Essay about Utilitarianism and Its Shortcomings

Jeremy Bentham is widely regarded as the father of utilitarianism. He was born in 1748 into a family of lawyers and was himself, training to join the profession. During this process however, he became disillusioned by the state British law was in and set out to reform the system into a perfect one based on the ‘Greatest Happiness Principle,’ ‘the idea that pleasurable consequences are what qualify an action as being morally good’. Bentham observed that we are all governed by pain and pleasure; we all

The Utilitarian Principle, or Greatest Happiness Principle (GHP) is defined as: actions are right, or good “as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness” (Stumpf, 2015, p. 314). Happiness is defined as a ratio of “pleasure and absence of pain; by unhappiness, pain, and the privation of pleasure” (314). Bentham measured the happiness or pleasure of each individual in aggregate to determine if an action or rule is right or wrong based on weather the outcome results in achieving the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people (350). Mill’s Greatest Happiness Principle is not measured in the same way that Bentham’s Utilitarian calculus measured the GHP.

In its political philosophy utilitarianism provides an alternative to theories of natural law and the social contract by basing the authority of government and the sanctity of individual rights upon their utility, or measure of happiness gained. As an egalitarian doctrine, where everyone’s happiness counts equally, the rational, relatively straightforward nature of utilitarianism offers an attractive model for democratic government. It offers practical methods for deciding the morally right course of action - “...an action is right as it tends to promote happiness, wrong as it tends to diminish it, for the party whose interests are in question” (Bentham, 1780). To discover what we should do in a given situation, we identify the various

The moral theory that considers the "principle of greatest happiness" is based upon the utilitarian doctrine(textbook). This doctrine believes that one's actions are thought to be right when they promote great happiness or minimize pain. The utilitarian theory is the feeling of pleasure and freedom from pain which is the desired end. Basically this theory states a person's actions taken during a situation are considered to be correct if they maximize the feeling of happiness but also minimize those that cause pain.

According to the utilitarians, we should act upon the action that brings the highest overall level of utility. In other words, there are consequences in all of our actions, and those consequences can affect both ourselves and others around us. For Jeremy Bentham, founder of the utilitarianist ideology, everybody counted for one, and therefore, every single individual's feelings were to be seen as equal. As equalitarian and impartial as this ethical approach is, Bentham believes that humans have an egoistical rather than an altruistic nature because "we are guided by pleasure and pain in everything we do" (Gosselin, slide 11). Even in moments where we are performing actions we dislike, Bentham believes that we are trying to maximize pleasure and minimize pain so that in the long run, we

John Stuart Mill differed from Jeremy Bentham in his version of utilitarianism in the concept of pleasures being a mental state caused by acts or pleasures being an act in itself that isn’t a means to anything but an end in itself. While Bentham believed pleasures were mental states caused by actions only, Mill believed that actions could cause pleasures but also that acts could be pleasurable and virtuous in themselves and did not always need to be a means to

Utilitarianism is a moral theory that has long been the subject of philosophical debate. This theory, when practiced, appears to set a very basic guideline to follow when one is faced with a moral dilemma. Fundamental Utilitarianism states that when a moral dilemma arises, one should take action that causes favorable results or reduces less favorable results. If these less favorable results, or pain, occur from this action, it can be justified if it is produced to prevent more pain or produce happiness. Stating the Utilitarian view can summarize these basic principles: "the greatest good for the greatest number". Utilitarians are to believe that if they follow this philosophy, that no matter what action they take, it

Utilitarianism is the moral theory that emphasizes “the greatest happiness for the greatest number” (Clark, Poortenga, 2003). John Stuart Mill was a philosopher who believed in the principles of utilitarianism. He believed that humans desire for happiness and pleasure; therefore humans would be motivated to act morally in order to obtain that happiness (Clark, Poortenga, 2003). Mill’s approach has strengths, weaknesses, and is not fully equipped to hold true for all circumstances.

