Bentham’s utilitarianism (30 Marks)
Throughout this essay I will be explaining the aspects of Jeremy Bentham’s theory of utilitarianism. We can divide his theory into three parts;
1. Motivation- this was Bentham’s view on what drove human beings, and what goodness and badness really meant.
2. Utility- This was from the Latin word ‘Utilis’ meaning ‘useful’. This was his moral rule.
3. Hedonic Calculus- This is Bentham’s system on how to measure the level of good or bad a consequence is.
Utilitarianism is the moral theory of which will bring the greatest happiness (pleasure) for the greatest number of people. Jeremy believed that the right act would be the one that would actually result in the greatest amount of people being happy. Pleasure and pain is the form of right and wrong.
The Motivation of human beings. Jeremy believed that humans were to be motivated by pleasure and pain. Therefore Jeremy is a Hedonist. A hedonist is someone motivated by desires for sensual pleasures. He believed that all human beings would pursue to find pleasure and would avoid pain. This to him was a moral fact as the pleasure and pain showed what we humans should and shouldn’t do. Bentham being a hedonist he believed that pleasure was good and pain was bad, in fact it was evil. This is why his utilitarianism theory was called hedonic utilitarianism.
The Term Paper on Critique of Bentham’s Quantitative Utilitarianism
Over time, the actions of mankind have been the victim of two vague labels, right and wrong. The criteria for these labels are not clearly defined, but they still seem to be the standard by which the actions of man are judged. There are some people that abide by a deontological view when it comes to judging the nature of actions; the deontological view holds that it is a person’s intention ...
For example in the scenario of a doctor on his way to give a women a C-section to save her life when he comes across a car crash with the young women’s husband in or and elderly old man. The doctor has to decide who to save first. If the doctor doesn’t save them they will die. The doctor must use the theory to help with his decision. According to the theory the women will have the priority as she is carrying a child and is 2 people therefore she will bring the greatest happiness for the greatest amount of people as her family will be happy that they have a new member of family and will be happy. Whereas if the doctor were to save the old man, then the old man wouldn’t have much longer to live and his family are probably already dead and wouldn’t have much else to live for.
The Principle of utility. The principle of utility is the right and wrong of an action and is determined by the ‘utility’ or otherwise known as the usefulness of the action. Usefulness is the amount of please or the amount of happiness that can be made or caused from the action, this is a teleological theory as it brings a good act by the end of the approach. The principle of utility can also be known as ‘the greatest happiness for the greatest amount of people’ This basically means that by making a decision or choice it will bring more pleasure than pain for the most amount of people rather than more pain than pleasure for a few amount of people. This may bring problems for Bentham’s theory as it is not relevant for one person alone. When a person is faced with an issue Bentham suggested that a person should make a decision that is best for the maximum amount of people as possible
For example in the scenario of a house fire, inside the house fire there are two people; your aged father who is in a wheelchair and a doctor who has discovered the cure for the world’s deadliest diseases, and who is still carrying the formula in his head, you can only save one person who will you save? According to the theory the person who is entitled to be saved first would be the doctor who has the cure for diseases because he would save millions of people’s lives and will bring the greatest happiness for the greatest amount of people whereas the aged father would bring a lot of happiness for his family and friends but not to the majority of people in the world, therefore the theory concludes that the doctor should be saved.
The Essay on Utilitarianism Brings About The Greatest Amount Of Pleasure
Utilitarianism The main idea of utilitarianism, according to Adam Morton s book Philosophy in Practice is to follow the action that brings about the greatest amount of pleasure or the least amount of pain. This idea at first seems simple but when applied to some examples the edges blur. Millions of Americans love to watch football games, but lets say 200 people die a year playing this sport, and ...
The Hedonic calculus. The hedonic calculus is Jeremy Bentham’s system for measuring how good or bad the consequence is of the moral action. It considers seven factors. The seven moral actions are;
1. Intensity
2. Duration
3. Certainty or uncertainty
4. Propinquity or remoteness
These first four show the value of pleasure and pain by itself. This suggests that Bentham did not see pleasure and pain as different concepts.
5. Fecundity likelihood of repetition
6. Purity
The next two are of the actual event or the action that is produced by the pleasure or pain not by the pleasure and pain itself.
7. Extent
Once you have summed up all of the pleasures on one side and all the pains on the other. If overall it is on the side of pleasure then it means that the choice is right and you should act upon it, however if overall it is on the side of pain then you shouldn’t as it will cause hurt for most of the people.
Within the hedonic calculus Bentham takes into account the amount of pain or pleasure and whether it will last a short while or life-long and what the likelihood of the pain or pleasure will last. The action that leads to the best consequence is the one that is morally correct and should be pursued.
For example in the scenario of a woman needing an abortion, A close friend comes to you in distress and explains to you that she has been involved in an affair with a married man. She has finished with the married man as she cannot deal with the guilt, and she has not seen the man for a month and has just discovered she is pregnant. Too frightened to tell her parents she asks her friend to lend her £400 to have a private abortion. You have some savings and can afford the load. Do you lend her the money? Through the hedonic calculus, the friend should give her friend the loan as it will make the greatest number of people happy. By having the abortion, she will not have to live with the guilty conscience, she will also have to live with the fact that her son/daughter will most likely not know his/her father. Therefore, overall the women should have the abortion as it will bring the greatest happiness for the greatest amount of people.
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Sensation, imagination, and judgment are interrelated in the experience of art. Burke explains how sensation, imagination, and judgment determine the experience of pleasure and pain, and how pleasure and pain are represented by the aesthetic concepts of beauty and sublimity. Burke says that, in order to understand the origin of our ideas of the sublime and beautiful, we must examine the experience ...
