Utilitarianism is a normative ethical theory that identifies the good with utility and the right with that which maximizes utility. There are two types of utilitarianism, act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism. Three dimensions of classical utilitarian economic. The reason why utilitarianism is a popular theory is due to the fact that it puts happiness as the central reason for our existence. Utilitarianism moral theory then, includes the important idea that when we calculate the utility of actions, laws, or policies, we must do so from an impartial perspective and not from a partialist perspective that favors ourselves, our friends, or others we especially care about. Utilitarianism, kantian ethics, natural rights theories, and religious ethics a utilitarian argument, in the strict sense, is one what alleges that we ought to do something because it will produce more total happiness than doing anything else would.
The ethical theory proposed by jeremy bentham and james mill that all action should be directed toward achieving the greatest happiness for the greatest number. Understanding utilitarianism utilitarianism is fundamentally welfarist in its philosophy. The reason why utilitarianism is a popular theory is due to the fact that it puts. Utilitarianism as an ethical theory journal of ethics in mental health. My paper proposes a utilitarian a rule utilitarian theory of morality. Problems with utilitarianism while utilitarianism is currently a very popular ethical theory, there are some difficulties in relying on it as a sole method for moral decisionmaking.
Therefore, utilitarianism is an unreasonable theory that should be rejected. Teleological theories, encyclopedia of bioethics, ed. Utilitarianism utilitarian ethical theories are based on ones ability to predict the consequences of an action. Utilitarianism is a comprehensive doctrine claiming that the greatest amount of happiness is an end that should exclusively guide all actions of both government and individuals. Utilitarianism, kantian ethics, natural rights theories, and. Utilitarianism is a theory of morality, which advocates actions that foster happiness or pleasure and opposes actions that cause unhappiness or harm. By happiness is intended pleasure, and the absence of pain.
It is true that similar confusion and uncertainty, and in some cases. Act utilitarianism au is the moral theory that holds that the morally right action, the act. Questions of ultimate ends are not amenable to direct proof. Mar 02, 2021 utilitarianism, in normative ethics, a tradition stemming from the late 18th and 19thcentury english philosophers and economists jeremy bentham and john stuart mill according to which an action or type of action is right if it tends to promote happiness or pleasure and wrong if it tends to produce unhappiness or painnot just for the performer of the action but also for everyone else affected by it. The search text of this pdf is generated from uncorrected ocr text. The term cepts more than theories following recent utilitarian refers mainly to the traditional eco approaches from the philosophy of science nomic approach to the firm mainly seen in angle that develop further the traditional kuh the first part of the last century and the years nian and popperian approaches to scientific. Utilitarianism holds that whats ethical or moral is whatever maximizes total happiness while minimizing total pain. It has been used in game theory, economics, and numerous other fields. Theory of utility benthams theory of utility is based on three central features. Pleasure or happiness is the only thing that truly has intrinsic value.
For this purpose of this paper, i will offer a thorough examination of the utilitarian also known as the happiness theory approach to ethics. The utilitarian authors will offer answers to such questions as. It is a doctrine that, in its standard 19th century formula. But it deviates from most of the utilitarian tradition by rejecting the hedonistic and subjectivistic accounts of prudential values favored by many utilitarian writers. Utilitarianism is a philosophical view or theory about how we should evaluate a wide range of things that involve choices that people face. Utility theory from jeremy bentham to daniel kahneman. Thus, according to utilitarianism, utility is the value that should guide actions, programs and policies. They are, in fact, a pri ncipal reason behind his b ook, for it.
Utilitarianism and the theory of justice by charles blackorby, walter bossert and david donaldson august 1999 prepared as chapter 20 of the handbook of social choice and welfare k. Since benthams time, however, the social sciences have. Utilitarianism holds that the most ethical choice is the one that will produce the greatest good for the greatest number. Utilitarianism is a popular approach to moral reasoning. Utilitarianism is a consequentialist theory of ethics which states that actions are morally right to the degree that they tend to promote the greatest. The equality principle of utilitarianism does not allow us to be preferential toward family members, loved ones, or friends. The history of utilitarianism stanford encyclopedia of. Utilitarianism the ethical theory advanced by bentham, both james mill and. The principle of utility the morally right action is the one that produces the best overall consequences with regard to the utility or welfare of all the affected parties. More precisely, classical utilitarianism is committed to three key principles. Utilitarianism definition the business professor, llc. Among the things that can be evaluated are actions, laws, policies, character traits, and moral codes.
Utilitarianism is an ethical theory according to which the rightness and wrongness of acts depends entirely on facts about the maximization of overall wellbeing. Art theory cynthia freeland asian american history madeline y. But benthams utilitarian project was eventually abandoned in favour of structural accounts of rationality and formal definitions of utility such as rational choice theory. Utilitarianism john stuart mill mcmaster faculty of social. Utilitarianism is a version of consequentialism, which states that the consequences of any action are the only standard of right and wrong. It is with this belief that utilitarian moral principles are founded sandel, 2010. Utilitarianism, in normative ethics, a tradition stemming from the late 18th and 19thcentury english philosophers and economists jeremy. It is evident that this cannot be proof in the ordinary and popular meaning of the term. An overview about 8,000 words of act utilitarianism, covering the basic idea of the theory, historical examples, how it differs from rule utilitarianism and motive. Utilitarianism was radical in the sense that it is a theory that is aimed at defining one simple basis that can be applied when making any ethical decision.
Definition utilitarianism pronounced yootillihtareeeenism is one of the main schools of thought in modern ethics also known as moral philosophy. In all of these fields, utilitarianism has its proponents and utilitarian arguments are common. I will then examine proposed objections to utilitarianism. A major reason for this abandonment was that benthamite utility was deemed impossible to measure.
