Introduction
Utilitarianism is a moral theory that is based on hedonism. It was developed in the 18th century by the English philosopher Jeremy Bentham who agreed with Epicurus that hedonism is true.
Bentham believed that human beings are motivated by the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain. He wrote,
Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure. It is for them alone to point out what we ought to do, as well as to determine what we shall do.
Utilitarianism
Bentham realised that if everyone was interested in their own pleasure/happiness, then the best overall decisions are those which take into account everyone’s pleasures and pains.
This is the theory of Utilitarianism - a system to determine which actions are right and which are wrong based on how much pleasure (or happiness) they produce.
Bentham believed that the morally right action is the one that brings the most pleasure and the least pain to the greatest number of people. He thought that every person’s happiness is equally important and that we should always try to make decisions that maximise overall happiness. For Bentham, pleasure and happiness were the main goals of life, and his utilitarian approach was a way to apply this hedonistic idea to everyday decisions.
The hedonic calculus
In order to be able to work out which action is the right one, Bentham invented the hedonic calculus. This is the procedure for calculating what to do in any situation to ensure that you perform the morally right action. Suppose that you are trying to decide whether to do action A:
Add up the units of happiness/pleasure from doing A.
Add up all the units of unhappiness/pain from doing A.
Subtract the total unhappiness from the total happiness.
Repeat steps 1, 2, 3 for not doing action A.
So now you will have two numbers - the sum of all happiness minus the sum of all unhappiness for action A, and the sum of all happiness minus the sum of all unhappiness for not doing action A. Whichever action (A or not doing A) results in the greater number is the morally right action.
It is important to recognise that when performing the hedonic calculus, you need to take account of everyone who is affected - this is not a theory for egoists who are only concerned in their own happiness. But it is also important to note that you do not have to be an altruist to be a utilitarian - the motivation for maximising happiness is irrelevant.
Issue #1 - Jim and the villagers
Many philosophers have found problems with the theory of Utilitarianism. One of the most famous is the Jim and the villagers thought experiment, which was devised by Bernard Williams to show that integrity is an important value that is overlooked by Utilitarianism
One day, Jim, who is travelling in a foreign country, arrives in a small village where he sees a group of twenty innocent villagers lined up against a wall, about to be executed by soldiers. The leader of the firing squad tells Jim that if he agrees to shoot one of the villagers himself, the rest will be set free. If Jim refuses, all twenty villagers will be killed.
If Bentham is correct that in any situation the right thing to do is whatever causes the most amount of happiness, then we would expect that if Jim were to perform the hedonic calculus, the result would be that he ought to take the gun and shoot one of the villagers.
Applying the hedonic calculus we get the following:
Shoot one villager - this would lead to Jim’s unhappiness (-1), 1 unhappy family (-1) and 19 happy families (+19). Overall score is +17.
Do nothing - this would lead to Jim’s happiness (+1) and 20 unhappy families (-20). Overall score is -19.
So shooting would produce 17 units of happiness overall, not shooting would produce 19 units of unhappiness overall, so the moral decision is clear-cut: the morally right action is for Jim to take the gun and shoot one villager.
But, Williams argued, Jim is someone who is strongly against killing, and this violation of his personal integrity is unacceptable - a moral theory should not demand that you have to sacrifice your own values in this way. Doing the morally right thing cannot involve having to shoot someone.
Issue #2 - The experience machine
A second thought experiment that is used to attack Utilitarianism is Robert Nozick’s “experience machine”.
In the experience machine, you live in a fake world where you feel happy all the time and every wish comes true. There is no pain or unhappiness, just endless fun and pleasure. But everything you experience is artificial, not real. Nozick uses this idea to show that we care about having real experiences and achieving real goals, not just feeling happy all the time.
If Jeremy Bentham is correct about hedonism, then we should all want to plug ourselves into the experience machine for the rest of our lives.
However, Nozick argued that most people wouldn’t want to live in the machine because they want their experiences to be real, not fake. He believed that we care about living an authentic life, making real choices, and actually achieving things, not just feeling like we are.
Therefore, there is more to the good life than just pleasure; it includes truth and reality.
Final thoughts
Despite initially seeming believable, these two issues provide serious threats to Utilitarianism. Maybe Bentham is not correct that pleasure/happiness is the most important aspect of our lives?