John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism

John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism & Kai Nielsen's Defense of Utilitarianism

The Good Life

• Theory of Well-Being is an account of "the good life" for human beings.
• The good life considers: What makes life worth living, what kinds of things are desirable, and what makes one life better than another.
• J.S. Mill's theory of well-being is called "hedonism."

Moral Theory

• Moral Theory offers guidance and understanding of normative questions.
• Normative questions include, what is our ultimate moral aim? What morally ought I do in this situation? What is morally right? And what morally wrong?
• Mill's moral theory is called "Consequentialism."

Hedonism

Happiness as Pleasure

• Mill's position is that "happiness is the sole end of human action, and the promotion of it the test by which to judge of all human conduct".
• Happiness distinguishes between pleasures, quality vs. quantity.
• Happiness impacts moral and political thinking and potentially limit it, causing us to lose sight of certain things.

Greatest Happiness Principle

Consequentialist Decision-Making

Making Things go Impartially Best

Nielsen's Defense of Utilitarianism

• Nielsen rejects the idea that there is some set of moral principles that obtains in every situation, such as an absolute prohibition against killing the innocent.
• Believes hard decisions such as whether to kill some innocent individuals to preserve the lives of more innocent people in the future are made by persons who are in extreme situations---not by simply by persons who have "corrupt minds.”
• Those who believe that we are fully responsible for the consequences of both our actions and our non-actions.
• One must consider the case of the "poor innocent fat man." to explore what is the right thing to do by the dictates of utilitarianism.

Basic Trolley Problem

• There is a runaway trolley barreling down the railroad tracks.
• Ahead, on the tracks, there are five people tied up and unable to move.
• The trolley is headed straight for them.
• You are standing some distance off in the train yard, next to a lever.
• If you pull this lever, the trolley will switch to a different set of tracks.
• However, you notice that there is one person on the side track.
• Decision 1: Do nothing and allow the trolley to kill the five people on the main track.
• Decision 2: Pull the lever, diverting the trolley onto the side track where it will kill one person.

Variant on the Basic Trolley Problem

• The Organ Donation Case poses as if you are a doctor and five of your patients are going to die very soon unless you find transplants for them.
• In order to save them, you'll need two lungs, two kidneys, and one heart.
• A healthy young man walks into your office with just the right organs to save your five patients but he is unwilling to sacrifice himself for the others.
• You are able to secretly take the young man's organs by sedating him and harvesting organs from his body.
• Obviously, he dies in the process.
• If you don't, your five patients will die.
• Option a: Harvest the young man's organs.
• Option b: Let your five patients die.

Further Questions

• Are there things that matter to our well-being beyond pleasure (happiness)? If so, what do you think they might be?
• Are there things we should take into account beyond consequences of actions when we morally evaluate the conduct of ourselves and others? If so, what might they be?
• The Experience Machine is to be considered.