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What is Utilitarianism?
- Utilitarianism is an ethical theory behind justifications.
- U. is a teleological theory of ethics, the opposite of deontological ethical theories (based on moral rules, whether the action is right/wrong)
- Theory of U. began w/ J. Bentham -> a way of working out how good/bad consequence of an action would be.
- Bentham: concerned w/ social and legal reform & he wanted to develop an ethical theory which established whether something was good/bad -> benefit for the majority of the people.
- greater number -> B's theory is quantitative.
- J. Bentham developed his system around the idea of pleasure -> based on ancient Hedonism
(Hedonism pursued physical pleasure and pain)
The origins of Hedonism
- idea of 'good' is defined in terms of pleasure & happiness -> makes u. a hedonistic theory.
- Greek philosophers - eudaimonia - 'well-being'.
- Plato & Aristotle agreed: 'good' = the greatest happiness.
Pain vs. pleasure
- Bentham said "the p.o.u aims to promote happiness -> the supreme ethical value.
- Nature placed us under the governance of two sovereign masters: pain & pleasure.
- An act is right if it delivers more pleasure than pain.
The hedonic calculus
- Bentham provided a way of measuring good and bad: The hedonic calculus.
- it has seven elements:
1. intensity of pleasure (how deep)
2. duration of the pleasure caused (how long)
7. extent of the pleasure (how universal)
- The calculus gave Bentham a method of testing whether an action is morally right -> if it was good it would have the most pleasurable outcome.
- Whatever is good/bad can be measured in a quantitative way.
