Utilitarianism

We don’t always have to focus on actions. We can also focus on consequences. If we do this,
we wind up with consequentialism. One type of consequentialism is utilitarianism, founded
by Jeremy Bentham.

The name of utilitarianism is derived from the Latin ‘utilis’, meaning ‘useful’. In
utilitarianism, the consequences of actions are measured against one value. This ‘useful’
value can be something like happiness, welfare or pleasure. It should be maximized.

Utilitarianism is based on the utility principle: we simply need to give the greatest happiness
to the greatest number of people. (Do note that we have silently made the assumption that
‘pleasure’ is the only goal in life, and that everything else is just a means to get pleasure. This
idea/assumption is called hedonism.) An action is morally right if it results in pleasure,
whereas it is wrong if it gives rise to pain. The freedom principle is also based on this. This
principle states that you can do whatever you want, as long as you don’t cause anyone any
pain/harm.

There are several downsides to utilitarianism. Of course it is very hard to determine how
much pleasure an action will actually give. Also, to find the total amount of pleasure, we
need to consider all individuals that are involved and add up their pleasures. But how do we
quantify pleasure? And has the pleasure of one person the same value as the pleasure of
another? Also, how do we decide whether one action gives more pleasure than another?
Answering these questions is difficult. Even the clever John Stuart Mill did not have an
answer, although he did have an opinion. He stated that certain pleasures (like intellectual
fulfillment) are by nature more valuable than other pleasures (like physical desires).

Another downside is that utilitarianism doesn’t always divide happiness in a fair way. For
example, a very talented entertainer can make a lot of people happy. But does this mean that
he needs to spend every waking moment entertaining people, until he burns out? However,
most utilitarians argue that this isn’t a downside of the theory. In fact, they state that after a
while, a small moment of spare time will give the entertainer more happiness than all the
people he could have entertained in that time. Thus, utilitarianism automatically compensates
for this ‘flaw’.

In utilitarianism, an engineer could also be asked to bend or break a fundamental rule,

because this will result in the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. For
example, the engineer has the opportunity to save 10 million euros on a design. But he knows
that this will later cause an accident killing 5 people. He argues that 10 million euros can
cause more happiness than 5 lifes. To compensate for this, rule utilitarianism has been
created. This kind of utilitarianism recognizes and uses moral rules. It is thus also similar to
duty ethics.
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Consequentialism maintains that the majority of an action depends on the

nonmoral consequences that the action brings about. Morality of an action consists of
the ratio of good to evil that the action produces. We should perform right and only right
action in terms of good and evil, as each individual defines good and evil, and right and
wrong. There is no objective right and wrong or good and evil. The person defines these.
You bump into a car at the mall. You could leave a note, but since there were no witnesses
and the owner is not around, you decide not to because you recognize that the damage is low
(probably only a couple of hundred dollars). The car owner probably has insurance, and it
would be such a hassle for the owner to contact you and your insurance company. You may
have to end up paying higher premium, the owner may think ill of you—all of which are
nonmoral reasons that may be unpleasant for you.

Ethical egoism state that you should always act so that your actions produce what
is in your own best long-term interests.

Personal egoism states that an individual should always act in his or her own best
long-term interests, but that does not say how others should act.

Impersonal egoism states that an individual should always act in his or her own
best long-term interest.

General criticisms

William Gass argues that moral theories such as consequentialism are unable to adequately
explain why a morally wrong action is morally wrong

G. E. M. Anscombe, whose previously mentioned paper coined the term

"consequentialism"[1], objects to consequentialism on the grounds that it does not provide
guidance in what one ought to do, since the rightness or wrongness of an action is determined
based on the consequences it produces.

Deontological, Teleological and Virtue Ethics

Normative ethical systems can generally be broken down into

three categories: deontological, teleological and virtue ethics. The
first two are considered deontic or action-based theories of
morality because they focus entirely upon the actions which a
person performs. When actions are judged morally right based
upon their consequences, we have teleological or consequentialist
ethical theory. When actions are judged morally right based upon
how well they conform to some set of duties, we have a
deontological ethical theory.

Whereas these first two systems focus on the question "What should I do?," the third asks an
entirely different question: "What sort of person should I be?" With this we have a virtue-
based ethical theory - it doesn't judge actions as right or wrong but rather the character of the
person doing the actions. The person, in turn, makes moral decisions based upon which
actions would make one a good person.

Deontology and Ethics

Deontological moral systems are characterized primarily by a focus upon adherence to
independent moral rules or duties. Thus, in order to make the correct moral choices, we
simply have to understand what our moral duties are and what correct rules exist which
regulate those duties. When we follow our duty, we are behaving morally. When we fail to
follow our duty, we are behaving immorally.

Teleology and Ethics

Teleological moral systems are characterized primarily by a focus on the consequences which
any action might have (for that reason, they are often referred to as consequentalist moral
systems, and both terms are used here). Thus, in order to make correct moral choices, we
have to have some understanding of what will result from our choices. When we make
choices which result in the correct consequences, then we are acting morally; when we make
choices which result in the incorrect consequences, then we are acting immorally.

Virtue Ethics
Virtue-based ethical theories place much less emphasis on which rules people should follow
and instead focus on helping people develop good character traits, such as kindness and
generosity. These character traits will, in turn, allow a person to make the correct decisions
later on in life. Virtue theorists also emphasize the need for people to learn how to break bad
habits of character, like greed or anger. These are called vices and stand in the way of
becoming a good person.