BSB111 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Ethical Egoism, Psychological Egoism, Jeremy Bentham
Business Law and Ethics Week 2 Lecture Notes
Ethical Actions
Normative ethical theories: Ethical actions
Consequentialist Ethics
• Consequentialist theories claim that only the consequences of an action are relevant
when determining if that action is ethical
• Accordingly, it is possible to determine what one is morally obliged to do by
predicting and analysing the possible consequences of ones choices
• We examine two moral theories that are consequentialist:
o Ethical egoism
o Utilitarianism
1. Ethical Egoism
• Ethical egoism claims that the right action for someone is that which maximises
his/her own good.
• This is determined by predicting and analysing the consequences of different
possible actions for the person him/herself (only)
• If a proposed action will result in more positive consequences for the agent than the
alternatives, then this action is the morally right choice
• He/she is then morally obliged to take this action (it would be morally wrong to act
in any other way)
• There is no clear prescription on what counts as the good that is being maximised.
It could refer to ones own wellbeing, feelings of happiness, or physical pleasure for
example
• Ethical egoism does not mean that one never considers others, as it may be in ones
own interests to co-operate with other people
• So ethical egoism may result in a person being honest and trustworthy, but only in so
far as this will benefit him/herself
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• Ethical egoism also does not mean that one takes the easy option, as in some cases
making sacrifices may result in greater wellbeing in the long-term
• Insights
o Ethical egoism reflects the idea that we are important, and that our moral
choices should take our own wellbeing into account
o Ethical egoism also reflects the idea that we are best positioned to know
what is good for us
o Ethical egoism, and acting in ones self interest, can be compatible with
people working co-operatively (as long as the arrangement furthers each
individuals own interests)
• Problems
o Ethical egoism appears to conflict with the essence of morality – that moral
choices are about how the good is related both to oneself and others
(not just oneself)
o Ethical egoism is partial and biased – prioritising one person (me!) over
everyone else
o Some acts which are generally accepted to be unethical, such as racial
discrimination in the workplace, could be justified if it is in the agents self-
interest
o Ethical egoism suggests that morality is entirely subjective. But this faces
similar problems to ethical relativism (see week one). If ethics is only a
matter of individual taste or opinion, then there can be no moral criticism or
moral progress
• Psychological egoism
o Psychological egoism is the theory that everyone always acts in their own
self-interest. It is a descriptive theory about how people behave (not a
normative theory about how people ought to behave)
o Ethical egoism is sometimes justified on the belief that psychological egoism
is true
o However, there are example of people who appear to make huge sacrifices
(sometimes their own lives) to benefit other people. This questions whether
psychological egoism is true
2. Utilitarianism
• Utilitarianism claims that the right action is that which maximises the overall good
• This determined by predicating and analysing the consequences of different possible
actions for everybody affected by those actions
• If a proposed action will result in more positive consequences overall than the
alternatives, then this action is the normally right choice
• The agent is then morally obliged to take this action (it would be morally wrong to
act in any other way)
• Utilitarianism is consequentialist as only consequences are considered to be morally
relevant
• But unlike egoism, the scope of relevant consequences is broader- utilitarianism
considers the good of all persons
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• There are various versions of what counts as the good to be maximised. Traditional
(classical) utilitarianism held that overall happiness should be maximised, where this
is interpreted as greater pleasure and less pain
• Contemporary alternatives include maximising ones own preferences (allowing for
different interpretations of good)
• The two people who developed classical utilitarianism are Jeremy Bentham and John
Stuart Mill. Both lived in the 19th century
• Bentham believed that we could determine whether an act is right or wrong by
measuring the net amount of happiness, with reference to its:
o Intensity
o Duration
o Certainty
o Remoteness
o Fecundity
o Purity
o Extent
• Bentham argued that for each individual affected by our proposed action we should
estimate the increase/ decrease in pleasure or pain that they experience
• We should then total all of the increases and decreases, compare this to alternative
actions, and determine which action will generate the greatest happiness overall
• We are then morally obliged to adopt this proposed action. No other action is
morally acceptable
• This approach is referred to as the felicific calculus or hedonistic calculus
• Example:
o What is relevant is the total overall net happiness, so we look at the TOTAL
column
o Option 3 is morally required because it produces the greatest overall amount
of net happiness
o Adopting either option 1 or 2 would be unethical as they do not maximize
overall net happiness
o Note that the distribution of the happiness is not relevant (in option 1 the
happiness is more evenly distributed that option 3)
o This calculation considers overall net happiness. This means that changes in
both pleasure and pain are included
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Business law and ethics week 2 lecture notes. But this faces similar problems to ethical relativism (see week one). If ethics is only a matter of individual taste or opinion, then there can be no moral criticism or moral progress: psychological egoism, psychological egoism is the theory that everyone always acts in their own self-interest. Both lived in the 19th century: bentham believed that we could determine whether an act is right or wrong by measuring the net amount of happiness, with reference to its: This means that changes in both pleasure and pain are included: this calculation considers overall net happiness. The number (or proportion) of people who experience increases or decreases in happiness is not relevant: each person(cid:1685)s increase/ decrease in happiness is treated equally. No-one(cid:1685)s happiness is considered more important than anyone else(cid:1685)s: the calculation considers changes in happiness in both the short and long term, problems.
