Utilitarianism is an ethical framework that focuses
on the outcomes or results of actions. In fact, its name comes from
the Greek word telos, which means “end.” The two most influential
developers of the utilitarian viewpoint were Englishmen Jeremy Bentham
(1748–1832) and John Stuart Mill (1806–1873). Under this
framework, acting ethically means making decisions and taking actions
that benefit people by maximizing “good” and minimizing “bad.” Outcomes,
results, or goals are the focus—not the action taken to achieve
them. Utilitarians facing an ethical dilemma ask, “What is my
goal? What outcome should I aim for?”
| “Under this framework, acting ethically
means making decisions and taking actions that benefit people
by maximizing ‘good’ and minimizing ‘bad.’” |
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“But what if pleasure
for that person creates pain for another?” |
I would caution against focusing on the utilitarianism
as an issue of what the decision maker’s goal is. The
tendency under utilitarianism is to be totally self-interested:
the right action is the one that promotes my happiness. Utilitarianism
is not about what is good for me; it is about the “greatest
good for the greatest number.” Utilitarians ask “which
action produces the best outcome for all parties affected.”
Also, I would caution against deciding which outcome to aim
for. This implies that
you can pick your goal ahead of time and work backwards to
justify the goal you picked. Strictly speaking, the only goal
any utilitarian has is to produce the greatest good for the
greatest number. |
| Bentham and Mill stated that utilitarians
should seek to create or increase happiness. But what is happiness?
Bentham believed happiness is pleasure or the absence of pain.
But he wasn’t able to define pleasure and pain. Many
things, such as going to college, involve both pleasure (learning)
and pain (homework). His philosophy also seemed to center on
the happiness of the individual. But what if pleasure for that
person creates pain for another? Mill expanded Betham’s
philosophy to arrive at the “Greatest Happiness Principle,” which
placed higher value on mental, or subjective pleasures, such
as friendship and doing a job well, than on physical pleasures.
He wrote, “the ultimate end…is an existence exempt
as far as possible from pain, and as rich as possible in enjoyments,
both in point of quantity and quality…” Taking
this further, Mill stated that the amount of pleasure derived
from a specific action depended on how many people it affected.
In other words, does the action produce the greatest good for
the greatest number? |
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