1 / 26

Jeremy Bentham and Utilitarian Ethics

Jeremy Bentham and Utilitarian Ethics. Pain and Pleasure are the measure. The Principle of Utility. Bentham sought to provide 19 th C. English society with philosophical/moral thought and practical social reform

asa
Download Presentation

Jeremy Bentham and Utilitarian Ethics

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Jeremy Bentham and Utilitarian Ethics Pain and Pleasure are the measure

  2. The Principle of Utility • Bentham sought to provide 19th C. English society with philosophical/moral thought and practical social reform • Theory is based on Psychological egoism: It is human nature for us to seek pleasure and to avoid pain

  3. The Theory of Utility • People’s actions and those of governments could, and should, be evaluated according to their practical consequences or how much good they produce • No action is right or wrong in itself • It is the effect of an action that determines its moral worth

  4. Famous Quote: Jeremey Bentham “Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure. It is for them alone to point out what we ought to do, as well as to determine what we shall do.”

  5. The “Is-Ought Fallacy” • Ethical Egoism: Bentham argues that because it is in our nature to seek pleasure, that is what we morally “ought” (moral obligation/duty) to do. • Problem? Logical Fallacy • The reasoner tries unjustifiably to derive a moral “ought” from an “is” (action) of experience. • Example: it is true that people lie and kill, but, we cannot conclude solely on the basis that they should or ought to do so for obvious reasons. • What is, should not necessarily be.

  6. Utility Exercise • For the following situations, determine whether the action/decision produces utilitarian value (benefit, advantage, happiness) or disutility (negative consequences

  7. Utility Exercise: Scenario #1 Stealing to impress your friends

  8. Utility Exercise: Scenario #2 Skipping School to help comfort a friend

  9. Utility Exercise: Scenario #3 Canada has brought back the death penalty

  10. Utility Exercise: Scenario #4 The Ontario government has raised the legal drinking age to 21 years

  11. Utilitarian Ethics and the Theory of Sanctions If psychological egoism is what motivates people to behave as they do, then what is preventing them from doing anything they want at any time they want, even if this entails violating others?

  12. Theory of Sanctions • A sanction is a source of pleasure or pain that acts to give binding force to any law or rule of conduct. • Sanctions can also be seen as rewards or punishments or as determining factors influencing our behaviour. • We respond selfishly to sanctions to maximize our pleasure and minimize our pain • We generally avoid behaving in ways that lead to pain, we prefer acting in ways that lead to pleasure

  13. Theory of Sanctions Cont’d • Bentham identifies several types of sanctions: • Physical Sanctions • Moral Sanctions • Religious Sanctions • Political Sanctions

  14. Physical Sanctions • Physical sanctions are what binds us to the laws of nature • Because we recognize the dangerous consequences by dangerous acts such as jumping off buildings virtually all of us refrain from them.

  15. Moral Sanctions • Arise in our informal relationships with others • For example: The power of peer pressure

  16. Religious Sanctions • If we believe in a rewarding and punishing supreme being, people may do right according to their religious beliefs

  17. Political Sanctions • For Bentham this was the most important because he wished to change the laws in England where the general welfare would be promoted by each individual pursuing his or her own advantage

  18. Law and Punishment • As a social reformer, Bentham made significant use of the principle of utility in the context of law and punishment • The law should be concerned with increasing the total happiness of the community, by discouraging actions that promote evil consequences. E.g. Murder

  19. Punishment • For Bentham punishment itself was a necessary evil. Therefore he was not in favour of retribution (retaliation/revenge) • Only use punishment as a necessary evil to prevent a greater evil

  20. When Not To Punish Bentham indicated several utilitarian guidelines for the administration of punishment • When it is groundless (no evidence to support a conviction) • When it is inefficacious (not effective) • Unprofitable (punishment more expensive than the crime) • Needless (Where mischief can be avoided without punishment)

  21. Hedonic Calculus • Bentham believed in scientific objectivity • He developed a method to help people decide what ought to be done in any given set of circumstances • By using the hedonic calculus he thought we could decide empirically on what is the right or good thing to do.

  22. Hedonic Calculus Cont’d • The hedonic calculus gives us 7 criteria which to measure the pleasure and pain produced by any particular action.

  23. Intensity: Ask how strong the pleasure or emotional satisfaction is • Duration: Ask how long the pleasure will last. Will it be short lived or long lasting? • Certainty: Ask how likely or unlikely it is that pleasure will actually result. What is the probability of the result? • Propinquity: Ask how soon will pleasure occur. How near are the consequences? • Fecundity: Ask how likely it is that the action will produce more pleasure in the future. Will the good/pain produced create more good/pain down the road? • Purity: Ask if there will be any pain accompanying the action (some pleasurable acts are accompanied by painful elements). Is there some bad you have to take with the good? • Extent: Ask how many other people will be affected by the considered action.

  24. Sample Scenario You are thinking about going away for college/university. The school you have been courting has the best program in your field and for years you have been wanting to go there. The problem is that you have been going steady with someone for ages and that person would like you to stay home and and work at the local manufacturing plant. You just know this is the person you will marry in the future. What do you do? A) Do you leave and pursue your education dreams or B) Do you stay home and cultivate that relationship with your future spouse?

  25. End Quote What has an aptness to produce pleasure in us is what we call good and what is apt to produce pain in us we call evil John Locke

More Related