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Bentham is looking for measurable outcomes, because he wants to quantify ethics instead of leaving it up for endless debate. Good intentions can lead to undesirable consequences, which is why it is important to think through actions and consider all possible outcomes. If the outcome harms others, then the action was morally wrong. It makes more sense to critique actions than motives. According to Bentham, "there is no such thing as a motive which is a bad one in itself," (cited on p 279). Motives cannot be measured as well as consequences can. Giving a gift to someone is usually a good thing, even if the gift-giver gives grudgingly. Likewise, a donation to charity has positive outcomes, even if the person is motivated by guilt. The hedonistic calculus can also explain why crises often lead to opportunities for growth and positive change. A divorce, which could be measured as morally wrong, can have positive outcomes...
Bentham's calculus does not take into account the wide range of individual differences in what constitutes pleasure or what creates pleasure. One of the most important challenges to Bentham's hedonistic calculus was John Stuart Mill's claim that pleasures are hierarchical. While meditation on intellectually stimulating subjects might indeed be considered a "higher" pursuit than watching television, whether or not those intellectual meditations amount to anything more than self-indulgence remains to be seen. Mill's critique of the hedonistic calculus comes across as being elitist. It has little place in a society in which achieving the greatest good for the greatest number of people should probably be a good enough moral compass.
Utilitarianism and Plato Philosophy is an ancient process. Since the times of Ancient Greece and Rome, people have taken it upon themselves to question the reality of their worlds and to postulate what it is that causes people to behave the ways that they do. The philosophical theory of utilitarianism has gained popularity in recent years because of the way that it explains government and the need for laws and authority.
Utilitarianism In the opening remarks to Utilitarianism, Mill sets the stage for this discussion. He accepts that the idea of utilitarianism dates back two thousand years, and is part of a philosophical discourse that has never been resolved. He then explains the prevailing thought that moral laws are considered universal, deriving from the same source. Their evidence is a priori in that they are simply assumed to be correct. These laws,
Utilitarianism is a consequentialist ethical framework. The consequences of an action are more important than the motivations behind the action or the action itself. An action has "utility" if it serves the greatest good. The basic principle of utilitarianism is creating the greatest good for the greatest number of people, or the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. The ethics of utilitarianism differ from ethical egoism in that
In this case, Mary would have acted precisely as she did, that is, pursuing her personal happiness and acting according to a pattern she had established before, that of being virtuous and always acting morally. In this case, the decision is plain and easy to take: Mary has to be virtuous so as to satisfy her own moral demands and ensure her emotional and spiritual comfort. Thus, she acts
Moreover, how does he justify saying one would rather be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool who is satisfied? His point is obvious - it is better to have brains and not achieve happiness than be dumb and be contented. But Socrates, brilliant as he was, chose death over exile from Athens, which it can be argued did not lead to happiness in Socrates nor in the students who admired
Secondly, in my opinion, it is irrational and insensitive for the rich to continue spending billions of dollars on luxuries as millions across the world continue to suffer. For instance, why would an individual own several luxury cars while another person cannot even afford to settle his or her medical bills? Similarly, why should an individual have billions of dollars lying idle in the bank as scores of people across