DORAL ACADEMY MRS. ORTEGA LAW STUDIES JUSTICE PROFESSOR SANDEL’S HARVARD LECTURES

PUTTING A PRICE TAG ON HUMAN LIFE EPISODE 2, Part 1

Benthamite Utilitarianism Bentham: Utility, Consequential Moral Reasoning founder. Benthamite Utilitarianism: 1. Happiness is simply pleasure and the absence of pain. 2. Counts all pleasure and pain and therefore treats every type of pleasure or pain as equal. Therefore, if the quantity is the same, the pleasure of mocking someone counts just as much as the pleasure of helping someone. 3. Permits sacrificing one person’s interest for the sake of the majority. Utility: The highest principle of morality is to maximize the general welfare of happiness.

UTILITY IN PRACTICE The cost benefit analysis (this is one example of the Utilitarian theory in practice) If we add up all the benefits of this policy and subtract all of the costs, the right thing to do is the one that provides for more happiness. Smoking – Czech Republic Cost-higher medical bills Benefits-tax revenue, pensions, decrease of housing costs for the elderly, health care savings on premature deaths. Ford Pinto Case (memo: cost/benefit analysis for recall in order to fix problem) Assigned a money figure to human life [$200,000 per life]. Inflation suggests $2 million today.

OBJECTIONS TO COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS Objection to cost/benefit analysis = 1. fails to include a figure to the loss of a loved one (emotional value). 2. Also, some argue that all goods are not commensurable. Some would argue: it is wrong to put any number at all on human life. However, Others would say, you have to put a number on human life—you have to make decisions. [companies would go out of business] Consider: Cell Phones & Driving (Cost / Benefit)

Objections to Utilitarian Logic: Doesn’t account for the wishes of the minorities. It is not possible to aggregate all values into money terms. Hence, all goods are not commensurable.

HOW TO MEASURE PLEASURE EPISODE 2, Part 2

John Stuart Mill Tried to defend utilitarianism Argued that higher and lower pleasures are easily calculated Mill proposed: the pleasure preferred by the majority of people who have experienced both pleasures should be counted as the higher pleasure. Mill argues that people will always choose the “right” higher pleasure Shakespeare v. The Simpsons Salvador Dali v. Graffiti Artist Pianist Virtuoso v. Pop Artist Equality v. Racism

Objections to J. S. Mill’s theory: In order for this to work, education is required or prior knowledge. What about giving credit to new inventions? Old v. New

FREE TO CHOOSE EPISODE 3, Part 1

LIBERTARIAN THOUGHT Libertarian – name stems for liberty / specifically, individual liberty Libertarian Principles: Against paternal legislation Against moral legislation Against redistributive taxation (equivalent to forced labor) Robert Nozick Taxation = taking of earnings (theft) Note: Bill Gates Example: $79 Billion, 2016 and M. Jordan $73 Million in 1 year. Principle is based on rights: I own myself—this is why utilitarianism goes wrong; utility acts like people belong to the community but we belong to ourselves. This is why paternalist, moral and taxation is wrong.