1. Consequentialist Ethical Theories u Egoism: the good is whatever promotes my long-term interests u Hedonism: the good is pleasure l Pursue pleasures not mixed with pain (beauty, prudence, honor, justice, courage, knowledge); satisfy natural desires (food, sleep), avoid vain desires (fame, fashion) u Self-realization: develop harmoniously all our capacities (Plato, Aristotle, Bradley) Epicurus 341-270 BCE

2. Objections to Egoism u Egoism cannot resolve conflicts of interest (which moral theories should do) u Egoism allows for no “moral point of view” of an ideal, impartial, informed observer who identifies with those in the situation u Reply: no one is completely impartial, nor should moral decisions be dispassionate

3. Utilitarianism: we ought to promote the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number l Bentham: the hedonic calculus is based on the intensity, duration, certainty, immediacy, fecundity, purity, & number of people affected l J. S. Mill: the quality of pleasures needs to be considered, determined by competent judges l Objections: this is elitist; why not use the criterion for evaluating pleasures to judge morality itself? J. Bentham (1748-1843) J. S. Mill (1808-73)

4. Variations of Utilitarianism l Act utilitarianism: we are obligated to do the specific act that produces the greatest amount of happiness (regardless of rules or justice) Objections: consequence calculation is difficult this implies that the end justifies the means l Rule utilitarianism: we should follow moral rules that, when acted upon, generally produce the greatest amount of happiness Objections: what about when rules conflict? in some cases, why not exceptions? Reply: then why have any theory at all?