How to Know What Is Good ORHow to Know What Is Good ORMoral PhilosophyMoral Philosophy

Jeremy Bentham1748-1842

A philosopher and legal jurist

First founder of Utilitarianism

A theory of how we should act

“Act” utilitarianismHappiness/Pleasure is

the measure of the good

Mentor to John Stuart Mill

Measure happiness & painMeasure happiness & pain

The only component of happiness is pleasure

Avoid pain and embrace the pleasure

Measuring pleasure and pain

Is it possible?What produces the

greatest amount of happiness?

A Good Choice produces the A Good Choice produces the greatest good (pleasure) for the greatest good (pleasure) for the greatest number of people.greatest number of people.

Utilitarianism is the moral philosophy often called CONSEQUENTIALISM because it focuses on the consequences of actions.

“Utility” can be interpreted in several ways but it doesn`t actually mean useful, but more

- happiness- well being-pleasure

Bentham uses Hedonism of Bentham uses Hedonism of ancient Greeceancient Greece

Bentham’s Hedonistic CalculusIntensity Strength of pain or

pleasure

Duration How long will it last?

Certainty How likely is this to occur?

Nearness How soon will it happen?

Productivity Will it generate more?

Purity How much is mixed with the other?

Extent How many will be affected?

HedonismHedonism

The good life is one filled with pleasure.The pursuit of pleasure (especially that of

the physical senses) is a good in itself.Different versions of hedonism...like

everything else, it exists on a continuumMental pleasure, psychological pleasure,

spiritual pleasureEpicurus=long term pleasures + pleasures

of the mind

John Stuart Mill 1806-1873John Stuart Mill 1806-1873

Was an ’experiment’ in child rearing by his father James Mill & Jeremy Bentham

Most famous for “On Liberty” – basis of many constitutions and charters of freedom

Father of LiberalismMotto: “I am my own

man”

John Stuart Mill 1806John Stuart Mill 1806

Was a child prodigy who read ½ of Plato at the age of 6

He edited his father’s books at 7Became a member of parliament and

championed women’s rightsStudied under Jeremy Bentham Disagreed with Bentham’s hedonismSuggested that pleasures exist on a hierarchy

(some are better than others)More cultured than Bentham

Happy Pig or Sad SocratesHappy Pig or Sad Socrates

Mill’s famous statement that shows his ideas of different pleasures, mental ones being at the apex.

His question, is it better to be a happy pig or a sad Socrates expresses the idea that rational beings have greater value than non-rational ones, even if they are not ‘happy’

The sad Socrates has more PLEASURE than the happy pig

Some pleasures are so valuable, that a small amount of it makes unhappiness OK.

Which would you rather be?Which would you rather be?

Act Utilitarianism= judges acts in Act Utilitarianism= judges acts in isolationisolation

An action is deemed moral because it produces the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.

“common moral sense” = seems good but the danger = that this might require us to do very bad things.

How do we get the numbers right? Act U would sanction child slavery and

other abominations

Rule Utilitarian=act + ruleRule Utilitarian=act + rule

20th c. Philosophers developed rule utilitarianism to avoid moral dilemmas of the act utilitarianism

General rule: no one should do anything they can’t imagine asking everyone else to do

Strength of theory: offers alternatives to deontology, more flexible

Weakness: doesn’t define happiness or pleasure, rights of minorities, measuring greatest good + number

Immanuel Kant 1724-1804Immanuel Kant 1724-1804

Deontology’s answer: Immanuel Deontology’s answer: Immanuel KantKant

Like Aristotle & Plato, Kant believed that the GOOD is an absolute and can be identified

The only thing that is good for its own sake is a good will (intention)

Everything else that you can imagine as good, can be qualified (altered because of context)

If your intentions are pure, they are intrinsically good

Good=DutyGood=Duty

What is good? That which is consistent with duty (higher moral principles/virtues) AND that which is rational.

To have a good will is to act on higher moral principles that are rational, justified by reason.

Kant is a rationalist, like Plato, Aristotle and Descartes.

Categorical ImperativeCategorical Imperative

Categorical=absoluteImperative=command /dutySo, an absolute rule that must be obeyed.“Act only according to the maxim (rule)

whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law of nature.

Situation x: if telling a lie is the ‘right’ moral choice, then you must agree that everyone can lie all the time

Ends and not meansEnds and not means

Act so that you treat people as ends (subjects with innate dignity) and not means (objects to be used whose value is determined by their usefulness)

Kant believed that people had to act according to their duties (higher principles) even when the consequences were negative.

Deontology -rootsDeontology -roots

This theory ignores consequences and focuses on duty

Deon = Greek for duty“ology” from logos meaning reason, word

or study.Where would be now if not for the great

leaders of the world who brought change? Do you think they were deontologists?

StrengthsStrengths

Impartial = imperative must be applied without exception, no playing favorites

Emphasis on intent of the person which allows you to see how they value virtues and principles, despite a negative outcome

Criticisms: too rigid, what about the ethics of care (wouldn`t you lie and steal to save a loved one’s life?)

How Do You Know What How Do You Know What is Right?is Right?

Which path to take? How to decide? Moral imagination?

Moral intuition? Universal principals? Means or ends?