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Utilitarianism the best for the most George Matthews CC 2016 Creative Commons, attribution. BY: C Tanweer Morshed via Wikimedia Commons

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The Social Good

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The Social Good ! Traditional society

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The Social Good ! Traditional society Who you are matters, and some matter more than others.

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The Social Good ! Traditional society Who you are matters, and some matter more than others. Benefits, burdens and social roles are distributed according to fixed and inherited rules.

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The Social Good ! Traditional society Who you are matters, and some matter more than others. Benefits, burdens and social roles are distributed according to fixed and inherited rules. Assumption: the good of all requires that we each play our naturally given roles in society.

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The Social Good ! Traditional society Who you are matters, and some matter more than others. Benefits, burdens and social roles are distributed according to fixed and inherited rules. Assumption: the good of all requires that we each play our naturally given roles in society. ! Modern society

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The Social Good ! Traditional society Who you are matters, and some matter more than others. Benefits, burdens and social roles are distributed according to fixed and inherited rules. Assumption: the good of all requires that we each play our naturally given roles in society. ! Modern society We all matter equally.

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The Social Good ! Traditional society Who you are matters, and some matter more than others. Benefits, burdens and social roles are distributed according to fixed and inherited rules. Assumption: the good of all requires that we each play our naturally given roles in society. ! Modern society We all matter equally. Benefits, burdens and social roles are distributed based on neutral decision procedures.

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The Social Good ! Traditional society Who you are matters, and some matter more than others. Benefits, burdens and social roles are distributed according to fixed and inherited rules. Assumption: the good of all requires that we each play our naturally given roles in society. ! Modern society We all matter equally. Benefits, burdens and social roles are distributed based on neutral decision procedures. Assumption: the good of all is best served by allowing individuals to pursue their own conceptions of the good.

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Jeremy Bentham (1748 – 1832)

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Jeremy Bentham (1748 – 1832) “We are ruled by two sovereign masters, pleasure and pain.”

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Jeremy Bentham (1748 – 1832) ! Bentham was a legal reformer – he sought to eliminate laws that did more harm than good. “We are ruled by two sovereign masters, pleasure and pain.”

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Jeremy Bentham (1748 – 1832) ! Bentham was a legal reformer – he sought to eliminate laws that did more harm than good. ! For him the whole point of social and moral rules was to make our lives better. “We are ruled by two sovereign masters, pleasure and pain.”

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Jeremy Bentham (1748 – 1832) ! Bentham was a legal reformer – he sought to eliminate laws that did more harm than good. ! For him the whole point of social and moral rules was to make our lives better. ! He attempted to quantify pleasures and pains and developed a method of moral calculation. “We are ruled by two sovereign masters, pleasure and pain.”

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John Stuart Mill (1806 – 1873)

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John Stuart Mill (1806 – 1873) “It is better to be a human dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied.”

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John Stuart Mill (1806 – 1873) ! Mill was an economist who advocated liberty for all – men and women. “It is better to be a human dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied.”

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John Stuart Mill (1806 – 1873) ! Mill was an economist who advocated liberty for all – men and women. ! For him some desires were worthier than others, so he rejected Bentham’s hedonism. “It is better to be a human dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied.”

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John Stuart Mill (1806 – 1873) ! Mill was an economist who advocated liberty for all – men and women. ! For him some desires were worthier than others, so he rejected Bentham’s hedonism. ! He tried to show how all of moral philosophy could be explained as the quest by indivudals to satisfy as many of their preferences as possible. “It is better to be a human dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied.”

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Utilitarianism

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Utilitarianism 1. The point of moral action is to bring about good ends.

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Utilitarianism 1. The point of moral action is to bring about good ends. 2. Happiness is the highest good, the only thing intrinsically valuable.

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Utilitarianism 1. The point of moral action is to bring about good ends. 2. Happiness is the highest good, the only thing intrinsically valuable. 3. Moral action is whatever leads to the best consequences for the most people and hence creates the most possible happiness.

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Utilitarianism 1. The point of moral action is to bring about good ends. 2. Happiness is the highest good, the only thing intrinsically valuable. 3. Moral action is whatever leads to the best consequences for the most people and hence creates the most possible happiness. 4. For utilitarians the end – the greatest happiness for the most people – can justify the means.

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Rational Choice

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Rational Choice

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Rational Choice 1. Figure out what you want.

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Rational Choice 1. Figure out what you want. 2. Rank your preferences.

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Rational Choice 1. Figure out what you want. 2. Rank your preferences. 3. Estimate likely costs and benefits of satisfying your preferences.

