Classical utilitarianism Notes for April 2

Main points

We read Bentham and Sidgwick as early and late exponents of utilitarianism in general. In the next class, we will look at Mill’s attempt to apply of utilitarianism to the question of how much individual liberty societies should permit.

Utilitarianism

The utilitarians were social reformers. They thought that irrational restrictions in common sense morality and in the law retarded social progress and permitted unwarranted cruelty. Historically speaking, they are liberal heroes.

Nonetheless, they tend to wear a black hat in political philosophy courses. Their utilitarian philosophy, it is often said, is only imperfectly aligned with their liberal politics. That, in any event, is the theme of Rawls’s book, A Theory of Justice. But before we get into that, let’s meet our utilitarians. Utilitarians tend to hold:

1. Hedonistic views of the good. They think that pleasure (happiness, the satisfaction of desires, utility, etc.) is ultimately the only good thing and that pain is ultimately the only bad thing.
2. Consequentialist views of right and wrong. They think that the right action or policy is the one that brings about better overall consequences than the alternatives. When we couple their consequentialism with their hedonism, we see that they seek to maximize happiness overall.
3. A tendency towards esotericism.** The previous two features define utilitarianism. This is just a tendency. The tendency to treat utilitarianism as a view that only an elite can safely know. If the unwashed masses came to believe that utilitarianism is true, they would act in ways that are worse than if they continued with their false beliefs about morality. Therefore, good utilitarians will encourage them to believe what they know to be false, all in the name of promoting utilitarian ends. This is discussed with characteristic insight by Sidgwick.

Utilitarianism and commonsense morality

Since they were reformers, it is not surprising to discover that the utilitarians often disagreed with received views about morality. You think that it’s immoral to dissect human bodies? Nonsense, look at all the good that can come from it.†† This was the cause that inspired Bentham’s famous Auto-icon. You think it’s acceptable to punish people for harmless pleasures? Don’t be silly. And so on.

Still, it is disconcerting that utilitarians are willing to violate almost any received moral rule if the circumstances call for doing so. Promising? Killing the innocent? Torture? You name it, it’s fair game because the only question that matters is what will maximize utility. Any action could, if the conditions are right, be the one that produces the best overall consequences.

Since morality, as we commonly think of it, is not so flexible, utilitarianism appears to many people to be morally objectionable.

Utilitarians have two ways of replying to any objection raised along these lines.

1. Utilitarianism almost always favors abiding by the common sense rule. Utilitarians generally refuse to lie, kill, or torture because of the bad consequences of doing so.
2. It’s true that, in extraordinary circumstances, utilitarians will recommend breaking the common sense moral rule. But, in these circumstances, that’s the right thing to do. Sticking with the common sense rule, by contrast, would be irrational.

Frequently, both arguments apply.