Mill's Utilitarianism and Moral Philosophy
J.S. Mill,
Utilitarianism
(1863)
John Stuart Mill
(1806-1873,
England)
Mill “had
a
lifelong
goal
of
reforming
the
world
in
the
interest
of human well-
being”
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/mill
/
Image of JS Mill
from Wikimedia
Commons,
public
domain
Groups on moral
questions
Read the
question assigned to your group
(see instructions
on the
doc) and
write
down:
•
Your
own
answers to the
question
•
What
you think
a
utilitarian
who agrees
with Mill would say about
it
http://is.gd/PHIL102Mill
When asking what is right/wrong
morally,
what to
evaluate?
Person
Action
Consequences
•
Intention
•
Motive
•
Habitual
d
i
spos
i
tion
to
act
in
some
ways
•
What
kind
of
act
is
it?
•
What
was
actually
done?
•
What
results
from
the
action?
Mill
focuses
here
Consequentialism
“whether
an act is morally right
depends
only on
consequences
(as
opposed to the …intrinsic
nature
of
the
act or anything that happens before
the
act).”
Stanford Encyclopedia
of
Philosophy on
consequentialism:
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/consequentialism/#ClaUti
Hedonistic
consequentialism
•
Value
hedonism:
“all and only pleasure is
intrinsically valuable and
all and only
pain
is
intrinsically
disvaluable.”
-- Internet Encycl. of Philosophy:
ht
t
p:
/
/ww
w
.iep
.
utm
.
edu
/
he
d
oni
s
m
/#
S
H1b
•
H
e
d
o
n
i
s
t
i
c
c
o
n
s
e
q
u
e
n
t
i
a
l
i
s
m
:
w
e
c
a
n
d
e
t
e
r
m
i
n
e
t
h
e
m
o
r
a
l
v
a
l
u
e
o
f
c
o
n
s
e
q
u
e
n
c
e
s
,
a
n
d
t
h
e
r
e
f
o
r
e
o
f
a
c
t
s
,
b
y
h
o
w
m
u
c
h
p
l
e
a
s
u
r
e
/
p
a
i
n
p
r
o
d
u
c
e
d
Utilitarianism,
Chpt
1
“There ought either
to
be
some
one
fundamental
principle
or
law,
at
the
root of
all
morality,
or
if
there be
several,
there
should be a determinate order of
precedence among them…”
(1).
W
h
a
t
i
s
t
h
a
t
p
r
i
n
c
i
p
l
e
,
f
o
r
M
i
l
l
?
Simplified
overview
of
Mill’s
Utilitarianism
We
can judge the
moral value
of
actions by
the
degree of
happiness they
tend
to
produce
for
the
sentient
creatures
involved
Greatest Happiness
Principle
“actions are [morally] right in proportion as
they tend
to
promote happiness, [morally]
wrong
as
they
tend
to
produce the
reverse
of happiness” (Mill, Chpt.
2, p.
2).
•
“happiness”
is defined in
terms of
pleasure and reduction or absence
of
pain
Support for
GHP
(more in Chpt.
IV)
•
“pleasure,
and
freedom from
pain,
are
the
only things
desirable as ends
”
(2)
•
Mill on
the highest good
(5)
•
The “end
of human action is necessarily
also the
standard of morality
”
(5)
Pleasure,
r
eduction
of
pain
(self
&
others)
g
oal
g
oal
g
oal
Pleasure
as
only intrinsic
value
(p.
2, &
Chpt
4)
Decide
if acts
moral/immoral
with
Greatest
Happiness Principle
(GHP)
Actual
c
on
s
equ
e
nc
e
s
the
act
had?
What was
intended
as
c
o
n
sequenc
e?
Usual
consequences
for
this kind
of
act?
S
o
Use happiness,
defined
in
terms of
pleasure,
to
evaluate
consequences
of
acts
S
o
Which consequences
to
look
at to
do
so?
Consequences
for
whom?
•
Sentient beings
(5)
•
Not
the
whole world for
all
actions
(6)
•
Impa
r
tial
i
ty
(5)
Different
kinds of
pleasures
Mill
distinguishes
between
different
kinds
of pleasures
in Chpt.
