1.  Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill  Reason not Revelation  Consequentialism – good or bad, right or wrong, are based on outcomes.

2.  When a person has a variety of options in a given moral situation, the right choice is the one that results in the greatest amount of happiness of the greatest number of people.

3.  Good of the many outweigh the good of the few.  Calls for the subordination of one’s own happiness to the good of the whole.

4. Hedonism  Happiness = pleasure and the absence of pain.  Pleasure with the absence of pain is intrinsically good.  Good is only good insofar as it leads to pleasure.

5.  Desire for pleasure and the Aversion to pain was the great human motivators. Or

6.  Each persons’ happiness or pleasure is of equal value, and should be weighed equally when determining how you should act.  Act not just for the sake of your pleasure but the pleasure of others as well.

7. How to determine pleasure scientifically. 1. Intense: How intense is the pleasure? 2. Duration: How long does the pleasure last? 3. Certainty: How certain are you that the pleasure will occur? 4. Proximity: How soon will the pleasure be experienced? 5. Fecundity: How many more pleasures will happen because of this one? 6. Purity: How free from pain is the pleasure? 7. Extent: How many of us will experience the pleasure? Rate on a numerical scale of 1 – 10, 1(no pleasure), 5(average), 10(total pleasure) – Include all possible pleasures and pains. ex. Reading an ethics book vs. going out with friends

8. Criticism  Tedious to use formula each time a dilemma arises.  Overlooks human history.  All pleasures are not equal.  Some pleasures are incomparable.  Ex. Drowning kittens vs. Working at the McKenna Center.

9. Types of Pleasure  Some pleasures are superior to others.  Those who have experienced the full range of pleasures ultimately end up choosing the higher pleasures.

10. Quality vs. Quantity  Quality of a pleasure is proportional to the degree to which it contributes to a person’s overall intellectual, moral, and aesthetic (artistic) development.  Judge the quality of pleasure not the quantity of pleasure.  Pursue the higher pleasures.

11. “Disinterested and Benevolent Spectator”  Someone of good will who is not connected to the situation.  Give equal consideration to each person affected by a decision, including himself.  No special consideration to our loved ones or ourselves.

12.  Laws are rules that are established to bring the best possible outcomes for everybody.

13.  Kant and Utilitarianism  Consequences are irrelevant.  Christianity and Utilitarianism  Evil act vs. Good consequences  Sacredness of human life

14. Act Utilitarianism vs. Rule Utilitarianism  Act – Individual Situation  Rule – Overall rule for governing  Ex. Using Organs  Ex. No negotiating with terrorists