Explain the difference between act and rule Utilitarianism.

Utilitarianism

Explain the difference between act and rule Utilitarianism. (33 marks)

Utilitarianism, in its most basic form is ‘ the greatest happiness for the greatest number’. Coming from the Latin word, ‘utilis’, which means useful. Jeremy Bentham wrote, in one of his books in 1789, that utility is,

‘a property in any object, whereby it tends to produce benefit, advantage, pleasure, good, or happiness…or… to prevent the happenings of mischief, pain, evil, or unhappiness’.

It is easy to assume that utilitarianism is based on the fact that if something is useful, then it is moral. However, this is very wrong, the theory is much more complex than this, being involved in decisions, actions and consequences.

The theory of Utilitarianism was developed by Jeremy Bentham, in his work, ‘The principles of morals and legislation’, which was a mix of ethics and politics, both of which he was very interested in. Bentham was hedonist, and felt that happiness and pleasure was the main ethical measure. He believed that if an action is pleasant, bringing about happiness for the individual and others, then it is morally right. Bentham attempted to better the ‘Golden rule’ taught by Jesus, which was to love out neighbour as ourselves. He wanted to better this as he felt that in loving our neighbour, and in a moral situation, resolving a problem by loving a neighbour could leave to harm to a minority. He attempted to solve this dilemma with the ‘Hedonic Calculus’ This would be useful in deciding upon the most correct form of action by calculating how much happiness and pleasure would come out of the options, and at the same time reduce the amount of unhappiness. Seven factors were to be considered in the calculus,

Intensity of the pleasure
duration of the pleasure
certainty of pleasure
‘propinquity’ of the pleasure happening
‘Fecundity’, or chance of a repeat of the pleasure
Purity of the pleasure and the chance of any pain
Extent of the pleasure or number of people involved.

A huge weakness of this theory is that if one were to take the example of ten rapists, raping the same person, it would, according to the Hedonic Calculus, be perfectly alright. This is because the pleasure of the ten rapists would outweigh the pain of the one victim of the rapes.

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Intensity of the pleasure
duration of the pleasure
certainty of pleasure
‘propinquity’ of the pleasure happening
‘Fecundity’, or chance of a repeat of the pleasure
Purity of the pleasure and the chance of any pain
Extent of the pleasure or number of people involved.

Although this method of moral decision-making is simple, it does require one to predict and assume. We would have to assume the amount of please and happiness that would be experienced, we also have no idea what the consequences of our actions, after the decision has been made would be. Lastly, we need to decide what actually pleasure is. We all each have our own idea of pleasure, and pleasure to one person, maybe pain to another. Also, in taking the example of a dentist extracting a tooth. We may experience pleasure in the long term, by being able to retain our own healthy teeth and preventing other teeth from becoming decayed, but we would have to undergo a great deal of pain to extract the tooth, fill in a tooth and so on.

Bentham’s theory of Utilitarianism came under the ‘act’ umbrella. Act utilitarianism is concerned with the outcome of the action to assess whether it was right or wrong. Therefore, there is only one main rule, which is that one should always seek the greatest happiness for the greatest number. Act utilitarianism is teleological, coming from the Greek word ‘telos’, meaning the result or end. Weaknesses of act utilitarianism are that it is difficult to predict consequences of actions, which makes it hard to know whether an action is good or not. It also allows a justification for any act, on the basis that one could argue that was intended to seek happiness or pleasure. It leaves little room for minorities, considering the theory is based upon the good of the majority, and also, that the majority is not always right. The clearest example of this being the Nazis and their regime. Act utilitarianism fails to be absolute, allowing most decisions and actions, and meaning nothing is truly right or wrong.

John Stuart Mill was a critic of Bentham’s theory. He argued that he focussed morality on pleasure alone, which seems basic. He extended the theory by examining not just the quantity of please and happiness, but also the quality of it. John Stuart Mill saw pleasure as just not physical, but spiritual and mental as well. He went on to distinguish ‘higher’ and ‘lower’ pleasures. Higher pleasures were involved with the mind and intellect, and lower with the body, such as sex, drink and food. He believed that both needed to be in moderation to be enjoyed at their best. However, higher pleasures were more enjoyable than lower ones. His most famous quote was,

‘It is better to be a human dissatisfied than a pig satisfied,

better to be a Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied’.

We find problems when we examine the distinction between higher and lower pleasures. Is reading Shakespeare more pleasurable than listing to Mozart? Is eating a high-class French dish higher than a MacDonald’s burger, which could be said to be low? This present many difficulties.

John Stuart Mill’s work was criticised by Ross, a philosopher, who argued that we cannot simply rely on single principles such as the ‘greatest happiness’. He used the example of being left on a sinking, with just one space left on the last lifeboat. With one space left to your own father or a doctor with the cure for AIDS, which would you chose? Clearly, using utilitarianism, one would chose the AIDS cure doctor, who can clearly make the greater difference. However, we cannot forget our own obligation to our family. Rule Utilitarianism, therefore is more specific, and less general. It is concerned more with initial principles and rules. It is more deontological, and is involved in the decision making rather than the outcome of the decision and action. It is relative to the situation, and considers what is right or wrong to maximise the pleasure and happiness in the particular situation/community/culture.

Although there are differences between act and rule utilitarianism, the main difference is that act utilitarianism is more general. It is involved in the outcome and is teleological, from which rules can be deduced, whilst rule utilitarianism is deontological, and involved the action. It holds rules and general principles from which decisions can be made. However, both forms of utilitarianism are based upon ‘the greatest happiness for the greatest number’.

‘Utilitarianism has serious weaknesses’. Discuss. (17 marks)

It could easily be said that utilitarianism has serious weaknesses. A huge weakness is the fact that is does not include the minority. With the ‘greatest happiness for the greatest number’, the minority is left out. With the majority enjoying the happiness and pleasures, the minority is left without anything, and little defence in any situation. Utilitarianism also is weak in the fact that one is able to justify any act, by arguing that is was done for the greatest good and happiness. One is able to say that, using act utilitarianism, they were convinced that they were going to achieve happiness from their actions, and therefore were right. This could be simply an excuse. Utilitarianism presents a difficulty when defining pleasure. Pleasure and happiness for one person could be very different to that of another person. This could lead to conflict, where a certain individual or group could be enjoying their happiness or pleasure, but on the other hand, a certain individual or group could be enduring pain or displeasure as a result of the same actions. Most importantly, and bizarrely, a weakness is that we can claim to be able to ‘calculate’ the quantity and quality of happiness and pleasure.

With the Hedonic Calculus, it could be said that it makes the use of Utilitarianism simple and easy to use. One is able to gauge the actions and decisions against it and make a judgement.