1.4: Consequentialist Ethics and Bentham's Utilitarianism
In this video, the idea of Utilitarianism as increasing good and decreasing suffering is addressed. Then a variety of scenarios are described that show the limits of utilitarianism regarding justice and rights for individuals.
Read this description of the famous Queen v. Dudley and Stephens case. As you read, consider whether you agree with the ruling in this case, and if you would rule differently, as well as why you would do so. This text discusses the famous lifeboat case, which established the legality of choosing to murder out of necessity. Although the details of the case are quite graphic, this fact itself may serve as a prompt for many of us to revise our initial intuitions about the moral status of killing one to save many others.
In this reading on Utilitarian ethical theory, Kemerling explains that utilitarians agree that the action with the best consequence is the morally correct action, but it is noteworthy that different utilitarians define "best consequences" in different ways. For Bentham, the best consequences are decided for each action, while for Mill, the best consequences can be achieved by following rules and pursuing higher orders of pleasure (like intellectual goals instead of base hedonism).
Read the first chapter, "Of the Principle of Utility," from this 1780 text in which Bentham justifies the principle that the morality of our actions depends on the consequences produced. The late eighteenth and early nineteenth century English philosopher Jeremy Bentham was the first to formalize the moral principle that whether our actions are right or wrong is a matter of the consequences they produce (i.e. how much happiness and how much unhappiness results from them). It is important to note that, although Bentham places a lot of emphasis on the pleasure and pain experienced by the individual person, he is not recommending that our laws should be guided purely by individual hedonism, but by a collective responsibility to improve the happiness of everyone in society.
Watch the first hour of this video. Notice how the different utilitarians may decide the best action based on numbers and quantities - for example, numbers of lives saved in a particular scenario. If that is the case, then utilitarians have to ask whether the best consequences are merely based on numbers or based on higher values, like the value of one individual life.