Why not do what will maximize happiness for the whole group?

“By the Principle of Utility is 

meant the principle which 

approves or disapproves of 

every action whatsoever, 

according to the tendency 

which it appears to have to 

augment or diminish the 

happiness of [all who are 

affected by the action].” 

An action is morally 

right iff it maximizes 

hedonic utility. 

-an act maximizes hedonic utility just in case no alternative action would produce more hedonic utility

-An agent's alternatives consist in all the things that the agent could do in the circumstances

The hedonic utility of an act is the total amount of 

pleasure that would be produced by the act for 

everybody concerned, minus the total amount of 

pain that would be produced by the act for 

everybody concerned

   Pleasure is a feeling or sensation similar to feelings 

of warmth and coolness. 

  Pleasure comes in countable occurrences called 

episodes. 

  Each episode of pleasure has a particular intensity 

(strength or vividness) and duration (length of time 

that it lasts). 

  The value of an episode of pleasure is equal to its 

intensity multiplied by its duration. 

  The unit of measure for the value of episodes of 

pleasure is the hedon; the value of episodes of pain 

is measured in dolors. 

  Bentham thought that happiness or well-being 

was ultimately a matter of hedonic utility – 

pleasure and pain, and nothing else. This view is 

called hedonism about the good life. 

  On this view, how truly happy you are – how well 

your life is going for you – is a matter of how much 

pleasure and pain your life contains. 

An action is morally right iff it causes more pleasure than any other alternative

-

“Matthew Donnelly was a physicist who had worked with X- 

rays for 30 years. Perhaps as a result of too much exposure, 

he contracted cancer and lost part of his jaw, his upper lip, his 

nose, and his left hand, as well as two fingers from his right 

hand. He was also left blind. Donnelly’s physicians told him 

that he had about a year to live, but he decided that he did not 

want to go on living in such a state. He was in constant pain. 

One writer said that ‘at its worst, he could be seen lying in bed 

with teeth clinched and beads of perspiration standing out on 

his forehead.’ Knowing that he was going to die anyway, and 

wanting to escape this misery, Donnelly begged his three 

brothers to kill him,” including his 36-year-old brother Harold. 

 According to the utilitarians, “the point of 

morality is the happiness of human beings in 

this world, and nothing more; and we are 

permitted – even required – to do whatever is 

necessary to promote that happiness” (p. 91). 

is the idea that the requirements of 

morality are simply the requirements of long- 

term self-interest: your moral obligation is 

merely to promote your own long-term good. 

Rebecca is not like most people: she has no 

conscience. She can “screw people over,” 

and it doesn’t bother her at all, afterwards. 

She just says, “Yeah, I hurt people. Who 

cares?” Rebecca also loves art. She decides 

to take a two-week vacation in Italy. She 

plans to travel through the Italian countryside 

in search of great art. One day, Rebecca 

sees a beautiful old painting in an 

unattended rural church.  She sees that she 

can steal it for personal enjoyment at home.  

If she were to do this, she would enjoy the 

painting quite a lot, but the local villagers 

would be dismayed.  Art lovers throughout 

the world would be horrified. 

1.  If HE is true, then a1 is morally obligatory: it 

is what Rebecca is morally required to do. 

2.  It’s not the case that a1 is morally 

obligatory. 

3.  Therefore, HE is false. 

Act-Utilitarianism is a theory about what makes 

right actions right – it is a criterion of moral 

rightness. 

Sensory Hedonism is a theory about  

the nature of happiness that was accepted by 

some utilitarians, including Jeremy Bentham.  

  (Other utilitarians, including John Stuart Mill and 

Henry Sidgwick, were not sensory hedonists.) 

“The happiness which forms the 

utilitarian standard of what is 

right in conduct, is not the 

agent’s own happiness, but that 

of all concerned. As between 

his own happiness and that of 

others, utilitarianism requires 

him to be as strictly impartial as 

a disinterested and benevolent 

spectator.” 

John Stuart Mill 

. 

a)  The Case of Porky 

b)  The Case of The Deceived Businessman 

2.  Objections to AU based on justice and rights 

a)  The Case of the Small Southern Town 

b)  The Case of the Organ Harvest 

c)  The Case of the Peeping Tom 

3.  Objection that AU is too demanding 

  The Case of Grandpa 

4.  The “Nearest and Dearest” Objection 

  The Case of the Burning Building. 