Utilitarianism is the theory that says what is good is what makes the world as happy as possible. Moderate reductionists may provide support for utilitarianism by focusing on selves as the morally significant units. Utilitarianism what utilitarianism is the creed which accepts as the foundation of morals, utility, or the greatest happiness principle, holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. Utilitarians hold that the best state of affairs among relevant alternatives contains the greatest net balance of aggregate individual welfare. If it were possible, every one of us would prefer that the compacts binding others did. In addition, we will give voice to some major objections to the utilitarian theory. The greatest happiness principle or utility principle 2. This theory defines morality in terms of the maximization of net expectable utility for all parties affected by a decision or action. Utilitarianism, the moral theory that an act is morally right if and only if it produces.
Utilitarianism in public health national collaborating centre for. The best known version of consequentialism is utilitarianism. I will first give an account of the theory s paradigm, as laid out by jeremy bentham, the father of utilitarianism, and john stuart mill. A theory of prudential values and a rule utilitarian. First, the utilitarian calculation requires that we assign values to the benefits and harms resulting from our actions and compare them with the benefits and harms. Utilitarian justifications for punishment our first theoretical foray into punishment is the utilitarian perspective. The core idea behind utility theory is that every possible action or state within a given model can be described with a single, uniform value. The origin of punishment no man ever freely sacrificed a portion of his personal liberty merely in behalf of the common good. Artificial identification of ones own interests with those of others the principle of utility states that what is right is that which promotes the greatest happiness. Conceptually, welfarist theory is built on four tenets.
Unlike other forms of consequentialism, such as egoism and altruism, utilitarianism considers the interests of all humans equally. Nov 03, 2019 utilitarianism has profoundly impacted the modern society and its laws. Each such entity will have some total, lifetime wellbeing positive, it is to be hoped, but possibly negative. Though not fully articulated until the 19 th century, proto utilitarian positions can be discerned throughout the history of ethical theory. Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that determines right from wrong by focusing on outcomes.
Consequentialist theory is one of the normative ethics theories that try to answer the ethical questions about right or wrong and how we arrive at this answer. Were used to weighing the outcomes of all types of decisions, and the utilitarian decisionmaking rule covers every conceivable type of choice. Utilitarianism, act and rule internet encyclopedia of. Utilitarianism, kantian ethics, natural rights theories. No one could ever consistently adopt a nonpreferential attitude. Application of the principle to healthcare requires a prior understanding of the welfarist theory as expounded by the economist. In developing the theory of utilitarianism, bentham may have meant pleasure as in. Catling astrophysics james binney atheism julian baggini the atmosphere paul i. Palmer augustine henry chadwick australia kenneth morgan autism uta frith the avant garde david cottington the aztecs david carrasco babylonia trevor bryce bacteria sebastian g. What is needed first is a plausible metaphysical account of persons and personal identity to which an ethical theory might then conform and apply.
Punishmentretribution, rehabilitation, and deterrence. To a utilitarian, the choice that yields the greatest benefit to the most people is the one that is ethically correct. Pdf utilitarian, managerial, and relational theories of. In most utilitarian theories, these are the organisms that are capable of feeling pleasure and pain. Utilitarianism the fundamental principle of utilitarianism is the principle of utility. Apr 17, 2009 utilitarianism also called consequentialism is a moral theory developed and refined in the modern world in the writings of jeremy bentham 17481832 and john stuart mill 18061873. Utilitarianism john stuart mill batoche books faculty of social. Consequentialist decision theory and utilitarian ethics. General remarks most scornfully reject its authority. Pdf this paper, which is to be published as a chapter in the handbook of social choice and welfare, provides a survey of utilitarianism as a theory of.
Following this idea, three groups of theories have been discerned. The key motivation for this revised utilitarian theory is its unique ability to treat properly multistage ethical decisions, represented as ethical decision trees, while at the same time recognizing that there is some concept of individual welfare which ought to. Theory of justice 1971 is a major ph ilosophical work. Jeremy bentham benthams basic assumption is that humans by nature avoid pain and seek pleasure.
Feb 15, 2010 utilitarianism an introduction to the moral theories of jeremy bentham and john stuart mill slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising. A theory of prudential values and a rule utilitarian theory. Utilitarianism is the ethical theory that the production of happiness and reduction of unhappiness should be the standard by which actions are judged right or. Utilitarianism is an ethical theory for ranking various outcomes from an impersonal standpoint.
Baier notes that the word deontology was coined by the utilitarian jeremybentha mto denote. Utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and wellbeing for all affected individuals. To obtain permission to use this article beyond the scope of your. Extreme reductionists, however, may provide support for utilitarianism by focusing on momentary. Utilitarian ethics were to be the blueprints for social justice, and utilitarianism is habitually considered the starting point of contemporary moral philosophy.
Nov 21, 2019 definition of utilitarianism utilitarianism, at its most basic, states that something is moral, or good when it produces the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people. It is the only moral framework that can be used to justify military force or war. Our moral obligation, the right thing to do, is to maximize utility. Ethics can be divided into a theory of prudential values and a theory of morality in a narrower sense. Doc a critical analysis of utilitarianism tosin adekanye. Under act utilitarianism, they will be alternative individual acts.
In addition, we analyze extensions of utilitarian principles to. Few could argue with the ultimate goal of evaluating consequences, which is to promote human welfare. By utilitarianism is here meant the ethical theory, that the conduct which, under any given circumstances, is objectively right, is that which will produce the greatest amount of happiness on the whole. Mar 27, 2009 utilitarianism is one of the most powerful and persuasive approaches to normative ethics in the history of philosophy.
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