UNIT-2-Utilitarianism PDF

ABOUT M Y PE T ABOUT M Y PE T Ø is an ethical theory that argues for the goodness of pleasure and determination of right behavior based on the usefulness of the action’s consequences. Ø claims that one’s actions and behavior are good in as much as they are directed toward the experience of the...

ABOUT M Y PE T ABOUT M Y PE T Ø is an ethical theory that argues for the goodness of pleasure and determination of right behavior based on the usefulness of the action’s consequences. Ø claims that one’s actions and behavior are good in as much as they are directed toward the experience of the greatest pleasure over pain for the greatest number of persons. Ø root word is “utility” w/c refers to the usefulness of the consequences of one’s action and behavior.  T MY PET ØTheir system of ethics emphasizes the consequences of actions. This means of the goodness or the badness of an action is based on whether it is useful in contributing to a specific purpose for the greatest number of people. ØUtilitarianism is consequentialist. ØFor them, utility refers to a way of understanding the results of people’s actions. Øhe was the teacher of James Mill, father of John Stuart Mill. Øfirst wrote about the greatest happiness principle of ethics and was known for a system of penal management called panopticon. Øh e w a s a n a d v o c a t e o f e c o n o m i c freedom, women’s rights, and separation of church and state. Øalso an advocate of animal rights and abolition of slavery, death penalty, and corporal punishment for children. ABOUT M Y ET An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (1789) ØIn this book, Jeremy Bentham begins to argue that our actions are governed by two “sovereign masters” w/c he calls the pleasure and pain. PRINCIPLE OF UTILITY Øis about our subjection to these sovereign masters: pleasure and pain. PRINCIPLE Ørefers to the motivation of our actions as guided by our avoidance of pain and our desire for pleasure. Ørefers to pleasure as good if, and only if, they produce more happiness than unhappiness. ØHe was the son of James Mill. ØHe studied Greek at the age of 3 and Latin at the age of 8. ØHe wrote a history of Roman Law at the age of 11. ØHe supports Bentham’s principle of utility. ØHe reiterates moral good as happiness and consequently, happiness as pleasure. Ø He clarifies that what makes people happy is intended pleasure and what makes us unhappy is the privation of pleasure. The things that produce happiness and pleasure are good; whereas, those that produce unhappiness and pain are bad. Ø He argues that we act and do things because we find them pleasurable and we avoid doing things because they are painful. Ø What Bentham identified as the natural moral preferability of pleasure, Mill refers to as a theory of life. Ø He argues that quality is more preferable than quantity. Øin determining the moral preferability of actions, this framework provided by Bentham for evaluating pleasure and pain. Øis a common currency framework that calculates the pleasure that some actions can produce. Øin this framework, an action can be evaluated on the basis of intensity or strength of pleasure; duration or length of the experience of pleasure; certainty, uncertainty, or the likelihood that pleasure will occur; and propinquity, remoteness, or how soon there will be pleasure.  MY ULTI A E Ø John Stuart Mill understands justice as a respect for rights directed toward society’s pursuit for the greatest happiness of the greatest number. Ø For Mill, rights are a valid claim on society and are justified by utility. Ø Mill assosciates utilitarianism with the possession of legal and moral rights. MY ULTI A E ØMill creates a distinction between legal rigths and their justification. ØHe points out that when legal rights are not morally justified in accordance to the greatest happiness principle, then these rights need neither be observed, nor be respected. THANK S Thank you for listening !