The hallmark of a good moral theory is that it agrees with and improves upon our sense of what is moral. For many moralists, the rightness of an action is predicated on the quantity of good that comes from that action. To this effect, the great utilitarian Jeremy Bentham once stated, “Create all the happiness you are able to create: remove all the misery you are able to remove…and you shall find…peace and joy in the sanctuary of your soul” (#). Though frequently attributed to utilitarianism, the greatest happiness principle is not unique to the utilitarian tradition. In 1728, in his Essay on the Nature and Conduct of the Passions and Affections, Irish philosopher Frances Hutcheson advocated a theory of moral sentiments

In his essay, Utilitarianism Mill elaborates on Utilitarianism as a moral theory and responds to misconceptions about it. Utilitarianism, in Mill’s words, is the view that »actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.«1 In that way, Utilitarianism offers an answer to the fundamental question Ethics is concerned about: ‘How should one live?’ or ‘What is the good or right way to live?’.

Utilitarianism is the ethical belief that the happiness of the greatest number of people is the greatest good. Jeremy Betham and John Stuart Mill are two philosophers that were leading advocates for the utilitarianism that we study today. In order to understand the basis of utilitarianism, one must know what happiness is. John Stuart Mill defines happiness as the intended pleasure and absence of pain while unhappiness is pain and the privation of pleasure. Utilitarians feel the moral obligation to maximize pleasure for not only themselves, but for as many people as possible. All actions can be determined as right or wrong based on if they produce the maximum amount of happiness. The utilitarian belief that all actions can be determined as right or wrong based only on their repercussions connects utilitarianism to consequentialism. Consequentialism is the belief that an action can be determined morally right or wrong based on its consequences. Just like any other belief system, utilitarianism faces immense amount of praise and criticism.

Utilitarianism is an evaluation of an action, whether it is favorably or unfavorably affected by the people, which is based upon their consequences. It is an ethical philosophy that has the procurement of achieving the maximum amount of happiness for the greatest number of people. There are two Classical Utilitarian philosophers, Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, who believed that the greatest good in the world was attaining pleasure and the avoidance of pain. It was the idea that the goal for overall happiness was created for the society by an action of someone’s well-doing.

The two main advancers of the utilitarian ethical theory, Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, had similar views as they pertain to the theory, with one main difference, quantity verses quality. The production of the best possible outcome is common between these men’s views, with the exception of what the product is.

Utilitarianism is one of the most powerful and persuasive approaches to normative ethics in the history of philosophy. Even though It was not fully articulated until the 19th century, proto-Utilitarian positions can be recognized and discerned throughout the history of ethical theory. (Driver, Julia. “The History of Utilitarianism.” Stanford University. Stanford University, 2009. Web. 01 Oct. 2016). Utilitarianism is an Ethical Theory that was a result of combining aspects of Consequentialism and Hedonism. With these theories in mind, the best consequence is the one that maximizes on happiness and minimizes the pain. Consequentialism states that: “No matter what act was performed to produce some result, if the result is good than so is the act.” By the same token, if the result is bad, then whatever act caused it is also bad. (As we discussed these in class.) According to our PowerPoint in class, Hedonism claims that: “The only thing that has real value is pleasure or happiness. Pain is what has disvalue.” Julia Driver puts it into layman’s terms for us when she says, “Utilitarianism can also be distinguished by impartiality and agent-neutrality. Everyone’s happiness counts the same. When one maximizes the good, it is the good impartially considered. My good counts for no more than anyone else’s good. Further, the reason I have to promote the overall good is the same reason anyone else has to promote the good,” (Driver, Julia. “The History of

“According to Jeremy Bentham’s ‘principle of utility,’ actions are right when they increase happiness and diminish misery.” (Bentham, pg. 101) With this, Bentham is described as a “hedonistic utilitarian,” meaning his theoretical objectives consist of the pursuit of happiness/pleasure and the avoidance of pain. Hedonists also believe in quantifying happiness. Bentham developed the formula of the “calculus of felicity”(hedonistic calculus) in order for one to “analyze an act in terms of the pleasure it will produce” when applied to utilitarian criteria. (Bentham, pg. 270) Bentham intended this grouping of circumstances to be applied when considering all acts. The seven categories defined by Bentham are: Intensity, Duration, Certainty, Proximity, Fecundity, Purity, and Extent. The benefit of using utilitarian criteria for determining the value of pleasure is that it presents several perspectives of pleasure. The primary advantage of “calculus of felicity” using utilitarian criteria is that the pleasure obtained from all different acts or sources is to be measured in the same way. Universal application of this measurement implies that there is no additional value to acts that are deemed more moral or intellectual.