Notes

Utilitarianism - moral theory that focuses on the results, or consequences of our actions, and treats intentions as irrelevant
- Like Kant, utilitarians agree that a moral theory should apply equally to everyone but they thought the way to do that was to ground it in something that’s really intuitive - and there’s really nothing more mastic than the primal desire to seek pleasure and avoid pain
- Utilitarian is a hedonistic moral theory; the good is equal to the pleasant and we morally should pursue pleasure and happiness and avoid pain
- Utilitarianism is other-regarding, we shouldn’t just pursue pleasure and happiness not just for ourselves but for as many other beings as possible
- “We should act always so as to produce the greatest good for the greatest number.” —> principle of utility
- For example it’s your birthday and your family says you can pick any restaurant you want. The thing that would make you happiest is Thai food, but you know that would make the rest of your family miserable so you choose Chinese food even though it’s not everybody’s favorite but they don’t mind it. You’ve chosen the action that would produce the most overall happiness for the group, even though it produced less happiness for you than other alternatives would have.
- Where morality is concerned, utilitarians argue, as special as you are, you are no more special than anybody else.
- Utilitarians suggest that we make our moral decision from the position of a kindhearted, disinterested spectator. Rather than thinking about what I should do, they suggest that I consider what I would think if I were advising a group of strangers about what they should do. That way I have a disposition of goodwill and am not emotionally invested, which gives a fair and unbiased judgment of what is best for the group.
Bentham & Mill believed that in any given situation, you should choose the action that produces the greatest good for the greatest number