Utilitarianism As the Text Points Essay

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Bentham is looking for measurable outcomes, because he wants to quantify ethics instead of leaving it up for endless debate. Good intentions can lead to undesirable consequences, which is why it is important to think through actions and consider all possible outcomes. If the outcome harms others, then the action was morally wrong. It makes more sense to critique actions than motives. According to Bentham, "there is no such thing as a motive which is a bad one in itself," (cited on p 279). Motives cannot be measured as well as consequences can. Giving a gift to someone is usually a good thing, even if the gift-giver gives grudgingly. Likewise, a donation to charity has positive outcomes, even if the person is motivated by guilt. The hedonistic calculus can also explain why crises often lead to opportunities for growth and positive change. A divorce, which could be measured as morally wrong, can have positive outcomes for both parties as well as any children involved.

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Although Bentham's hedonistic calculus is flawed, it does offer a general guideline for making ethical decisions and moral judgments. Bentham's calculus does not take into account the wide range of individual differences in what constitutes pleasure or what creates pleasure. One of the most important challenges to Bentham's hedonistic calculus was John Stuart Mill's claim that pleasures are hierarchical. While meditation on intellectually stimulating subjects might indeed be considered a "higher" pursuit than watching television, whether or not those intellectual meditations amount to anything more than self-indulgence remains to be seen. Mill's critique of the hedonistic calculus comes across as being elitist. It has little place in a society in which achieving the greatest good for the greatest number of people should probably be a good enough….....

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