Ethics revision notes

The principle of utility

Bentham developed the utility principle. The rightness or wrongness of an action is determined by its 'utility' or usefulness. Usefulness refers to the amount pleasure or happiness caused by the action. The theory is k the greatest happiness principle, or GHP;

The principle of utility means the principle which approves or disapproves of every act, according to the tendency which it appears to have to augment or diminish the happiness of the party whose interest is in question: or, what is the same thing in other words, to promote or to oppose that happiness. I say of every action whatsoever; and therefore not, only of every action of a private individual, but of every measure of government. Bentham (1789), Chapter 1, 11
This can be shortened to 'An action is right if it produces the greatest good for the greatest number', where the greatest good is the greatest pleasure or happiness and the least pain or sadness, and the greatest number are the majority of people. Good is the maximisation of pleasure and the minimisation of pain. The end that Bentham's theory identify are those with the most pleasure and least pain. His theory is democratic, because the pleasure can't be for one person alone. When faced with a moral dilemma, Bentham argued that one should choose to act in such a way that brings about the maximum possible happiness for the most people. However, the possible consequences of different actions must be measured clearly to establish which option generates the most pleasure and the least pain. To measure the results, Bentham proposed the hedonic calculus.
3. The hedonic calculus
The hedonic calculus weighs up the pain and pleasure generated by the available moral actions to find the best option. It considers seven factors:
1. Its intensity.
2. Its duration.
3. Its certainty or uncertainty.
4. Its propinquity or remoteness ...
5. Its fecundity, or the chance it has of being followed by, sensations of the same kind: that is, pleasures, if it be a pleasure: pains, if it be a pain.
6. Its purity, or the chance it has of not being followed by, sensations of the opposite kind: that is, pains, if it be a pleasure: pleasures, if it be a pain ...
And one other; to wit:
7. Its extent; that is, the number of persons to whom it extends; or (in other words) who are affected by it. Bentham (1789), Chapter IV, 11
The balance of pleasures and pains is compared with those of other options and the best result determined. The action that leads to this best consequence is the morally correct one to pursue.

John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)
John Stuart Mill was a child prodigy who was able to read several languages at an early age, and the son of a follower of Jeremy Bentham. Perhaps the greatest British philosopher of the nineteenth century, he was an administrator for the East India Company and a Member of Parliament. Amongst his other works, he wrote On the Subjugation of Women, one of the inspirations behind modern feminism. His works concerning ethics were On Liberty (1859) and Utilitarianism (1861).
Mill maintained that the well-being of the individual was of greatest importance and that happiness is most effectively gained when individuals are free to pursue their own ends, subject to rules that protect the common good of all. While Mill accepted the utility principle of the greatest good for the greatest number, he was concerned about the difficulty raised in the example of the sadistic guards (see p.41, 7). If the greatest good for the greatest number was purely quantitative, based on the quantities of pleasure and pain caused, what would stop one person's pleasure from being completely extinguished if the majority gained pleasure from that act. To address this difficulty, Mill focused on qualitative pleasures. He developed a system of higher and lower pleasures, preferring the higher pleasures to the lower ones: 'It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied.' (Mill, 1863, Chapter 2)
Mill maintained that the pleasures of the mind were higher than those of the body. There's a link between the two, as to be able to enjoy poetry or art, we need to eat and drink in order to survive. Nevertheless, Mill clearly believed that to pursue purely bodily pleasures - food, drink, drugs and sex - was not as high an objective as those that are intellectually demanding. When confronted with a choice between a pleasure of the body or a pleasure of the mind, that of the mind is to be preferred.

Once Bentham had established that pleasure and pain were the important qualities for determining what was moral, he developed the utility principle. The rightness or wrongness of an action is determined by its 'utility' or usefulness. Usefulness refers to the amount pleasure or happiness caused by the action. The theory is known as the greatest happiness principle, or a theory of usefulness.

By the principle of utility is meant that principle which approves or disapproves of every action whatsoever, according to the tendency which it appears to have to augment or diminish the happiness of the party whose interest is in question: or, what is the same thing in other words, to promote or to oppose that happiness. I say of every action whatsoever; and therefore not, only of every action of a private individual, but of every measure of government. Bentham (1789), Chapter 1, 11
This can be shortened to 'An action is right if it produces the greatest good for the greatest number', where the greatest good is the greatest pleasure or happiness and the least pain or sadness, and the greatest number are the majority of people. Good is the maximisation of pleasure and the minimisation of pain. The end that Bentham's theory identify are those with the most pleasure and least pain. His theory is democratic, because the pleasure can't be for one person alone. When faced with a moral dilemma, Bentham argued that one should choose to act in such a way that brings about the maximum possible happiness for the most people. However, the possible consequences of different actions must be measured clearly to establish which option generates the most pleasure and the least pain. To measure the results, Bentham proposed the hedonic calculus.
3. The hedonic calculus
The hedonic calculus weighs up the pain and pleasure generated by the available moral actions to find the best option. It considers seven factors:
1. Its intensity.
2. Its duration.
3. Its certainty or uncertainty.
4. Its propinquity or remoteness ...
5. Its fecundity, or the chance it has of being followed by, sensations of the same kind: that is, pleasures, if it be a pleasure: pains, if it be a pain.
6. Its purity, or the chance it has of not being followed by, sensations of the opposite kind: that is, pains, if it be a pleasure: pleasures, if it be a pain ...
And one other; to wit:
7. Its extent; that is, the number of persons to whom it extends; or (in other words) who are affected by it.

The balance of pleasures and pains is compared with those of other options and the best result determined. The action that leads to this best consequence is the morally correct one to pursue.

John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)

John Stuart Mill was a follower of Jeremy Bentham.
Mill maintained that the well-being of the individual was of greatest importance and that happiness is most effectively gained when individuals are free to pursue their own ends, subject to rules that protect the common good of all. While Mill accepted the utility principle of the greatest good for the greatest number, he was concerned about the difficulty raised in the example of the sadistic guards (see p.41, 7). If the greatest good for the greatest number was purely quantitative, based on the quantities of pleasure and pain caused, what would stop one person's pleasure from being completely extinguished if the majority gained pleasure from that act. To address this difficulty, Mill focused on qualitative pleasures. He developed a system of higher and lower pleasures, preferring the higher pleasures to the lower ones: 'It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied.' (Mill, 1863, Chapter 2)
Mill said that the pleasures of the mind were higher than those of the body. There's a link between the two, as to be able to enjoy poetry or art, we need to eat and drink in order to survive. Nevertheless, Mill clearly believed that to pursue bodily pleasures - food, drink, drugs and sex - was not as high an objective as those intellectually demanding ones. When confronted with a choice between a pleasure of the body or a pleasure of the mind, that of the mind is to be preferred because it is a higher pleasure.