1.
UTILITARIANISM
Ly c e u m - N o r t h w e s t e r n U n i v e r s i t y
M a e s t r a A l y s s a M a r i e Q u e r i m i t
G E C 2 I n s t r u c t o r

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UTILITARIANISM
Its root word “utility”, which refers to the usefulness of the
consequences of one’s action and behavior.
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Whatever is being assessed, we should select the option that will yield the
best overall outcomes. We should select the choice that "maximizes utility."

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UTILITARIANISM
• Modern utilitarianism was founded
by Jeremy Bentham. He was born on
Feb. 15, 1748 in London, England.
• According to him, UTILITARIANISM is
an ethical theory that states that
acts are ethically good if they tend
to promote happiness or pleasure
among all people and morally wrong
if they tend to promote sadness or
suffering.
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UTILITARIANISM
In th e b ook A n Intro ductio n to the Principles and Mo rals and Legislatio n
( 1 7 8 9 ), Jeremy Benth am b eg in s by arg u in g th at ou r ac tion s are govern ed
by two “sovereign masters” —wh ic h h e calls pleasure and pain . Th ese
“masters” are g iven to u s by n atu re to h elp u s d etermin e wh at is good or
b ad an d wh at ou g ht to b e d on e an d n ot; th ey fasten ou r c h oic es to th eir
throne.
Pleasu re – d esire, sou rc e of d elig ht an d joy
Pain – d iscomfort, d istress, su fferin g
Utilitarian ism is co nsequentialist.
• We ac t an d d o th in g s b ecau se th ey are p leasu rab le, an d we avoid d oin g
th in g s b ecau se th ey are p ainfu l.
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UTILITARIANISM
Utilitarianism is based from:
HEDONISM – the only thing that is good is happiness.
For example, if you're selecting ice cream for yourself, the
utilitarian viewpoint is that you should select the flavor that would
provide you with the most pleasure/happiness.
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