Ashley Tao
Jan 29, 10
www.dundasconcertband.com
Tues 8-10pm
Dundas Town Hall
Email:
[email protected]
What is utilitarianism?
 Utilitarian perspectives
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History
 Mill
 Bentham
 Moore
 Arrow
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Act and Rule Utilitarianism
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Criticisms of Utilitarianism
• Monistic, one moral principle: utility
Utility measured with hedons and dolors
• Consequentialist/Teleological
Theory of Obligation
A theory about the actions one
ought to perform or the rules one ought to
follow
Theory of Value
A theory about which things are good
and bad
• In utilitarianism, the right actions/rules are
based on maximizing value. (Maximizing good
over bad)
Principle of Utility
An act is ‘right if it produces more of an increase in happiness
of all affected by it than by any other action, and wrong if it
does not’
Main principle of Utilitarianism
‘Always act in a way that will produce the greatest overall
amount of good in the world’
 Produce
good consequences, not necessarily about
having good intentions
 Purpose
of morality to promote actions which
would produce a better world
 Personal
interests are set aside; everyone
considered equal
 To always do the most to maximize, never less
 Utility
is measured by factors which have
intrinsic values

Pleasure - Jeremy Bentham

Happiness -John Stuart Mill
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Ideals - G.E. Moore

Preferences - Kenneth Arrow
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19th century British
philosopher
Maximize overall amount of
pleasure in the world
Highest value of utility is
pleasure
Proposed Act utilitarianism
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Bentham’s godson
Advocate for individual
rights
Act Utilitarianism does not
consider individual rights
Happiness is the measure of
utility not pleasure
Proposed rule utilitarianism

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20th Century British
philosopher
Maximize ideal values
(freedom, knowledge,
justice and beauty)
Measurement of goods
not well defined

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20th Century economist
from Stanford University
Intrinsic values based on
preferences
Provides people with the
choice as to what has
intrinsic value
Agent’s preferences are
what determines the
intrinsic values by which
utility is measured

Act Utilitarianism
An act is right if and only if there is no other
action that would maximize a balance of
utility over disutility
DOLORS
HEDONS

Utilitarian Calculus

Calculate the total value of
hedons and dolors of an
individual, and for all other
individuals affected.

Consider immediate and future consequences

If the total amount of pleasure exceeds the total
amount of pain, then the act has a good tendency
and thus should be performed.
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Act Utilitarianism can justify not treating
people as autonomous agents
Time consuming to calculate utility for
all persons involved
Self interest is put aside; ignoring
commitments violates our moral
standings – does not consider special
relationships
Final consequences must be observed
after the act before an action is considered
right or wrong.

Rule Utilitarianism
An act is right if and only if it conforms with a
set of rules such that utility would be
maximized over disutility
Ex. Stopping at a red light
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Propose a rule that you will act upon to
determine it’s moral standing.
Assume everyone were to follow this rule.
Calculate the balance of utility over disutility if
everyone followed this rule.

If utility is maximized by breaking the rule, RU
loses its purpose
Suppose you are responsible for a group of
children. There is no food to feed the children and
the only way to obtain food is by stealing. RU
suggests that we follow rules that maximize
happiness. In this scenario, the rule would be to
never steal. However, should you follow the rule? It
would not result in maximum utility. If utility can not
be maximized the rule can not be true. Since RU
fails, it relies on the basis of AU.
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Usually mostly appropriate for policy
decisions
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Free Rider Problem
Suppose a bus operated on an honour
system and one person decides to
take a free ride.
In AU, if no one finds out about the free rider, it
would probably promote utility. The other
passengers will not know about this and taking the
free ride would promote happiness in free rider.
In RU, if everyone were to take a free ride, the
honour system would fail. And thus this would
contribute to disutility. Society tends to respect
rules so the individual should follow it, thus
contributing to greater utility
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Special Relationships
Suppose you are mountain climbing with two people.your best friend and a
stranger. You don’t know much about the stranger, but you do know that he is
very active in charity work — he volunteers in a soup-kitchen on the
weekend, gives money to charity, sponsors third-world children, etc. While
you are climbing, a rope breaks and you have to choose who to save, and if
you do nothing, they will both die. Who should you save?
In AU, the right action is one in
which good consequences are
maximized for everyone. The
utility considered for each
person is equal. Therefore you
should save the stranger.
In RU, one might suggest that
there is a moral rule that you
should help your friends.
Therefore you should save your
friend.
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The Problem with Justice
Suppose you have five patients in the hospital dying and they are
in need of different organs. If they each receive the organ they
need, they will survive. And suppose you have a healthy patient
with matching organs to your five patients. Is it ok to kill the one
patient so your five patients will survive?
In AU, the physician would most likely kill
the one patient to save the five because it
is all about maximizing utility. Saving five
lives vs one would maximize utility.
In RU, the first rule in medicine would be
to 'do no harm', therefore the physician
would most likely let the five patients die.
We would all be happier knowing that
physicians followed this rule.