Ethics Unit 2 Review: Consequentialism and Utilitarianism

Key Concepts and Definitions

• Consequentialism holds that the morality of an action is determined solely by its consequences
• Utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism that seeks to maximize overall happiness or well-being for the greatest number of people
• The principle of utility, also known as the greatest happiness principle, is the foundation of utilitarian thought
• Hedonism is the view that pleasure is the only intrinsic good and pain is the only intrinsic bad
• Welfarism is the view that the goodness of a state of affairs depends solely on the welfare of individuals
• Act utilitarianism evaluates the morality of an action based on its specific consequences in a particular situation
• Rule utilitarianism evaluates the morality of an action based on the consequences of a general rule being followed

Historical Context and Development

• Consequentialism has roots in ancient Greek philosophy, particularly in the works of Epicurus who emphasized the pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain
• The modern development of utilitarianism began in the 18th century with the works of Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill
• Bentham's book "An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation" (1789) introduced the concept of utility and the greatest happiness principle
• Mill's book "Utilitarianism" (1863) further developed and popularized utilitarian ideas
• In the 20th century, philosophers such as Henry Sidgwick, R.M. Hare, and Peter Singer expanded and refined utilitarian theories
• The development of game theory and decision theory in the 20th century provided new tools for analyzing the consequences of actions
• The rise of effective altruism in the 21st century has brought renewed attention to utilitarian ideas and their practical applications

Major Philosophers and Their Contributions

• Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) is considered the founder of modern utilitarianism
  • He introduced the concept of utility and the greatest happiness principle
  • He proposed a felicific calculus for measuring pleasure and pain
• John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) was a prominent defender and developer of utilitarianism
  • He distinguished between higher and lower pleasures, arguing that the quality of pleasure matters as much as the quantity
  • He introduced the idea of rule utilitarianism and argued for the importance of individual liberty
• Henry Sidgwick (1838-1900) was a major influence on 20th-century utilitarianism
  • He developed a systematic account of utilitarianism and addressed various objections to it
  • He introduced the idea of indirect utilitarianism, which holds that we should follow common-sense moral rules that tend to promote utility
• R.M. Hare (1919-2002) was a prominent 20th-century utilitarian philosopher
  • He developed a two-level utilitarian theory that distinguishes between intuitive and critical thinking
  • He argued for the importance of universalizability in moral reasoning
• Peter Singer (1946-present) is a leading contemporary utilitarian philosopher
  • He has applied utilitarian principles to issues such as animal rights, global poverty, and effective altruism
  • He has argued for the importance of impartially considering the interests of all sentient beings

Core Principles of Consequentialism

• The consequences of an action are the sole determinant of its moral rightness or wrongness
• The right action is the one that produces the best overall consequences
• Consequentialists reject the idea that there are intrinsic moral rules or duties independent of consequences
• Consequentialists hold that the ends can justify the means if the consequences are sufficiently good
• Consequentialists typically aim to maximize overall well-being, happiness, or utility
• Consequentialists may disagree about what counts as a good consequence (e.g. pleasure, preference satisfaction, objective list theory)
• Consequentialists may also disagree about whose consequences matter (e.g. humans only, all sentient beings, future generations)

Types of Utilitarianism

• Act utilitarianism evaluates the morality of an action based on its specific consequences in a particular situation
  • It holds that the right action is the one that produces the greatest overall utility in that specific case
  • It allows for exceptions to general moral rules if doing so would maximize utility in a particular case
• Rule utilitarianism evaluates the morality of an action based on the consequences of a general rule being followed
  • It holds that the right action is the one that conforms to a rule that, if generally followed, would produce the greatest overall utility
  • It emphasizes the importance of moral rules and the need for a stable and predictable moral framework
• Negative utilitarianism focuses on minimizing suffering rather than maximizing happiness
  • It holds that reducing suffering should be the primary goal of moral action
  • It may lead to different conclusions than standard utilitarianism in cases where an action would produce both happiness and suffering
• Average utilitarianism seeks to maximize the average utility per person rather than the total utility
  • It holds that a smaller population with higher average well-being is better than a larger population with lower average well-being
  • It avoids some of the counterintuitive implications of total utilitarianism (e.g. the repugnant conclusion)
• Two-level utilitarianism distinguishes between intuitive and critical moral thinking
  • At the intuitive level, we should follow simple moral rules that generally promote utility
  • At the critical level, we should use utilitarian reasoning to evaluate and revise our intuitive moral rules