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Rational Choice 1. Figure out what you want. 2. Rank your preferences. 3. Estimate likely costs and benefits of satisfying your preferences. 4. Calculate the expected utility of the available options.

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Rational Choice 1. Figure out what you want. 2. Rank your preferences. 3. Estimate likely costs and benefits of satisfying your preferences. 4. Calculate the expected utility of the available options. (benefits × probability)−(costs × probability) = utility

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Rational Choice 1. Figure out what you want. 2. Rank your preferences. 3. Estimate likely costs and benefits of satisfying your preferences. 4. Calculate the expected utility of the available options. (benefits × probability)−(costs × probability) = utility 5. Choose the option with the highest expected utility.

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From Self-interest to Morality

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From Self-interest to Morality “I am a rational agent out to satisfy as many preferences as I can.”

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From Self-interest to Morality “I am a rational agent out to satisfy as many preferences as I can.” “I care about others and might even set aside my own interests to help them out.”

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From Self-interest to Morality “I am a rational agent out to satisfy as many preferences as I can.” “I care about others and might even set aside my own interests to help them out.” What could convince us to shift from this attitude to this?

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From Self-interest to Morality “I am a rational agent out to satisfy as many preferences as I can.” “I care about others and might even set aside my own interests to help them out.” What could convince us to shift from this attitude to this?

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An argument for utilitarianism

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An argument for utilitarianism maximizing overall utility argument

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An argument for utilitarianism maximizing overall utility argument p1 We are all out for one and the same thing – happiness.

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An argument for utilitarianism maximizing overall utility argument p1 We are all out for one and the same thing – happiness. p2 Rational agents maximize happiness by maximizing utility.

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An argument for utilitarianism maximizing overall utility argument p1 We are all out for one and the same thing – happiness. p2 Rational agents maximize happiness by maximizing utility. p3 We all count equally.

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An argument for utilitarianism maximizing overall utility argument p1 We are all out for one and the same thing – happiness. p2 Rational agents maximize happiness by maximizing utility. p3 We all count equally. c So we should act in a way that maximizes utility for everybody.

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An argument for utilitarianism maximizing overall utility argument p1 We are all out for one and the same thing – happiness. p2 Rational agents maximize happiness by maximizing utility. p3 We all count equally. c So we should act in a way that maximizes utility for everybody. But why should rational individuals accept the third premise?

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An Unconvincing Argument

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An Unconvincing Argument

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An Unconvincing Argument p1 Rational agents are rational maximizers of utility.

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An Unconvincing Argument p1 Rational agents are rational maximizers of utility. p2 If we ignored others’ interests we wouldn’t be maximizing utility, because there would be less satisfaction around if only I were to be satisfied.

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An Unconvincing Argument p1 Rational agents are rational maximizers of utility. p2 If we ignored others’ interests we wouldn’t be maximizing utility, because there would be less satisfaction around if only I were to be satisfied. c So the only way to maximize utility is to accept that all of our interests count equally.

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An Unconvincing Argument p1 Rational agents are rational maximizers of utility. p2 If we ignored others’ interests we wouldn’t be maximizing utility, because there would be less satisfaction around if only I were to be satisfied. c So the only way to maximize utility is to accept that all of our interests count equally. There seems to be a fallacy here, what is it?

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A Better Argument

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A Better Argument

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A Better Argument p1 Rational agents are rational maximizers of utility.

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A Better Argument p1 Rational agents are rational maximizers of utility. p2 Part of being rational is being able to publicly defend your claims and choices.

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A Better Argument p1 Rational agents are rational maximizers of utility. p2 Part of being rational is being able to publicly defend your claims and choices. p3 It is impossible to publicly defend selfish action, the victims would never be convinced.

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A Better Argument p1 Rational agents are rational maximizers of utility. p2 Part of being rational is being able to publicly defend your claims and choices. p3 It is impossible to publicly defend selfish action, the victims would never be convinced. c So we have have to accept that all of our interests count equally.

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A Better Argument p1 Rational agents are rational maximizers of utility. p2 Part of being rational is being able to publicly defend your claims and choices. p3 It is impossible to publicly defend selfish action, the victims would never be convinced. c So we have have to accept that all of our interests count equally. Since I can’t convince you that you don’t count, I have to admit that you do count.

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If Utilitarianism is True . . .

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If Utilitarianism is True . . . 1. The right thing to do is the action with the best consequences for the most people.