  Bentham’s version of the view employs a 

dubious theory of personal well-being. 

  It does not take justice, individual rights, or 

desert seriously. 

  It demands too much self-sacrifice, and it 

disrupts our personal relationships. 

  It is objectionably “forward-looking.” 

  On this day, President Truman 

ordered that the atomic bomb 

be dropped on the Japanese 

city of Hiroshima. 

  It killed 60,000 people 

instantaneously, and another 

80,000 over the following 

weeks and months (140,000 

people total).  

  There was no reaction from 

Emperor Hirohito and his 

government. 

  On this day, President Truman 

ordered that another atomic 

bomb be dropped on the 

Japanese city of Nagasaki. 

  It killed 39,000 people 

instantaneously – and ultimately 

killed around 74,000.  

  On August 12, Emperor Hirohito 

surrendered on the condition 

that he would remain ceremonial 

head of state; on August 15, his 

decision was made known to his 

countrymen and the world. 

o  The Japanese were extremely powerful, militarily – and 

highly motivated to defend their homeland.

o  It is agreed that an invasion of Japan would have 

resulted in the loss of millions of lives: Japanese, 

American, British, Chinese, and Russian. 

o  Truman’s decision resulted in the loss of around 

220,000 lives. Radiation injured approximately 400,000 

additional people. 

o  If AU is true, it is likely that President Truman did the 

morally right thing.

AU basically says that we can conduct warfare in 

whatever way we want, so long as we do what 

promotes the community’s good in the long-run. 

  According to AU, whether one is a civilian or a 

combatant – guilty or innocent – does not matter. It 

is all just a question of maximizing utility. 

  There is no type of action – no matter how barbaric 

– that AU says is always wrong, on principle. 

 is an absolutist. She believes that  

 “certain things are forbidden whatever consequences 

threaten, such as: choosing to kill the innocent for any 

purpose, however good; vicarious punishment; treachery; 

idolatry; sodomy; adultery; making a false profession of 

faith.” 

  Born in Königsberg, Germany to 

harness-maker and Pietist mother. 

  Studied mathematics, physics, 

astronomy, and philosophy at 

Albertus University in Königsberg. 

  Worked as tutor and lecturer, until 

he was awarded a chair in 

metaphysics and logic. 

  Published The Critique of Pure 

Reason in 1751, and Groundwork 

for the Metaphysics of Morals in 

1785.Immanuel Kant 

  Kant defended the idea of an 

absolute moral law. 

  “Two things fill the mind with ever 

new and increasing admiration and 

awe, the more often and steadily we 

reflect upon them: the starry 

heavens above me and the moral 

law within me” (Critique of Practical 

Reason, 1799). 

  Kant formulated several versions of 

this law, and he argued that each 

version was equivalent to each of 

the others. Few believe that they 

are equivalent today, but they are 

each interesting. Immanuel Kant 

(1724-1804)  Unless there is no such thing 

as morality,  

 “its law is of such an extensive 

significance that it would have to 

be valid not merely for human 

beings but for all rational beings 

in general, and not merely under 

contingent conditions and with 

exceptions, but with absolute 

necessity …” (Groundwork, 

4:408) 

 To say that an imperative is categorical, is to say that 

you must follow it, no matter what: it is your unconditional 

duty. Categorical imperatives are also universal: they 

apply to everyone, always.  

  Examples ?  

  You must never tell a lie. 

  You must never commit murder. 

There are also hypothetical imperatives. These have 

the form, “If you want ___, then you must ___.”  

  Examples:  

  If you don’t want your teeth to fall out, then you must 

brush them twice a day.  

  If you don’t want the house to smell, you must take out 

the garbage. 

  If you want to be healthy, you must eat right and 

exercise. 

  Hypothetical imperatives are conditional and non- 

universal. They don’t apply to everybody all the time. 

They only apply to you if you have a certain desire. 

  The ability to form concepts 

that integrate perceptions; also, the ability to believe in 

accordance with the evidence. 

 The ability to pause and 

deliberate about what to do; to put “distance” between 

one’s self and one’s desires. 

iff the agent of x can will that everyone act on the maxim that he would be acting on, if he were to perform x.  

  To will that p = to sincerely wish, “Let p be true!” 

  A maxim = a subjective principle of volition, stating 

the circumstances that the agent takes himself to be 

in, and the sort of action that he takes himself to be 

performing.