Utilitarianism

Annotations:

• http://bethanyasethics.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/benthams-utilitarianism.html

1. Theory divided into three parts
   1. The Principle Of Utility
      1. Bentham states that there is no such thing as a selfless act. However an act must be of use to be moral.
   2. Motivation
      1. Bentham believes that human are motivated by pain and pleasure. We try to maximize pleasure and minimize pain.
   3. The Hedonic Calculus
      1. Seperated into to seven different sections

         Annotations:

         • I don't care I'll still pass ethics
         1. Intensity
            1. How intense is the pleasure? Pleasure which causes a lot of happiness is prefered to pleasure that only causes a small amount.
         2. Duration
            1. How long will the pleasure last for? Pleasure that lasts a long amount of time is better that temporary pleasure.
         3. Certainity
            1. How certain an action is to create pleasure. The more certain the better.
         4. Immediacy
            1. How soon the pleasure can be received. Pleasure that is gained instantly is better than pleasure that will take a while to get.
         5. Succession
            1. How many times can the pleasure be received? Pleasure which can be given multiple times is more worthy than pleasure only given once.
         6. Purity
            1. If an action cause pain it is not as worthy as an action without pain. The hedonic caluculus focuses on minimisation of pain
         7. Extent
            1. Extent was added by Mill. This is about doing the greatest good for the greatest amount
2. Teleological
3. Consequential

1. Like Bentham Mill believes that humans are motivated by pain and pleasure, however Mill claims that there high and low pleasures.
   1. High pleaures: higher pleasures are of the mind. They are more worthwhile pleasures such as university and jobs.
   2. Low pleasures: Low pleasures are of the body. These consist of more simplistic pleasures such as food.
   3. Mill believes that humans would be unhappy with quantitate choices. To an individual qualitieve choices are more valuable. As well as more beneficial.