2:
intellectual &
sensual
Which kind of pleasure is best, and
why?
T
h
o
s
e
w
h
o
h
a
v
e
e
x
p
e
r
i
e
n
c
e
d
b
o
t
h
p
r
e
f
e
r
t
h
e
“
h
i
g
h
e
r
,
”
”
i
n
t
e
l
l
e
c
t
u
a
l
”
p
l
e
a
s
u
r
e
s
(
3
-
5
)
A “pig
satisfied”
A “Socrates
dissatisfied”
Sensual
p
l
e
a
s
u
r
e
s
only
Sens
u
al
&
intellectual
Do we have to calculate
consequences each time we
act?
•
No; we
can
use “
subordinate
principles
” from the
“fundamental
principle”
(GHP)
(8)
•
These
are
drawn from human
experience of which
kinds
of actions
tend to promote more/less pleasure
&
pain
(7-8)
Greatest Happiness Principle
(GHP): acts are
morally right
as
they
tend
to
produce happiness
Act
R/W?
Act
R/W?
Act
R/W?
Act
R/W?
Use GHP to
determine
subordinate
rules by asking about usual
tendencies of
kinds
of
actions
Subordinate
rules
(7-8)
e.g.,
lying is usually wrong
(7)
Chpt
IV:
Argument for
GHP
(optional reading)
1.
Pleasure/happiness
is the
only
thing
desirable
as an
end
goal of human action: the only
intrinsically
good
thing
2.
We
should
use the
only intrinsically
good
thing
to decide which
acts
are morally
right/wrong
3.
More of what is
intrinsically
good is better
than
less
Therefore,
we can judge which acts are morally
right/wrong
by how much happiness
they
produce
for all
involved
Chpt
V:
Utilitarianism &
Justice
Two
questions
addressed
here:
1.
What
differentiates
justice
from the
rest
of
morality?
2.
Would
utilitarianism
allow people
to
act
unjustly
if
that
would
promote more
happiness in
a
group
overall?
What
produces
happiness
What
we
should
compel people
to
do or
avoid
(14)
Mo
r
ality
What people
have
a
right
to
(15)
-- what
protects
security
(16)
Ju
s
tice
Be
g
e
n
e
r
o
us
A
v
o
id
theft
Study
for
exams
Examples
Question
2:
Would
utilitarianism allow people to
act
unjustly if that would
promote more
happiness
in a group
overall?
Sti
l
l…
Even rules of
justice
can be
overridden
sometimes by other moral duties
(17).
Act vs Rule
utilitarianism
A
distinction
that
didn’t exist when Mill
was
writing
•
AU:
moral value
of acts
judged by utility
of consequences of
those
(kinds of)
acts
•
RU:
moral value
of acts
judged by
whether they follow rules; rules judged
by
utility
of
their
consequences if generally
accepted and/or
followed
A
c
t
u
t
i
l
i
t
a
r
i
a
n
i
s
m
R
u
l
e
u
t
i
l
i
t
a
r
i
a
n
i
s
m
Principle
of
utility
(e.g.,
Mill’s
GHP)
Act
R/W?
Principle
of
utility
(e.g.,
Mill’s
GHP)
Act
R/W?
Act
R/W?
Rules with
high
acceptance
and/or
obedience
utility
Act
R/W?
Act
R/W?
Act
R/W?
Explore John Stuart Mill's work on Utilitarianism, consequentialism, and hedonistic consequentialism. Discover how moral questions are evaluated based on actions and consequences, and delve into the principle of seeking happiness for sentient beings to determine moral value.
