Transcript Utilitarian Perspective - Moraine Park Technical College

Doug Boll
Amy Murtha
Cass Stahmann
Tuesday, 5:30
Ethical Theories Presentation
October 27, 2009
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The greatest good for the greatest
number of people.
Examples
 Building a dam
 Finish your degree
 Assisted suicide
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He believed that
we should try to
increase the overall
happiness and
pleasure in the
world.
Good equals
pleasure.
He called it “the
Principle of
Utility”
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Bentham’s godson
He inherited the
utilitarian project
from Bentham and
from his father
James Mill.
He gave the theory
his own
characteristic twists
and developments.

Act: likely consequences of potential
actions.
 Rule: potential rules of action.

How humans react
psychologically.
 Use
instinctive moral thinking
 Varies from rule
Utilitarianism
 Least
amount of harm or
“evil”
 Average:
average
happiness
 Total: Utility of population
Nation
healthcare
reform
Responsibility for choices.
 Sometimes we can’t foresee the
impact of others.

 Example
 Terrorist situation
Implies we should always
maximize happiness.
 May be too strict of a
requirement.

 Example
 Good intentions
Who all is included in one
decision
 Examples

 Those
in our own group
 In our own country
 All human beings.
 All sentient beings.
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Calculating takes
time.
In the real world
we don’t have
time to calculate
the effects of our
actions on general
happiness.
What are the main
arguments in defense
of or against
Utilitarianism?
What is the difference
between maximizing
total happiness vs.
average happiness?
Who were the
“Fathers” of
Utilitarianism?
What are two of the
different types of
Utilitarianism?
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A 21st Century Ethical Toolbox, second edition. By Anthony
Weston
http://users.ox.ac.uk/~ball0888/oxfordopen/mill.html
http://www.codepoet.org/~markw/gurps/adv/bedlam/b
edlam_in_london.html
http://www.csus.edu/indiv/g/gaskilld/ethics/Utilitariani
sm%20notes.htm
http://philosophy.wisc.edu/hausman/341/dq/dqutilitarianism.htm
http://ethics.sandiego.edu/theories/Utilitarianism/index.a
sp
http://www.spiritus-temporis.com/utilitarianism/typesof-utilitarianism.html