UTILITARIANISM
 A theory of morality that advocates actions that foster happiness or
pleasure and oppose actions that cause unhappiness or harm.
LESSON 1: THE PRINCIPLE OF UTILITY
 ACT UTILITARIANISM
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The principle of utility is applied directly to every alternative act in a
situation of choice.
The right act is defined as the one which brings about the best results or
the least amount of bad results.
One of the criticisms against this outlook is the difficulty of getting a full
knowledge and certainly of the consequences of people’s actions.
 RULE OF UTILITARIANISM
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In rule utilitarianism, on the other hand, the principle of utility is used to
decide the validity of rules of conduct (moral standards or principle).
A moral rule such a promise-keeping is established by evaluating the
consequences of a world in which people broke promises at will and a
world in which promises were binding.
One of the criticisms against this view is that it is possible to produce
unjust rules according to the principle of utility.
 JEREMY BENTHAM
IDENTIFY THE FACTORS THAT GOVERN ACTIONS:
“SOVEREIGN MASTERS” PLEASURE AND PAIN
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Bentham believed we have two sovereign masters “pleasure and pain”.
He said “Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two
sovereign masters, pain and pleasure. It is for them alone to point out
what we ought to do, as well as to determine what we shall do”.
He believed that all humans sought pleasure and avoided pain.
Understand the characteristics of Bentham
and Mill’s moral value
JEREMY BENTHAM
JOHN STUART MILL
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Principle of utility
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Greatest Happiness principle
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Emphasis on pleasure
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Emphasis on happiness
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Concerned with QUANTITY OF
PLEASURE
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Labeled an act utilitarian
Concerned with both
QUANTITY and QUALITY OF
PLEASURE
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Labeled a rule utilitarian
Diff. Between Bentham and Mill’s Principle of
Utility
Even Bentham and Mill has the same terms of key stone of the
philosophy, there are still differences. For Bentham, he only
considered the quantity of pleasure while for Mill he considered the
quantity of and also the quality of pleasure.
LESSON 2: THE PRINCIPE OF THE GREATEST NUMBER
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John Stuart Mill (1806-18730) was the most famous and influential British
philosopher of the 19th century. He was one of the last systematic
philosophers, making significant contributions in logic, metaphysics,
epistemology, ethics, political philosophy, and social theory.
It’s goal is to justify the utilitarian principle as the foundation of morals.
This principle says action are right in proportion as they tend to promote
overall human happiness. So, Mill focuses on consequences of actions
and not on rights nor ethical sentiments. He was also an important public
figure, articulating the liberal platform, pressing for various liberal reforms,
and serving in Parliament during Mill’s lifetime.
Equating happiness with pleasure does not aim to describe the utilitarian
moral agent alone and independently from others. This is not only about
our individual pleasures, regardless of how high, intellectual, or in other
ways noble it it, but it is also the pleasure of the greatest number affected
by the consequences of our actions.
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According to Mill, our moral obligations result from the justified part of the
moral code
of our society;
and
the task
moral philosophy
DETERMINE
THE
CLAIM
OFofMILL’S
SOCIAL- consists
MORALin
bringing the moral code of a society
in
better
accordance
with
the principle
OBLIGATION
of utility.