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Summary Ethics - Utilitarianism

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  • Course
  • Ethics PHI1010S (PHI1010S)
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  • University Of Cape Town (UCT)

The following content provides the following: -Definition of Morality -Utilitarianism: 1. Moral intuitions 2. Basic Principle of Utility Central principles: Equality & Impartiality -From Hedonism to Act Utilitarianism: 1. Act Utilitarianism (trolley problems & critiques) -Utilitaria...

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  • October 25, 2023
  • 11
  • 2023/2024
  • Summary

Subjects

  • ethics utilitarianism

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  • University of Cape Town (UCT)
  • Ethics PHI1010S (PHI1010S)
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ETHICS
what is morality?
Morality is a system of norms and standards of conduct which prescribe what constitutes right and
wrong/good/bad action or behavior in persons.
Ethics
As we will use it, ethics is the philosophical study of morality.
It’s the kind of philosophy that seeks to systemize, explain, and critically analyze/assess theories
about the rightness wrongness of actions and behavior.


Utilitarianism




1. Moral intuitions

The reason why you confer the moral status…
Supermarket Surplus Food Waste – Is it morally wrong for supermarkets to continue throwing away
perfectly viable food?
Poverty & World Hunger – Is it morally wrong for us not to contribute to ending hunger and poverty?
What matters? The impacts and what will happen → consequentialist. Impact of many → Utilitarian
Both? Utilitarian Consequentialist – the right thing to do that which maximizes the best possible
outcomes.


2. Basic Principle of Utility

Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) – father of modern Utilitarianism western moral philosophy.

, His Observation: “humans find it essential to act or cease from acting based on whether the action
will produce pleasure or pain once the action is done”. From the following he developed a moral
axiom also known as The Principle of Utility.
“By the principle of Utility is meant that principle which approves or disapproves of every action
whatsoever, according to the tendency which appears to have to augment or diminish the happiness of
the party whose interest is in question.” (1789)


- Moral rightness is tied to producing more happiness than pain in the world.
- Bentham: Happiness produced is the only thing used to determine whether an action is
morally right.
- The “party of interest” is anyone whose happiness is “on the line” or is going to be impacted
by the action in questions.


A utilitarian theory must be consequentialist & a teleological moral position.
Consequentialist:
- Focused on the outcomes of our actions as the sole determinant of whether an action is
morally right or wrong.
- An action is morally right if it brings about good consequences.
- The consequence of interest for Bentham is happiness.
Teleological:
- The ultimate goal or aim of an action that is considered morally good is maximizing
happiness (the best consequence).


3. Outlining Classical Utilitarianism

Classical Utilitarianism – Hedonism
- Happiness being maximised.
- For Bentham, John Stuart Mill, happiness is equated to pleasure (on balance).
The hedonistic argument:
- P1 – Pleasure is intrinsically good. Pain is intrinsically bad.
- P2 – An action is morally right if, on balance, it maximizes that which is intrinsically good.
- C. So, an action is morally right if it maximizes pleasure.
Theory states that: The morally right action is the one which produces the best balance of happiness
over unhappiness for the people that the action impacts,
Happiness is the only intrinsic good (good pursued for its own sake) worth pursuing in action. If an
action produces overall happiness, then it is morally right action to do.


2. Central principles: Equality & Impartiality
Equality:
- Identical amounts of pleasures count the same.

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