Utilitarianism is the belief of ‘the greatest good for the happiest and greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong’.
Utilitarianism can be characterized as a quantitative and reductionist approach to ethics. It is a type of naturalism. It can be contrasted with deontological ethics, which does not regard the consequences of an act as a determinant of its moral worth; virtue ethics, which primarily focuses on acts and habits leading to happiness; pragmatic ethics; as well as with ethical egoism and other varieties of consequentialism.The Teleological theory also known as the design argument is based on the interpretation of teleology wherein purpose and design appear to exist in nature beyond the scope of any such human activities. Philosophers believe that this is where an action can be committed but it rests on the reason for the action. For example a person can commit a crime such as theft, but the reason for the act could have been to feed his/her starved family so therefore the act is fine.
However with the deontological theory the normative ethical position that judges the morality of an action based on the action's adherence to a rule or rules.It is sometimes described as "duty" or "obligation" or "rule" -based ethics, because rules "bind you to your duty". For example a deontological statement could be any one of the Ten Commandments as they are absolute, and you would not defy them. Jeremy Bentham is known as the father of utilitarianism.
He was born on the 15th February 17 . His ambition in life was to create a “Pannomion” this is a complete set of utilitarian laws and described utilitarianism by saying ‘it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong’, so therefore judged the quantity of happiness and not the quality.The principle of the ‘greatest happiness’ was the seed of all of Bentham's thought to utilitarianism. By happiness he meant that pleasure had dominance over pain. Bentham suggested that there should be a measure of this and created the hedonistic calculator.
He proposed that there were 12 pains and 14 pleasures by which he could test the happiness factor of any action. He lay down set criteria as to how he reviewed the concept of punishment, when it should be used and whether it being used would create more pleasure or pain for the majority of society and this was split into seven categories which are intensity, duration, certainty, proximity, productiveness, purity, and extent.Bentham died 6th June 1832 and utilitarianism was revised and expanded by his student John Stuart Mill. John Stuart Mill’s was born 20th May 1806. He was the eldest son of James Mill a firm believer in Bentham's theory on utilitarianism. Mill was raised in a certain way whereby he was shielded from association from children his own age, so his father could create a genius intellect that could carry on the cause of utilitarianism after his father and Bentham died.
Mill’s was very forward thinking as he thought of women’s right’s long before the idea became publicised. However he thought that Bentham’s idea of utilitarianism was dehumanising, he still was a utilitarian but argued that we must consider the quality of happiness and not merely the quantity as ‘it is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied and if the pig is of a different opinion, it is because it only knows one side of the question. The other party to the comparison knows both sides.So therefore do not degrade yourself to an animal to be satisfied and it is better to be dissatisfied a human.
There are two types of utilitarianism Act and Rule. Act: an action is right only if it produces the greatest balance of pleasure over pain for the greatest number. This is what Bentham very much believed in the quantitive side to utilitarianism. Rule: an act is only right if and only if it conforms to a set of rules the general acceptance of which would produce the greatest balance of pleasure over pain for the greatest number. This is what Mill believed in the qualitative side to utilitarianism.
