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Utilitarianism
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Utilitarianism Vanessa Harris 1.a) What is Utilitarianism? The dictionary definition of Utilitarianism is: ‘The doctrine that the greatest happiness of the greatest number should be the guiding principal of conduct.’ When making a moral decision, we should look at the outcome of an action. Whatever brings the greatest happiness to the most people is the morally ‘right’ decision. It is a consequentialist principal where the majority rules. It is also relative as each situation is looked at differently and will have a different outcome. Utilitarianism is known as the theory of utility. The meaning of utility is usefulness. Each action is judged by its usefulness in bringing about desired consequences. The word utility was first used to describe a group of social reformers. They attempted to make laws and practices of use-useful to people. It was Scottish Philosopher David Hume (1711-76) who introduced utility into ethics. However, he was not viewed as a Utilitarian. The well known phrase associated with Utilitarianism was produced by Francis Hutcheson. He said: “The nation is best which produces the greatest happiness for the greatest numbers, and that worst which in like manner occasions misery.” This is the basis of Utilitarianism yet, like Hume, Hutcheson was also not regarded as a Utilitarian. One of the main exponents of Utilitarianism is Jeremy Bentham. He was an English philosopher who was particularly concerned with social conditions of his time. Oxford University saw him graduate at just 16 and become a barrister. He was responsible for the reforms of prisons, and education, influenced by the French and American Revolutions. Bentham, a strong atheist who was very much opposed to the monarchy wrote a book in 1789 named ‘The principles of Morals and Legislation’. He believed that all people should be treated equally and what is right for society relies on what makes the individual happy. Happiness is determined in terms of pleasure. Bentham was a hedonist - pleasure seeker. His aim was to pursue pleasure and avoid pain. Pleasure is the sole good or intrinsically good, and pain is the soul evil or intrinsically evil. “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.” The intent of this was to maximise pleasure. An action is morally right if it generates the greatest pleasure for the majority and the least pain. This idea of pleasure and pain is known as the Hedonic Principal. Bentham said that if you wanted to find out which of your actions would bring about the greatest happiness, then you could measure pleasure. The quantity of pleasure can be measured according to Bentham using the Hedonic Calculus. The following criteria are used for measuring pleasure: duration, intensity, certainty, propinquity, fecundity, purity, and extent. It does not matter if an action goes against the law, at least the result will be maximum pleasure. One of the earliest Utilitarians to live by this principle was Epicurus – he stated that “Friendship goes dancing round the world proclaiming to us all to awake to the praises of a happy life.” He believed that a good life was one with pleasure and the absence of pain.
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