Practical Applications and Case Studies

• Utilitarianism has been applied to a wide range of practical ethical issues, including:
  • Animal welfare: Singer has argued that the interests of animals should be given equal consideration to those of humans
  • Global poverty: Utilitarians have argued for an obligation to donate to effective charities that can do the most good per dollar
  • Criminal justice: Utilitarians have argued for a focus on deterrence and rehabilitation rather than retribution in the criminal justice system
• The trolley problem is a famous thought experiment that illustrates some of the implications of utilitarianism
  • A runaway trolley is about to kill five people on the track ahead, but you can divert it to a side track where it will kill only one person
  • Most utilitarians would say that you should divert the trolley to minimize the number of deaths
• The organ transplant scenario is another case that highlights the sometimes counterintuitive implications of utilitarianism
  • Suppose a healthy patient comes in for a routine checkup and is found to be a perfect match for five patients who need organ transplants to survive
  • A strict utilitarian might argue that it would be right to secretly kill the healthy patient and use their organs to save the other five
• The utility monster is a hypothetical being that gets vastly more utility from resources than normal people
  • Utilitarianism seems to imply that we should prioritize the utility monster's needs and desires over those of everyone else
  • This highlights the potential for utilitarianism to justify extreme inequality if it would maximize overall utility

Critiques and Limitations

• The demandingness objection holds that utilitarianism is too demanding and requires excessive self-sacrifice
  • Utilitarianism seems to imply that we should always be working to maximize utility, leaving little room for personal projects or relationships
  • Singer's drowning child argument highlights this issue: if we have an obligation to rescue a drowning child at little cost to ourselves, don't we also have an obligation to donate most of our income to save lives in developing countries?
• The integrity objection holds that utilitarianism fails to respect the separateness of persons and the integrity of individual lives
  • Utilitarianism treats individuals as mere receptacles of utility and may require sacrificing an individual for the greater good
  • The organ transplant scenario illustrates this concern: killing an innocent person to save five others seems to violate the integrity of the individual
• The inert historical information objection holds that utilitarianism ignores the moral relevance of past actions and circumstances
  • Utilitarianism only looks forward to future consequences and disregards factors such as desert, promise-keeping, and compensation for past wrongs
  • This can lead to counterintuitive implications, such as punishing an innocent person if doing so would maximize utility by deterring future crime
• The mere addition paradox suggests that utilitarianism leads to the repugnant conclusion that a vast population with lives barely worth living is better than a smaller, thriving population
  • This seems to contradict moral common sense and raises questions about the adequacy of utilitarian value theory
• The non-identity problem suggests that utilitarianism has difficulty accounting for our obligations to future generations
  • Policies that affect the identities of future people (e.g. climate change mitigation) cannot be said to harm or benefit those specific individuals since they would not have existed otherwise
  • This challenges the utilitarian idea of maximizing overall utility across generations

Comparison with Other Ethical Frameworks

• Deontology, associated with Immanuel Kant, focuses on moral rules and duties rather than consequences
  • Deontologists believe that there are intrinsic moral rules (e.g. do not lie) that must be followed regardless of the consequences
  • Utilitarians reject intrinsic moral rules and hold that the right action is always the one that produces the best consequences
• Virtue ethics, associated with Aristotle, focuses on moral character rather than actions or consequences
  • Virtue ethicists emphasize the importance of cultivating virtuous character traits such as courage, justice, and benevolence
  • Utilitarians focus on actions and consequences rather than character, but some utilitarians argue that cultivating certain virtues tends to promote good consequences
• Care ethics, associated with Carol Gilligan, emphasizes the importance of empathy, compassion, and attentiveness to context in moral reasoning
  • Care ethicists prioritize the maintenance of interpersonal relationships and the meeting of individuals' contextual needs
  • Utilitarians focus on impartial maximization of overall well-being, but some utilitarians argue that care and empathy are instrumentally valuable for promoting utility
• Egoism holds that the right action is the one that maximizes the agent's own self-interest
  • Ethical egoism is a consequentialist view, but it focuses solely on the consequences for the individual rather than overall utility
  • Utilitarians reject egoism and hold that we should impartially consider the interests of all affected individuals
• Rights-based theories, such as libertarianism, hold that individuals have certain inviolable rights that constrain the pursuit of overall utility
  • Libertarians prioritize individual liberty and property rights over utilitarian considerations
  • Utilitarians may argue that rights can be instrumentally valuable for promoting utility, but they reject the idea of intrinsic, inviolable rights