A brief Notes on Utilitarianism

1. Introduction

English philosophy is known as utilitarianism. It is a morality theory. It is part of an ethical philosophy tradition. When it comes to making social, economic, or political decisions, it supports acts that promote happiness or pleasure and opposes actions that bring about unhappiness or harm. The improvement of society at large would be the goal of a utilitarian philosophy. According to this, a course of action is morally justified if it makes the largest number of members of a society or group happy. All human interests are taken into account equally by utilitarianism. Despite this, utilitarianism is among the strongest and most convincing defences of normative ethics in philosophical history. However, it was not until the 19th century that thisidea was expressed.[1]

2. History

Jeremy Bentham (17481832) was a highly esteemed scholar in many domains, most notably law, where he contributed to the development of legal positivism. He established a framework for utilitarianism as part of his scholarship, which had an impact on later authors like J. S. Mill (18061873), who should not be confused with his father, James Mill. The elder Mill brought up his son to be a brilliant thinker; he was a philosopher who lived during Bentham's time. J. Mill is currently feeling his friend and son's "shadow" a little bit.

Bentham defined the principle of utility as "the principle that approves or disapproves of every action according to the tendency it appears to have to increase or lessen i.e., to promote or opposethe happiness of the person or group whose interest is in question." This definition is used in his writings to support his argument that moral behaviour should be guided by this principle. According to Bentham, the core of the human experience is happiness. His goal was to establish the foundation of morality in firsthand experience rather than in religion or the paranormal.

Bentham contended that utility could be calculated and comparisons could be made. Something that makes you extremely happy for a split second, for example, is not as good as something that makes you half as happy for an hour. The number of people who are made happy or unhappy, the likelihood of the outcome, and other variables could also affect this calculation. This designates Bentham as a "hedonist," a person who holds that the pursuit of happiness or pleasure is what defines moral virtue. This concept was greatly expanded upon by J. S. Mill in his book Utilitarianism.
Among his many accolades is the fact that Mill was the first British Member of Parliament to advocate for women's voting rights in the House of Commons. His political philosophy writings, such as "On Liberty," have been extremely influential forliberalism. Two more things to consider for our purposes.[2]

3. Criticism

One such criticism is that, while it is true that a widespread practice of lying and theft would lead to a loss of security and trustworthiness, it is not a given that an occasional theft from a wealthy person or a lie to avoid embarrassment would not have positive outcomes and would therefore be required or acceptable by utilitarianism. However, the utilitarian quickly responds that there would be a loss of security and reliability if such actions were widely practiced. In response to the criticism that one should not allow for the occasional theft or lie, some philosophers have defended a version of utilitarianism known as "rule" utilitarianism. It allows an act to be determined to be right or wrong based on whether it violates or conforms to a useful rule, with the general practice of the rule determining whether it is useful or
not. While Bentham and Sidgwick were "act" utilitarians, Mill has occasionally beenseen as a "rule" utilitarian.

Another common criticism of Bentham's hedonistic value theory is that life has greater worth than just a ratio of pleasure to suffering. Unlike Bentham, Mill observed variations in the nature of pleasures that render some inherently better than others, regardless of their intensity and durationthe quantitative dimensions that Bentham acknowledged. Certain fully non hedonistic values have been acknowledged by some utilitarian philosophers without compromising their utilitarian beliefs. As a result, friendship, knowledge, and the experience of beauty are among the many forms of consciousness that the English philosopher G.E. Moore, one of the pioneers of modern analytical philosophy, believed to be inherently valuable apart from pleasure. This viewpoint is known as "ideal" utilitarianism.

Some philosophers have argued that the recognition of intrinsic value and disvalue should only be limited to feelings of happiness or unhappiness. They believe that these emotions cannot be sufficiently reduced to pleasure or pain, and instead, they prefer to defend the theory in terms of maximizing happiness and minimizing unhappiness. It is crucial to remember, though, that even hedonistic utilitarians do not think of pleasure and pain exclusively in terms of sensuality; rather, they view pleasure and pain as elements of a wide range of experiences. They contend that an
experience has no intrinsic value and is merely indifferent if it is neither enjoyable nor unpleasant.

The idea that actions that would only make happy people happier should be prioritized over those that would prevent or end suffering is another criticism of utilitarianism. Some contemporary utilitarians have altered their theory to demand
this emphasis or even to restrict moral responsibility to the averting or ending of sufferinga perspective known as "negative" utilitarianism.[3]

4. List of the Advantages of Utilitarianism

1. It's a universal idea that we can all comprehend.
2. You can take advantage of this process without being a religious follower.
3. Utilitarianism adheres to democratic values.
4. It determines what is right or wrong through an impartial process.
5. It is very simple to use this procedure.
6. Utilitarianism relies on human instincts.[4]

5. List of the Disadvantages of Utilitarianism

1. When making decisions, society does not only consider happiness.
2. When it comes to happiness, the means are never really justified by the ends.
3. When it comes to the future, results are uncertain.
4. Happiness is a personal experience.
5. It makes you dependent on other people abiding by the same moral standards.
6. Utilitarianism does not base its conclusions on the deed itself.
7. It is impossible to quantify happiness in material terms.
8. It would give the general populace the power to determine results at all times.[5]

6. Conclusion

Because utilitarianism confuses what is currently popular with what is morally correct, it will ultimately fail. Throughout history, we have discovered that, regardless of how one attempts to justify them, certain decisions are inherently immoral.

Can you envision a society in which the Holocaust was viewed as a morally right choice? Or being a part of a country that not only celebrated Ted Bundy's murderous rampage, but also encouraged others to carry out similar acts as they saw fit?

The benefits and drawbacks of utilitarianism demonstrate that happiness cannot serve as the exclusive basis for our decision-making. There are moments in life when only you are willing to make the right choice. Even though there are some significant advantages to this way of life, humanity would lose its integrity if it chose to adopt it. It is evident that this theory's shortcomings greatly exceed its advantages.

7. Citation

1. Introduction available at https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-3093-abrief-notes-on-utilitarianism-a-study-on-bentham-and-j-s-mill-views.html (Last visited on 7 December at 3:34 pm)
2. History available at https://gohighbrow.com/a-brief-history-of-utilitarianism/ (Last visited on 7 December at 4:00 pm)
3. criticism available at https://www.britannica.com/topic/utilitarianism-philosophy (Last visited on 7 December at 2:40 pm)
4. List of the Advantages of Utilitarianism available at https://connectusfund.org/utilitarianism-advantages-and-disadvantages (Last visited on 7 December at 4:38 pm)
5. List of the Disadvantages of Utilitarianism available at https://connectusfund.org/utilitarianism-advantages-and-disadvantages (Last visited on 7 December at 4:38 pm)