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If Utilitarianism is True . . . 1. The right thing to do is the action with the best consequences for the most people. 2. Morality has an objective and a rational basis.

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If Utilitarianism is True . . . 1. The right thing to do is the action with the best consequences for the most people. 2. Morality has an objective and a rational basis. 3. We have a good reason for attempting to be unbiased since we all count equally.

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If Utilitarianism is True . . . 1. The right thing to do is the action with the best consequences for the most people. 2. Morality has an objective and a rational basis. 3. We have a good reason for attempting to be unbiased since we all count equally. 4. A world in which everyone acted morally would be a world in which we were all as happy as we could be.

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If Utilitarianism is True . . . 1. The right thing to do is the action with the best consequences for the most people. 2. Morality has an objective and a rational basis. 3. We have a good reason for attempting to be unbiased since we all count equally. 4. A world in which everyone acted morally would be a world in which we were all as happy as we could be. 5. What is good (the outcome of our actions) determines what is right.

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Technical Problems But if utilitarianism is going to work,

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Technical Problems But if utilitarianism is going to work, ! all people’s pleasures and pains have to be measurable and comparable on a single scale.

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Technical Problems But if utilitarianism is going to work, ! all people’s pleasures and pains have to be measurable and comparable on a single scale. ! the consequences of our actions and decisions have to be predictable.

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Technical Problems But if utilitarianism is going to work, ! all people’s pleasures and pains have to be measurable and comparable on a single scale. ! the consequences of our actions and decisions have to be predictable. ! we have to decide how far into the future consequences no longer matter.

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Technical Problems But if utilitarianism is going to work, ! all people’s pleasures and pains have to be measurable and comparable on a single scale. ! the consequences of our actions and decisions have to be predictable. ! we have to decide how far into the future consequences no longer matter. ! we have to be able to tell when we have enough information to make a decision.

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Technical Problems

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Technical Problems “My love of making you do meaningless tasks is worth exactly 3.47 times your desire to have a day off to attend your grandmother’s funeral.”

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Technical Problems “Says who?”

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Technical Problems “If you do that again, you’re fired!”

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Technical Problems “But if you fire me, I’ll start drinking heavily, will fall prey to extremist ideology and the actions of my comrades will precipitate World War 3!”

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Technical Problems “But that won’t happen for at least a month and I only care about now.”

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Technical Problems “What does the market research show about our sales prospects if we act unethically?”

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Technical Problems “Market research is expensive, and we won’t find out anything useful, so I didn’t bother to do any.”

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Deeper Problems If utilitarianism is to be an adequate moral theory,

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Deeper Problems If utilitarianism is to be an adequate moral theory, ! Motives have to be morally irrelevant.

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Deeper Problems If utilitarianism is to be an adequate moral theory, ! Motives have to be morally irrelevant. ! We have to give up the idea that some things are just plain wrong.

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Deeper Problems If utilitarianism is to be an adequate moral theory, ! Motives have to be morally irrelevant. ! We have to give up the idea that some things are just plain wrong. ! We must accept that the ends justify the means.

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Deeper Problems “Even though I promised you a permanent job, I had planned on laying you off after 10 months anyway.”

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Deeper Problems “That’s OK, after I lost my job I ended up reconnecting with my long lost son, so it’s all good.”

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Deeper Problems “It’s cheaper to be sued than to fix the product, so let’s pretend we didn’t know about it.”

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Deeper Problems “But isn’t it wrong to willfully put people in danger?”

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Deeper Problems “Not if we don’t get caught!”

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Deeper Problems “I’m going to have to ask you to not take any more weekends off.”

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Deeper Problems “But I have a right to time off!”

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Deeper Problems “Oh come on! It’s for the good of the economy!”

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Summary: Utilitarianism

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Summary: Utilitarianism claims ! The right thing to do is what produces the best consequences for the most people.

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Summary: Utilitarianism claims ! The right thing to do is what produces the best consequences for the most people. consequences " Morality would be objective, rational and unbiased. " Only consequences count, and the ends justify the means.

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Summary: Utilitarianism claims ! The right thing to do is what produces the best consequences for the most people. consequences " Morality would be objective, rational and unbiased. " Only consequences count, and the ends justify the means. argument O Maximizing overall utility argument, plus claim that we all count.

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Summary: Utilitarianism claims ! The right thing to do is what produces the best consequences for the most people. consequences " Morality would be objective, rational and unbiased. " Only consequences count, and the ends justify the means. argument O Maximizing overall utility argument, plus claim that we all count. evaluation  Argument seems reasonable.  Do good consequences always mean morally good choices?