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    Leadership and Ethics: Utilitarianism

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    erxha lado
    Utilitarianism is a moral philosophy that actions should be judged based on their consequences, specifically whether they produce the greatest amount of happiness or pleasure for the greatest number of people. Jeremy Bentham developed act utilitarianism which holds that the morally right action is the one that produces the most good. John Stuart Mill later proposed a more sophisticated version of utilitarianism that distinguished between higher and lower forms of pleasure. Utilitarians would argue that the ends can justify the means if it results in the greatest utility.

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    Leadership and Ethics: Utilitarianism

    Uploaded by

    erxha lado
    394 views16 pages
    Utilitarianism is a moral philosophy that actions should be judged based on their consequences, specifically whether they produce the greatest amount of happiness or pleasure for the greatest number of people. Jeremy Bentham developed act utilitarianism which holds that the morally right action is the one that produces the most good. John Stuart Mill later proposed a more sophisticated version of utilitarianism that distinguished between higher and lower forms of pleasure. Utilitarians would argue that the ends can justify the means if it results in the greatest utility.

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    Utilitarianism

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    Utilitarianism

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    Utilitarianism is a moral philosophy that actions should be judged based on their consequences, specifically whether they produce the greatest amount of happiness or pleasure for the greatest number of people. Jeremy Bentham developed act utilitarianism which holds that the morally right action is the one that produces the most good. John Stuart Mill later proposed a more sophisticated version of utilitarianism that distinguished between higher and lower forms of pleasure. Utilitarians would argue that the ends can justify the means if it results in the greatest utility.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    394 views16 pages

    Leadership and Ethics: Utilitarianism

    Uploaded by

    erxha lado
    Utilitarianism is a moral philosophy that actions should be judged based on their consequences, specifically whether they produce the greatest amount of happiness or pleasure for the greatest number of people. Jeremy Bentham developed act utilitarianism which holds that the morally right action is the one that produces the most good. John Stuart Mill later proposed a more sophisticated version of utilitarianism that distinguished between higher and lower forms of pleasure. Utilitarians would argue that the ends can justify the means if it results in the greatest utility.

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    of 16

    Leadership and Ethics

    Utilitarianism
    Utilitarianism
    What is Utilitarianism?
    Utilitarianism
    Utilitarianism:
    ◦ The moral philosophy that actions derive their
    moral quality from their usefulness as means to
    some end, especially as means productive of
    happiness or unhappiness.
    ◦ Applied to civics and politics, the greatest
    happiness of the greatest number should be the
    sole end and criterion of all public action.
    Utilitarianism
    Who was Jeremy Bentham?
    Utilitarianism
    Jeremy Bentham’s Utilitarianism
    Recognized as ‘Act Utilitarian’
    Right actions result in ‘good or pleasure,’
    wrong actions result in pain or absence of
    pleasure.
    ‘Max pleasure/min suffering morality
    criticized as “pig-philosophy”
    Hedonic Calculus
    Utilitarianism
    Some have argued lecture, that “the
    ends cannot justify the means” in moral
    choices.

    Would a utilitarian say that the ends can


    justify the means?
    Utilitarianism
    “Hedonic Calculus:” measuring pleasure
    and pain using what amounts to a formula
    (for a group, it measures intensity,
    duration, certainty, propinquity, fecundity,
    purity, and extent.). This calculation
    allows a utility based decision to be made
    on virtually any subject.
    Utilitarianism
    Who was John Stuart Mill?
    Utilitarianism
    John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism
    A more sophisticated form of
    Utilitarianism.
    Concerned with quality of pleasure
    and quantity of people who enjoy it.
    Recognized higher and lower types of
    human pleasure.
    Utilitarianism
    John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism
    Lower pleasures: eating, drinking,
    sexuality, etc.
    Higher pleasures: intellectuality,
    creativity and spirituality.
    ‘Better to be Socrates dissatisfied than
    a fool satisfied’
    ‘Rule’ Utilitarian?
    Utilitarianism
    “Society and the Bomb”

    Who was Henry L. Stimson?


    Why did he advise President Truman to
    drop the bomb?
    Utilitarianism
    “Society and the Bomb”

    Iskilling the innocent always wrong, no


    matter what the consequences?
    Would you have advised President
    Truman to drop the bomb?
    Medical Triage

    1 2 3

    Will D ie witho ut W ill live Mig ht save if they


    Extraordinary -- do n’t treat now Get Medical attention
    meas ures
    Utilitarianism
    Your military strategists have targeted a significant
    munitions factory located next to a children’s hospital.
    Obliterating the factory is crucial to the success of your
    overall campaigning. Any hit on the factory will impact
    the hospital.
    How would you decide what to do using Utilitarian
    principles?
    Do you find the Utilitarian recommendations morally
    satisfactory?
    Utilitarianism
    The Chief Executive Officer of large
    corporations often earn from 18 to 30 times
    more per year as the average employee in
    those corporations.
    Can you think of a Utilitarian defense for
    this “salary pyramid”?
    Can your think of some objections that a
    Utilitarian might raise to this radically
    unequal distribution of economic
    benefits?
    Utilitarianism
    “Society and the Bomb”
    Do you agree that in some
    circumstances the use of nuclear
    weapons is morally permissible?
    A tenet of Utilitarianism is that each
    person counts for one and only one.
    On this view then is there a difference
    between the moral worth of the lives
    of a civilian and a combatant? In light
    of this, ought there to be a
    difference?

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