The document discusses utilitarianism, primarily through the works of philosophers John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham. Mill expands on Bentham's principle that actions are right if they promote the greatest happiness for the greatest number, defining happiness as pleasure and the absence of pain. The text also addresses objections to utilitarianism, including the compatibility of moral actions with self-sacrifice and societal considerations.

1. UTILITARIANISM
BTVTE AT 3A
Boyet Rabis
Dave Baloloy

2. What is your GREATEST
HAPPINESS?

3. John Stuart Mill was an English
philosopher, political
economist, Member of
Parliament, and civil servant.
He was born May 20, 1806, in
Pentonville, London, United
States, and Died May 17, 1873,
at Avignon France.
Among economists, he’s best
known for his 1848 work,
Principles of Political Economy,
which became a leading
economic textbook for decades
after its publication. Other
significant books include On
John Stuart Mill

4. Jeremy Bentham was an English
philosopher, jurist, and social
reformer regarded as the founder
of modern utilitarianism.
Bentham defined the
“fundamental axiom” of his
philosophy as the principle that
“it is the greatest happiness of
the greatest number that is the
measure of right and wrong.” He
was born on February 15, 1748, in
Houndsditch London, United
Kingdom. He died June 6, 1832,
in Westminster London, United
Kingdom. Bentham today is
considered the “Father of
Jeremy Bentham

5. James Mill
homeschooled John
Stuart on the
Benthamite
doctored, which
essentially states
that it is the
greatest happiness
of the number that
is the measure of
right and wrong.
◦ John Stuart Mill
(1806-1873), is
considered by many
to be the
most influential. His
utilitarian theory of
morality is a
development and
clarification of the
earlier form of the
theory authored by
Jeremy Bentham
(1748-1832) and

6. In Mill’s Ethics, actions are
understood as right with
respect to their capacity to
promote happiness and wrong
when they tend to promote
the opposite of happiness.
Happiness, as defined by Mill,
is Pleasure and the absence
of pain, while unhappiness is
pain or the absence of
pleasure . For him, The
Principle of Utility or the
Greatest Happiness Principle
Mill’s ethics Objectors point to the
fact that it is a doctrine
suited for the followers of
the Ancient Greek
Philosopher Epicurus (
341-270 B.C. ) who
thought that the purpose
of philosophy is to attain
happiness and tranquility
in life. He believed that
Happiness corresponds to
Ataraxia and Aponia,
peace and freedom from
fear and the absence of

7. He believes that happiness
corresponds to ataranza and
aponia, the peace and
freedom from fear and the
absence of pain, respectively.
As opposed to deontological
theories of morality like
Kant’s, which emphasize the
motivation of duty, and virtue
ethics, which emphasize the
character of agents,
utilitarianism judges actions
based on the quality and
quantity of pleasure they are
ACT UTILITARIANISM
An Action is right if and only
if it produces the greatest
balance of pleasure over pain
for the greatest number.
(Jeremy Bentham)
RULE UTILITARIANISM
An action is right if and only
if it conforms to a set of rules
the general acceptance of
which would produce the
greatest balance of pleasure
over pain for the greatest
number.

8. To the Objection that
Happiness is
Unattainable
There are some who
object to Mill’s
proposition by saying
that happiness is
unattainable. Many
things such as
disease, and failure
Replies to Objections
Through experiment
the trolley
problem
A runaway trolley is
heading down the
tracks toward five
workers who will be
killed if the trolley
proceeds on its
present course.

9. To the Objection that
social concern is a rare
motive for action
The last objection Mill
with in his treatise is the
objection relating to the
question of whether
have a society in mind
whenever they choose a
course of action. For Mill, a
distinction must be made
between the motives and
the consequences of one’s
To the objection that
utilitarian morality is
incompatible with
self-sacrifice
Another objection to
Mill’s theory is that it
does not recognize
the value of self-
sacrifice. Mill
answers this
objection by saying
that utilitarianism
does recognize the

10. Although external
sanctions like those
that emanate from
social and supernatural
sources enforce the
utilitarian principle,
they do not compel one
to fellow it
According to Milol, it is
man’s feel for
humanity’ that
constitutes the
ultimate sanctions
sanction of the
principle of utility. This
is the internal sanction
of the principle of
utility.
The Ultimate Sanction

11. Ultimately, according
to Mill, it is
man’s “feelings for
humanity” that
constitutes the
ultimate sanction of
the principle of utility.
This is the internal
sanction of the
principle of utility.
One of the external
sanctions that provide the
impetus for moral conduct
is one’s fear of
displeasing God (if one
believes in a God). A
believer’s moral compass is
oftentimes determined by
his/her desire to please
his/her creator, for he/she
feels that he/she owes him
this much, seeing as he is

12. THANK You po