?.
Utilitarianism. English Empiricism Hume held that what is commonly taken as “knowledge” is really a set of reasonable beliefs that are well founded because.
What is Utilitarianism?
Utilitarianism Michael Lacewing
Utilitarian approach to war and peace BY PHIL, ISAAC AND BAASIM.
Act and Rule Utilitariansim
Jeremy Bentham Bentham the real founder of utilitarianism Biography –Read adult literature by age 3 –Good knowledge of Greek and Latin by 6 and.
Utilitarianism Utility = net pleasure or happiness Utilitarians generally use the terms happiness and utility interchangeably The right act is that which.
UTILITARIANISM “A moral theory according to which an action is right if and only if it conforms to the principle of utility.” (Jeremy Bentham, Introduction.
Philosophy 360: Business Ethics Chapter 3. Consequentialism: Is part of a theory about what makes certain actions right or wrong. In a nutshell: Actions.
Utilitarianism Utility = net pleasure or happiness
‘UTILITARIANISM FROM BENTHAM & MILL’ THE GENERAL PRINCIPLES
Utilitarianism What is Utility?. Teleological vs. Deontological.
LO: I will know about the Hedonic Calculus Hmk: Do some biographical work on John Stuart Mill Starter: Using your homework, what did you find out about.
Consequentialism (utilitarism). General description 'Consequentialist theories regard the moral value of actions, rules of conduct, and so on, as dependent.
Utilitarianism. Learning Objectives:- (long term) 1. To understand the ‘greatest happiness principle’. 2. To understand the similarities and differences.
Recap Hedonism Key players and ideas? B’s Theory of Motivation What is it? Moral Fact What is it?
Utilitarianism.
J.S. Mill, Utilitarianism (1863) PHIL 102, UBC Summer 2015 Christina Hendricks Except parts noted otherwise, this presentation is licensed CC-BY 4.0CC-BY.
Jeremy Bentham 15 February 1748 – 6 June Jeremy Bentham (15 February 1748 – 6 June 1832) Jeremy Bentham was an English jurist, philosopher, and.
J.S. Mill Jeremy Bentham. Utilitarianism “The creed which accepts as the foundation of morals, utility, or the greatest happiness principle, holds that.
Jeremy Bentham: Psychological Hedonism An account of human nature is necessary in order to describe morals and legislation scientifically. Just as we explain.
Introduction to Philosophy Lecture 16 Ethics #2: Utilitarianism By David Kelsey.
LO: I will explain Peter Singer’s approach to Utilitarianism H/W: Remember, assessment next lesson 10 th.
Chapter 2: Readings in Moral Theory Jeremy Bentham, “The Principle of Utility” – Consequentialism: the rightness or wrongness of an action depends entirely.
 Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill  Reason not Revelation  Consequentialism – good or bad, right or wrong, are based on outcomes.
Introduction to Ethical Theory
Utilitarianism.
Ethics (aka Moral Philosophy)
Introduction to Ethical Theory
Utilitarianism.
Utilitarianism - Introduction
J.S. Mill, Utilitarianism (1863)
J.S. Mill, Utilitarianism (1863)
On your whiteboard: What is teleology? What is hedonism?
Moral Reasoning  Ethical dilemmas in management are not simple choices between “right” and “wrong”.They are complex judgments on the balance between economic.
I think the principle of utility is…
Bentham’s Utilitarianism
John Stuart Mill ( ).
Utilitarianism: Jeremy Bentham.
Moral Reasoning  Ethical dilemmas in management are not simple choices between “right” and “wrong”.They are complex judgments on the balance between economic.
Utilitarianism Consequential, i.e. Utilitarianism – a good moral decision is that which the consequences of the action produces the greatest good for the.
Moral Theories: Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism Morality Depends on the Consequences
Moral Reasoning  Ethical dilemmas in management are not simple choices between “right” and “wrong”.They are complex judgments on the balance between economic.
Presentation transcript:

Moral Theory An explanation of why an action is right or wrong or why a person or a person’s character is good or bad Tells us what it is about an action that makes it right

Moral Theory cont. Moral theories alone are not the ultimate authority in moral deliberations. Moral deliberations involve both the general and the particular—theory, principles, and considered judgments.

Moral Theory cont. Consequentialist/Teleological theory—Asserts that the rightness of actions depends solely on their consequences Categorical/Deontological theory—Asserts that the rightness of actions is determined partly or entirely by their intrinsic value

Moral Criteria of Adequacy Criterion I: Consistency with our considered moral judgments Criterion II: Consistency with the facts of the moral life Criterion III: Resourcefulness in moral problem-solving

“Greatest Happiness/Pleasure for the Greatest Number” Utilitarianism “Greatest Happiness/Pleasure for the Greatest Number”

Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) “Nature has placed man under the governance of two masters, pain and pleasure.” The only thing intrinsically good is pleasure The only thing intrinsically bad is pain

Principle of Utility: “The principle which approves or disapproves of every action whatsoever, according to the tendency which it appears to have to augment or diminish the happiness of the party whose interest is in question.” May be paraphrased simply as “The greatest good for the greatest number.”

“Calculus of Felicity/Hedonistic Calculus” Intensity: How strong is the sensation (of pain or pleasure)? Duration: How long does the sensation last? Certainty: How clear and distinct is the sensation? Propinquity: How soon will it be experienced? Fecundity: What other sensations of pleasure/pain will follow? Purity: How free from pain is the pleasure, and vice versa? Extent: How many persons will be affected by it, one way or the other?

Nozick’s “Experience Machine” The thought experiment is an argument against hedonism, i.e. the position that good is to be defined in terms of pleasure alone. Argues that “what matters” includes more than simply having an experience, we wish to do certain things and be a certain way, and hedonism doesn’t fully answer the question of motivation/what matters. Thus hedonism is insufficient.

J.S Mill (1806-1873) Mill’s version of Utilitarianism seeks to respond to charges that Bentham’s moral system is a “pig philosophy,” i.e. base pleasures trump all. Seeks to distinguish “happiness” from mere sensual pleasure, so for Mill “good” in the principle is equated with happiness. Notes that there is a qualitative difference between pleasures, and this fact must be factored in if one is to try to distinguish goods based upon ability to produce happiness. This distinction makes it difficult to apply a “hedonistic calculus” as Bentham envisioned due to difference in values of opposing “pleasures.” What is required are competent judges who can rule between competing pleasures.

“Rule-Utilitarianism” Many examples can given where an act might be morally justified on an act-based system of consequentialism, but that would fail a test for overall utility, e.g. “Bob for spare parts.” Thus it seems the best way to salvage consequentialism is to argue for a rules-based system, where the rules guiding action are in place to maximize utility. “Each act, in the moral life, falls under a rule; and we are to judge the rightness or wrongness of an act, not by its consequences, but by the consequences of its universalization – that is, by the consequences of the rule under which this act falls.