ETHICS UTILITARIANISM

1. UTILITARIANISM
Reporters:
Grethil Dedicatoria
Angel Mae Angob
Evan Maquiling

2. OBJECTIVES:
• Discuss the basic principles of utilitarian
ethics
• To understand the similarities and differences
between Bentham and Mill
• Understand the distinction between Act and
Rule Utilitarianism.

3. Utilitarianism is an ethical theory
that determines right from wrong
by focusing on outcomes. It is a
form of consequentialism.
Utilitarianism holds that the most
ethical choice is the one that will
produce the greatest good for the
greatest number.

4. THE PRINCIPLE OF UTILITY
For Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832)
the principle of utility is about our
subjection to these sovereign
masters: pleasure and pain. On
one hand, the principle refers to
the motivation of our actions as
guided by our avoidance of pain
and our desire for pleasure.

5. THE PRINCIPLE OF UTILITY
John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)supports
Betham’s principle of utility. He reiterates
moral good as happiness and consequently,
happiness as pleasure. Mill clarifies that
what makes people happy is the intended
pleasure and what makes people unhappy is
the deprivation of pleasure. The things that
produce happiness and pleasure are good;
whereas, those that produce unhappiness
and pain are bad.

6. • For Bentham and Mill, the pursuit for pleasure and
the avoidance of pain are not only important
principles- they are in fact the only principle in
assessing an action's morality.

7. THE PRINCIPLE OF UTILITY
• In determining the moral preferability of actions, Bentham
provides a framework for evaluating pleasure and pain
commonly called felicific calculus, it calculates the pleasure
that some actions can produce.

8. THE PRINCIPLE OF UTILITY
Contrary to Bentham, Mill argues that quality is more
preferable than quantity. An excessive quantity of what is
otherwise pleasurable might result in pain. Whereas
eating the right amount of food can be pleasurable,
excessive eating may not be.

9. Four Theses of Utilitarianism
1. Consequentialism: The rightness of actions is determined solely
by their consequences.
2. Hedonism: Utility is the degree to which an act produces
pleasure. Hedonism is the thesis that pleasure or happiness is
the good that we seek and that we should seek.
3. Maximalism: A right action produces the greatest good
consequences and the least bad.
4. Universalism: The consequences to be considered are those of
everyone affected, and everyone equally.

10. Two Formulations of Utilitarian Theory
Principle of Utility: The best action is that which
produces the greatest happiness and/or reduces
pain.
Greatest Happiness: We ought to do that which
produces the greatest happiness and least pain for
the greatest number of people.

11. Two Types of Utilitarianism
Act: An Action is right if and only if it produces the
greatest balance of pleasure over pain for the greatest
number. (Jeremy Bentham)
Rule: 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. (John Stuart Mill)

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• Utilitarianism is not only about our individual pleasures,
regardless of how high, intellectual, or in other ways
noble it is, but it is also about the pleasure of the
greatest number affected by the consequences of our
actions.
• Utilitarianism is not dismissive of sacrifices that procure
more happiness for others.
• Also, it implies that utilitarianism is not at all separate
from liberal social practices that aim to improve the
quality of life for all persons.
THE PRINCIPLE OF THE GREATEST NUMBER

13. JUSTICE AND MORAL RIGHTS
• Mill understands justice as a respect for rights directed toward society's pursuit of the
greatest happiness for the greatest number. For him, rights are a valid claim on society
and are justified by utility.
• Utilitarians argue that issues of justice carry a very strong emotional feeling because the
category of rights is directly associated with the individual's most vital interests. All of
these rights are predicated on the person's right to life.
• Mill creates a distinction between legal rights and their justification. He points out that
when legal rights are not morally justified in accordance with the greatest happiness
principle, then these rights need neither be observed, nor be respected. This is like
saying that there are instances when the law is not morally justified and, in this case,
even objectionable.

14. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!