UTILITARIANISM
● Set up: Imagine the scene…
○ You are at the throw switch of a trolley car track
○ Coming down the track is a car barreling out of control
○ 20 people are on it
○ You can throw the switch or leave it as is, sending the car one way or another
○ Down Way #1: a cliff (certain doom for all on the car)
○ Down Way #2: a small child whose leg is trapped in the tracks
● Q: What would you do?
● Q: What are your main considerations?
THE TROLLEY CAR
● Coarse Hedonism vs. Philosophical Hedonism
○ Coarse: <get some!= …at the resort vacation,Hedonism III
○ Philosophical: a complete philosophical perspective
● Life’s Good: the hedonist camp
○ <All desirable things…are desirable either for the pleasure inherent in themselves
or as a means to the promotion of pleasure and the prevention of pain.=
● Ontology: the study of being, the study of what exists
○ Pleasure Is Good / Painisbad
○ Goodness & Badness are real
■ Empirical: moral goodness/badness are real/physical properties
■ These Exist In the world independent of attitudes or cultural norms
○ Not<MY pleasure/pain…= (recall ex. kitty and a misspent youth)
● Normativity:
○ Pleasure/pain produce value–they are the source of moral value
■ The thing to reference in virtue of which anything is morally good/bad
■ Note: fully moving from <is= to <ought= takes more work…
PHILOSOPHICAL HEDONISM
● Moral Community (MC)
○ Q: Who counts as morally relevant in our deliberations?
○ Q: How do we determine this?
■ By what measure?
■ Q: What principle governs who is admitted in and who is left out?
○ Ans.: Anysentient being impacted by our action counts morally.
● Utility: a general term for <useful=
○ Cashing out <useful=–different camps of utilitarianism
○ Classic utilitarianism: what is useful is ultimately what is pleasurable
● Utility As Pleasures. Utility As Expediency
, ○ Expediency: an efficient/convenient means to something desired
■ Mill’s take on expediency:
■ In reality this is a species of harm
■ Often masquerading as a narrow notion of happiness for a single
individual
○ Pleasure (ontologically understood): the total happiness of all members involved
in a given situation
ETHICAL HEDONISM
● The Principle of Utility
○ <Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness:wrong as they
tend to produce the reverse of happiness.=
○ Future Oriented: not <fortune telling=
■ The P-o-U requires that we consider what we can reasonably foresee as an
outcome to our action
○ Note: This is a theoretical guide
■ The principle helps us to discern the right/wrong actions
■ Q: What is the goodin this action(i.e.in this option I’m considering)?
○ Note: This isNOTa guide to discern what to do…
● The Greatest Happiness Principle–our guide to right conduct
○ <Act So as to produce the greatest happiness for the greatest number=
○ Note:Thisisa practical guide to determining what to do
■ The principle helps to discern what we should do in a given situation
○ This is the main moral principle of utilitarianism
TWO PRINCIPLES OF UTILITARIANISM
● Bearers of Utility: pleasurable sensations
○ Pleasure is real, so it is measurable
○ The <Ute=: a unit of measurement for pleasure
■ Intensity
■ Duration
■ Purity
■ Fecundity (i.e.<fruitfulness=–capacity to produce additional
pleasure/pain)
■ Propinquity (i.e.<proximity=–likelihood)
● Utility Calculus:
○ TheDecision MakingProcess: a method for determining what to do
○ General Idea: weigh/compare the overall utility value of each option
■ A: Utes x Num. (members of MC involved) = Utility of Action-A
■ B: Utes x Num. (members of MC involved) = Utility of Action-B
○ A Word on Choice: at least two options must be evaluated to correctly execute the
utility calculus
● Set up: Imagine the scene…
○ You are at the throw switch of a trolley car track
○ Coming down the track is a car barreling out of control
○ 20 people are on it
○ You can throw the switch or leave it as is, sending the car one way or another
○ Down Way #1: a cliff (certain doom for all on the car)
○ Down Way #2: a small child whose leg is trapped in the tracks
● Q: What would you do?
● Q: What are your main considerations?
THE TROLLEY CAR
● Coarse Hedonism vs. Philosophical Hedonism
○ Coarse: <get some!= …at the resort vacation,Hedonism III
○ Philosophical: a complete philosophical perspective
● Life’s Good: the hedonist camp
○ <All desirable things…are desirable either for the pleasure inherent in themselves
or as a means to the promotion of pleasure and the prevention of pain.=
● Ontology: the study of being, the study of what exists
○ Pleasure Is Good / Painisbad
○ Goodness & Badness are real
■ Empirical: moral goodness/badness are real/physical properties
■ These Exist In the world independent of attitudes or cultural norms
○ Not<MY pleasure/pain…= (recall ex. kitty and a misspent youth)
● Normativity:
○ Pleasure/pain produce value–they are the source of moral value
■ The thing to reference in virtue of which anything is morally good/bad
■ Note: fully moving from <is= to <ought= takes more work…
PHILOSOPHICAL HEDONISM
● Moral Community (MC)
○ Q: Who counts as morally relevant in our deliberations?
○ Q: How do we determine this?
■ By what measure?
■ Q: What principle governs who is admitted in and who is left out?
○ Ans.: Anysentient being impacted by our action counts morally.
● Utility: a general term for <useful=
○ Cashing out <useful=–different camps of utilitarianism
○ Classic utilitarianism: what is useful is ultimately what is pleasurable
● Utility As Pleasures. Utility As Expediency
, ○ Expediency: an efficient/convenient means to something desired
■ Mill’s take on expediency:
■ In reality this is a species of harm
■ Often masquerading as a narrow notion of happiness for a single
individual
○ Pleasure (ontologically understood): the total happiness of all members involved
in a given situation
ETHICAL HEDONISM
● The Principle of Utility
○ <Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness:wrong as they
tend to produce the reverse of happiness.=
○ Future Oriented: not <fortune telling=
■ The P-o-U requires that we consider what we can reasonably foresee as an
outcome to our action
○ Note: This is a theoretical guide
■ The principle helps us to discern the right/wrong actions
■ Q: What is the goodin this action(i.e.in this option I’m considering)?
○ Note: This isNOTa guide to discern what to do…
● The Greatest Happiness Principle–our guide to right conduct
○ <Act So as to produce the greatest happiness for the greatest number=
○ Note:Thisisa practical guide to determining what to do
■ The principle helps to discern what we should do in a given situation
○ This is the main moral principle of utilitarianism
TWO PRINCIPLES OF UTILITARIANISM
● Bearers of Utility: pleasurable sensations
○ Pleasure is real, so it is measurable
○ The <Ute=: a unit of measurement for pleasure
■ Intensity
■ Duration
■ Purity
■ Fecundity (i.e.<fruitfulness=–capacity to produce additional
pleasure/pain)
■ Propinquity (i.e.<proximity=–likelihood)
● Utility Calculus:
○ TheDecision MakingProcess: a method for determining what to do
○ General Idea: weigh/compare the overall utility value of each option
■ A: Utes x Num. (members of MC involved) = Utility of Action-A
■ B: Utes x Num. (members of MC involved) = Utility of Action-B
○ A Word on Choice: at least two options must be evaluated to correctly execute the
utility calculus
