"Philosophers should consider the fact

that the greatest happiness principle can

easily be made an excuse for a

benevolent dictatorship. We should

replace it by a more modest and more

realistic principle / the principle that the

fight against avoidable misery should be

a recognized aim of public policy, while

the increase of happiness should be left,

in the main, to private initiative."- Popper

BAM321 Business Ethics and Social Responsibility

Session 3

Business and Management

Agenda for today

• Friedman and Porsche

• Consequentialism

• Utilitarianism

• Lying – Lafarge cement, Ford

cars

• Your issues

Egoism version 2

• People should pursue their own self-interest

• Our interests are different from our wants/desires

• Hobbes argued that it was in people’s interests to submit to authority to avoid the state of war that would otherwise exist

Hedonism

• Offers an answer to the question of what is of value

• Pleasure is intrinsically valuable

• It’s not valued because it enables us to achieve something else– It’s not of instrumental value

• We should pursue a life full of as much pleasure as possible

Hedonism

• We should pursue a life full of as much pleasure as possible

• And with as little pain as possible

• And herein lies a problem–With the pleasure of fine wine comes the

pain of a hangover

• “Fine wine” – is the pleasure gained by a lager lout equivalent to that of a wine connoiseur?

Consequences• Rational egoism

– People should do what is in their own self

interest

• Hedonism

– People should do what brings them maximum

pleasure

• There is concern for the consequences of

people’s actions

– But only the consequences for

themselves

Theories

• Teleological

– “Telos” – end; hence in these theories

our judgments about actions depend on

their consequences.

• Deontological

– “Deon” – duty; hence in these theories

our judgments about actions depend on

whether they are consistent with our

duties or obligations.

Consequentialism

“That action is best, which procures the greatest happiness"

Utilitarianism

Frances Hutcheson 1694-1746

Quoted on p129 of Graham, 2004

Utility is “That property in any object, whereby it tends to produce benefit, advantage, pleasure, good or happiness… or to prevent the happening of mischief, pain, evil or unhappiness."

Utilitarianism

Jeremy Bentham 1748-1832

Quoted on p131 of Graham, 2004

• Hedonistic (but recognising importance of pain as well as pleasure)–And so consquentialist

• Universalist (rather than individualist)

Utilitarianism

• Should we kill a healthy and solitary tramp to provide a new heart for a talented musician with life-threatening heart disease?

• and a liver for a brilliant scientist with a chronic liver condition?

• and a kidney for a teenager born with a defective kidney?

Utilitarianism

• No

• Although the action proposed would maximise happiness it would contravene a rule that contributes more to general happiness

• That rule is something like: do not wilfully kill the innocent

Utilitarianism

Rule utilitarianism

Act in accordance with those rules which, if generally acted upon, will lead to the greatest happiness

This version of utilitarianism was proposed by John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)

Problems with consequentialism

• Consequences may be hard to predict

• Consequences have consequences…

• Consequences include things that don’t happen as a result of an action

• It may then be impossible to ascertain what the consequences of an action are

Inter-session tasks

• Reflect on session 3

• Keep logging!

• Read about utilitarianism, eg Boatright ch.2 and see the links on the website

• Read Skrabec (2003)

• Read the Cohen article “A different take on what not to wear”