Utilitarianism

Egoism is the ethical theory which says that to ‘do what thou wilt’ is the only law, It is a straightforward example of teleological moral theory, it’s problem lies in the fact that it appears not to consider the results of an individuals actions on others. This weakness is overcome by another theory which states that the total consequences of an action are that which ought to be sought (forgive the accidental poetry!)

Utilitarianism states that an action is right if it, produces the greatest good for the greatest number. The two greatest advocates of this theory were Jeremy Bentham (1748 - 1832) and his ‘disciple’ John Stuart Mill (1806 - 1873). Bentham was a very clever chap who was responsible for a great deal of legal and political reform in this country, his theory was called ‘the principle of utility’ which stated that an action should be judged entirely on its consequences for others. An action ought only to be done if it is to bring about the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest amount of people, for those parties affected by the action.

It is not simply the happiness which results from a particular action which is to be considered but also the resulting unhappiness. So faced with decision A and B the action which produces the greatest ‘Net’ happiness is the action which ought to be taken.

eg.

If there was the choice between an action which was likely to cause you great happiness, and an action which would cause less happiness for you but more for others then the Utilitarian would say, ‘choose the latter’, if your own happiness conflicts with the greater good then the greater good must always be chosen, even to the point of death.

It must be noted that Bentham was (like Epicurius) a hedonist he believed that Good was defined as something pleasurable and that Evil was defined as something painful. Therefore to state that such things as honesty, affection etc are ‘Good’ this is not because or their intrinsic but because they have an instrumental value. A more accurate definition of the principle of utility would read:

For all those affected by an action, that action is right if it brings pleasure (or prevents pain), and wrong if it brings pain (or prevents pleasure.)