Philosophy 2074F/G Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: John Stuart Mill, Deontological Ethics, Consequentialism
1 Nov 2016
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Utilitarianism - David Meeler
• Jeremy Bentham/Jown Stuart Mill
o John Stuart Mill came along a few years later, he tried to respond to those critics through his
paper and also modify Bentham's formulation of Utilitarianism. This theory focuses more on
the quality of pleasure and not the quantity of it.
• Utilitarianism IS about consequences
• We think about what's right or wrong through consequences
• Utilitarianism doesn't take this pattern, it's not a theory about you; the individual.
• Utilitarianism is a theory whereby you count no more than anyone else. Everyone counts
equally.
• It's about doing the greatest good for the greater # of people
• What makes utilitarianism different is the way they define value terms
• Utilitarianism's earliest form can be traced to Jeremy Bentham - also most associated with that
bold line above in it's truest form:
Jeremy Bentham - Quantitative Consequentialism
• Jeremy Bentham's formulation of Utilitarianism was challenged by people who argued that his
theory debated humanity. Bentham says all human beings are governed by two sovereign
masters; pleasure and pain.
o All human beings strive for pleasure and steer away from pain and this is what governs us.
• Consequentialist view: if this is so, we should tie our moral ought to it. So if human wants
pleasure then we should have a moral theory that tells us to pursue pleasure. You're supposed to
bring as much pleasure into the world as possible and this is the best state of affairs.
o If you've brought ore pleasure tha pai, you’ve still doe the right thig. You've brought
out the best possible state of affairs - it's better to bring pleasure to 4 people and pain to
one than pain to the 4 and pleasure to the one.
• Bentham said it's in human nature to strive for pleasure. Bentham wants to maximize utility (in
this case pleasure)
• Deontologist:
John Stuart Mill - Qualitative Consequentialism
• Mill argues that there needs to be a qualitative distinction between lower order and higher order
pleasure.
• Mill argues that people strive for higher order pleasure (intellectual) than lower order
(sensual/physical)
o Anyone that strives for lower order pleasure, they've never experienced higher order
pleasure
• It can therefore be said that societies that put their money towards higher order utilities; better
quality art schools etc, would be better societies.
• If you have a society in which policy makers promote liberty, would be better societies.
Attractions of Utilitarianism:
• All count equally (morally equal, not socially) - this is an attractive feature because when Miller
and Bentham wrote these theories, not everyone counted equally. Racism was alive and well.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
John stuart mill came along a few years later, he tried to respond to those critics through his paper and also modify bentham"s formulation of utilitarianism. It"s about doing the greatest good for the greater # of people: what makes utilitarianism different is the way they define value terms. Utilitarianism"s earliest form can be traced to jeremy bentham - also most associated with that bold line above in it"s truest form: Jeremy bentham"s formulation of utilitarianism was challenged by people who argued that his theory debated humanity. So if human wants pleasure then we should have a moral theory that tells us to pursue pleasure. You"re supposed to bring as much pleasure into the world as possible and this is the best state of affairs. Bentham wants to maximize utility (in this case pleasure: deontologist: It can therefore be said that societies that put their money towards higher order utilities; better quality art schools etc, would be better societies.