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John Stuart Mill (1806-1873, England) Mill had a lifelong goal of reforming the world in the interest of human well- being http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/mill / Image of JS Mill from Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Groups on moral questions Read the question assigned to your group (see instructions on the doc) and write down: Your own answers to the question What you think a utilitarian who agrees with Mill would say about it http://is.gd/PHIL102Mill
When asking what is right/wrong morally, what to evaluate? Action Consequences Person Intention Motive Habitual disposition to act in someways What kind of act is it? Whatwas actually done? Whatresults from the action? Mill focuseshere
Consequentialism whether an act is morally right depends only on consequences (as opposed to the intrinsic nature of the act or anything that happens before the act). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy on consequentialism: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/consequentialism/#ClaUti
Hedonistic consequentialism Value hedonism: all and only pleasure is intrinsically valuable and all and only pain is intrinsically disvaluable. -- Internet Encycl. of Philosophy: http://www.iep.utm.edu/hedonism/#SH1b Hedonistic consequentialism: we can determine the moral value of consequences, and therefore of acts, by how much pleasure/pain produced
Utilitarianism, Chpt 1 There ought either to be some one fundamental principle or law, at the root of all morality, or if there be several, there should be a determinate order of precedence among them (1). What is that principle, for Mill?
Simplified overview of Mills Utilitarianism We can judge the moral value of actions by the degree of happiness they tend to produce for the sentient creatures involved
Greatest Happiness Principle actions are [morally] right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, [morally] wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness (Mill, Chpt. 2, p. 2). happiness is defined in terms of pleasure and reduction or absence of pain
Support for GHP (more in Chpt. IV) pleasure, and freedom from pain, are the only things desirable as ends (2) Mill on the highest good (5) The end of human action is necessarily also the standard of morality (5) Pleasure, reduction of pain (self &others) goal goal goal
Pleasure as only intrinsic value (p. 2, & Chpt4) S o Use happiness, defined in terms of pleasure, to evaluate consequences of acts S o Decide if acts moral/immoral withGreatest Happiness Principle (GHP) Which consequences to look at to do so? What was intended as consequence? Actual Usual consequences the acthad? consequences for this kindof act?
Consequences for whom? Sentient beings(5) Not the whole world for all actions (6) Impartiality (5)
Different kinds of pleasures Mill distinguishes between different kinds of pleasures in Chpt. 2: intellectual & sensual
Which kind of pleasure is best, and why? Those who have experienced both prefer the higher, intellectual pleasures (3-5) Sensual pleasures only Sensual & intellectual A pig satisfied A Socrates dissatisfied
Do we have to calculate consequences each time we act? No; we can use subordinate principles from the fundamental principle (GHP) (8) These are drawn from human experience of which kinds of actions tend to promote more/less pleasure & pain (7-8)
Greatest Happiness Principle (GHP): acts are morally right as they tend to produce happiness Use GHP to determine subordinate rules by asking about usual tendencies of kinds of actions Subordinate rules (7-8) e.g., lying is usually wrong (7) ActR/W? ActR/W? ActR/W? ActR/W?
Chpt IV: Argument for GHP (optional reading) 1. Pleasure/happiness is the only thing desirable as an end goal of human action: the only intrinsically good thing 2. We should use the only intrinsically good thing to decide which acts are morally right/wrong 3. More of what is intrinsically good is better than less Therefore, we can judge which acts are morally right/wrong by how much happiness they produce for all involved
Chpt V: Utilitarianism & Justice Two questions addressed here: 1. What differentiates justice from the rest of morality? 2. Would utilitarianism allow people to act unjustly if that would promote more happiness in a group overall?
Examples What produces happiness Study for exams What we should compel people to do or avoid (14) Morality Be generous What people have a right to (15) -- what protects security (16) Avoid theft Justice
Question 2: Would utilitarianism allow people to act unjustly if that would promote more happiness in a group overall?
Still Even rules of justice can be overridden sometimes by other moral duties (17).
Act vs Rule utilitarianism A distinction that didn t exist when Mill was writing AU: moral value of acts judged by utility of consequences of those (kinds of) acts RU: moral value of acts judged by whether they follow rules; rules judged by utility of their consequences if generally accepted and/or followed
Act utilitarianism Rule utilitarianism Principle of utility (e.g., Mill s GHP) Principle of utility (e.g., Mill s GHP) ActR/W? ActR/W? ActR/W? Rules with high acceptance and/or obedience utility ActR/W? ActR/W? ActR/W?
