1. Jan 29, 10 Ashley Tao

2. Tues 8-10pm Dundas Town Hall Email: taoat@mcmaster.ca www.dundasconcertband.com

3.  History  Mill  Bentham  Moore  Arrow  Act and Rule Utilitarianism  Criticisms of Utilitarianism  What is utilitarianism?  Utilitarian perspectives

4. Monistic, one moral principle: utility Utility measured with hedons and dolors In utilitarianism, the right actions/rules are based on maximizing value. (Maximizing good over bad)‏ Consequentialist/Teleological Theory of Obligation A theory about the actions one ought to perform or the rules one ought to follow Theory of Value A theory about which things are good and bad

5. An act is ‘right if it produces more of an increase in happiness of all affected by it than by any other action, and wrong if it does not’ Principle of Utility Main principle of Utilitarianism ‘Always act in a way that will produce the greatest overall amount of good in the world’

6.  Purpose of morality to promote actions which would produce a better world  Personal interests are set aside; everyone considered equal  To always do the most to maximize, never less  Utility is measured by factors which have intrinsic values  Produce good consequences, not necessarily about having good intentions

7.  Happiness -John Stuart Mill  Pleasure - Jeremy Bentham  Preferences - Kenneth Arrow  Ideals - G.E. Moore

8.  19 th century British philosopher  Maximize overall amount of pleasure in the world  Highest value of utility is pleasure  Proposed Act utilitarianism

9.  Bentham’s godson  Advocate for individual rights  Act Utilitarianism does not consider individual rights  Happiness is the measure of utility not pleasure  Proposed rule utilitarianism

10.  20 th Century British philosopher  Maximize ideal values (freedom, knowledge, justice and beauty) ‏  Measurement of goods not well defined

11.  20 th Century economist from Stanford University  Intrinsic values based on preferences  Provides people with the choice as to what has intrinsic value  Agent’s preferences are what determines the intrinsic values by which utility is measured

12.  Act Utilitarianism An act is right if and only if there is no other action that would maximize a balance of utility over disutility HEDONS DOLORS

13.  Utilitarian Calculus  If the total amount of pleasure exceeds the total amount of pain, then the act has a good tendency and thus should be performed.  Consider immediate and future consequences  Calculate the total value of hedons and dolors of an individual, and for all other individuals affected.

14.  Act Utilitarianism can justify not treating people as autonomous agents  Self interest is put aside; ignoring commitments violates our moral standings – does not consider special relationships  Final consequences must be observed after the act before an action is considered right or wrong.  Time consuming to calculate utility for all persons involved

15.  Rule Utilitarianism An act is right if and only if it conforms with a set of rules such that utility would be maximized over disutility Ex. Stopping at a red light

16.  Calculate the balance of utility over disutility if everyone followed this rule.  Assume everyone were to follow this rule.  Propose a rule that you will act upon to determine it’s moral standing.

17.  If utility is maximized by breaking the rule, RU loses its purpose  Usually mostly appropriate for policy decisions Suppose you are responsible for a group of children. There is no food to feed the children and the only way to obtain food is by stealing. RU suggests that we follow rules that maximize happiness. In this scenario, the rule would be to never steal. However, should you follow the rule? It would not result in maximum utility. If utility can not be maximized the rule can not be true. Since RU fails, it relies on the basis of AU.

18.  Free Rider Problem Suppose a bus operated on an honour system and one person decides to take a free ride. In AU, if no one finds out about the free rider, it would probably promote utility. The other passengers will not know about this and taking the free ride would promote happiness in free rider. In RU, if everyone were to take a free ride, the honour system would fail. And thus this would contribute to disutility. Society tends to respect rules so the individual should follow it, thus contributing to greater utility

19.  Special Relationships In AU, the right action is one in which good consequences are maximized for everyone. The utility considered for each person is equal. Therefore you should save the stranger. Suppose you are mountain climbing with two people.your best friend and a stranger. You don’t know much about the stranger, but you do know that he is very active in charity work — he volunteers in a soup-kitchen on the weekend, gives money to charity, sponsors third-world children, etc. While you are climbing, a rope breaks and you have to choose who to save, and if you do nothing, they will both die. Who should you save? In RU, one might suggest that there is a moral rule that you should help your friends. Therefore you should save your friend.

20.  The Problem with Justice Suppose you have five patients in the hospital dying and they are in need of different organs. If they each receive the organ they need, they will survive. And suppose you have a healthy patient with matching organs to your five patients. Is it ok to kill the one patient so your five patients will survive? In AU, the physician would most likely kill the one patient to save the five because it is all about maximizing utility. Saving five lives vs one would maximize utility. In RU, the first rule in medicine would be to 'do no harm', therefore the physician would most likely let the five patients die. We would all be happier knowing that physicians followed this rule.