Ethics 5 Utilitarianism

[alanic60able]

Thank you that was a grate explanation.

[sogand4m]

Very helpful video thank you

[plutocratarianism]

The best way I see of labeling the U.S. government and justice system would be pragmatic and deontological, it is a system based on adhering to rules made up by the elites to protect their interests, and not society as a whole, those who break the rules face vindicative harsh punishments that actually have a detrimental effect on society as a whole in the long run.

[plutocratarianism]

It's obvious, the way the U.S. Government and Justice system works is largely not utilitarian. The economic costs of all these overcrowded jails and prisons are not a way of maximizing the good, they are too costly to maintain. The U.S. and most businesses and banks thinks only short term, not long term like China does.

The U.S. is doomed to fail in the near future, and we all see it coming because its a failed system that is not utilitarian and does not benefit society as a whole.

[kakashi1992e]

It seems like the best action, "that which produces the greatest net benefit," is prone to the whims and imperfections of human judgement. Determination of that which has the greatest net benefit seems subjective in itself... thus it seems like it would be very difficult to actually apply Utilitarianism in real life. It gets sticky when we talk about the intangibles, I guess.

[RagingAudioslave]

Isn't the definition of "good" or "benefit" in Utilitarianism completely arbitrary? One could define "good" as getting closer to a Christian God, one could define this as obtaining the maximum amount of pleasure, a hedonistic view.

If this is true, Utilitarianism is basically useless, isn't it?

[ZOA360]

weakness? in the real world not everyone can get what they want, it's just not possible. To obtain anything, something things must be sacrificed, that is the rule in this society, that is the natural rule since the dawn of life. People always try to have the good outweigh the bad, but no matter there will always be some "bad" per say.

[diogotomediogo]

preference utilitarianism

[Thesocraticbreed]

@wmiller24 Isn't it possible to say that a government may be able to break its own laws if it helps the people in the long run? Yet on the other hand, if a tyrant takes over and a government were to not only restrict the people too much... but to not have a senate, or a house... that tyrannicide is justified? I think that J.S Mill supported it in his On Liberty.

[Skabeeri]

What is your opinion on organ allocation issues: is utilitarian thinking ethically acceptable in organ allocation? Should the organ be given first to the patient that has the best prognosis in terms of quantity and quality of life or should it be given first to the one who is so sick s/he will die without, but also will not las very long with the new organ? If we decided to give it the the patient most in need: is the "wasting" of organs on very sick patients not ethically problematic?

[Skabeeri]

like your videos... are you a professor?

[wmiller24]

@Skabeeri Yes, I teach philosophy and ethics and Widener University, in Chester, Pennsylvania (that's a few miles south of Philadelphia).

[Skabeeri]

@wmiller24 nice! Wish our professors were as cool as you are! :) Also I'd love to hear one of your classes. Unfortunately a bit far away from Geneva...

[talkindurinthemovie]

this is just boting enough to help me with my test thanks!!!!!!

[jeffjones121]

Your videos are part of my online course of Ethics! So glad you are here our text is horrible and you always sum it up for me!

[kly45]

Could someone help me? Is it possible to argue that utilitarianism is similar to argumentum ad populum? Just a thought really.....

[wmiller24]

@kly45 I don't think so. An argument ad populum is simply an appeal to popularity, e.g., "my decision must be correct because most people support it." There may be occasions when that which is right and that which is popular are the same, but, popular opinion is often short-sighted and is most often determined by emotion rather than reason. Utilitarianism argues that the right decision is that one that produces the best result when both short term and long term effects have been considered.

[Pdrum2]

@kly45 It's an ethical system not a particular argument.

[kly45]

@Pdrum2 @wmiller24

Thanks for the replies.

I know it is an ethical system but surely in some cases it applies to an argument. For instance, out of 100 people if 90 people vote for party x and 10 vote for party y, surely the utilitarian system would say it was the best thing to do. However it's also relative to the fallacy of the majority of people knowing what's best.

[williamilburn]

i love your glasses, where did you buy them?

[stedywasagayaskilla]

liking your bookshelves, and your reply to the gang rape question thumbs up dude

[rumit99]

To do the greatest good to the greatest number of people on this planet we need a world government. Or else China which has the largest population for a single country is always justified in its actions from a utilitarian standpoint.

[Pancreas123]

@utukk yes it would be justified, but such extremes rarely pop up to justify things of that sort.

[wmiller24]

True utilitarians do what is best for society as a whole, or at least what is best for the people affected by their actions. However, some corporations and individuals use a utilitarian cost/benefit analysis to justify taking prudential (self-serving) actions. (e.g., when a company, in order to save money, does not install an important safety device on a product they manufacture). Such selfish behavior, carried out under the guise of utilitarianism, can give utilitarianism a bad reputation.

[alexajcb]

Thank you so much for sharing this video. Like SKAVNJA I was not getting the point just from reading my textbook. Thanks for your time :0)

[SKAVNJA]

thanks sir for posting this, it has helped me alot, more than you could know!!! for some reason i could not understand a word of what i was reading!!

[hentianputra]

it was really hard to learn this..all the ism has their own weakness..can anyone around here tell me what is the example for universal ethics??

[cthespot]

how can you use it as a workplace example

[xavier3961]

Which Ethical stance do you consider yourself to be or favor strongest?

[myoglobinclacfj]

I LOVE mp3iffy it WORKS just google mp3iffy.

[deepessence]

Serious question...would gang rape be justified from a utilitarian standpoint?

[wmiller24]

Normally I might not reply to this, but since you say it is a serious question, I will answer. Utilitarianism is not deontological, which means that there are no moral codes that apply, other than that of achieving the greatest good for the greatest number. Nevertheless, given the incredibly severe damage that rape causes to an individual and to society, it is very difficult to imagine a scenario in which gang rape would produce the greatest long-term benefits for society as a whole.

[utukk]

@wmiller24 But what if 100 million men honed their sexual skills whilst raping one female, who has terminal cancer and a neurological disorder causing her to feel no pain nor sexual stimulation. It is clearly justified here no?

[irishsoccerguy]

@wmiller24

Well said

[bradaman96]

@wmiller24 Benthams Utilitarianism could justify it, Mills couldnt.

[thaartofdez]

@wmiller24

So basically you're saying that it wouldn't produce the greatest long-term benefits because though it creates pleasure for the gang, the social effects like fear by community, and family involved would be effected negatively?

[EZBreezy187]

@thaartofdez those are some minor variables to the equation; consider the concept of a soceity which openly permits the unregulated exertion of violence against its members for the purpose of short-term gains for a vert limited ammount of individuals. The end result would be constant fear, loss of security and of course, the actual consequences associated with the acts themselves. This is why we have social contract; because it provides us with the highest ammount of utility in the end.

[EZBreezy187]

@wmiller24 I consider myself a hardcore utilitarian; in the sense that I beleive all forms of morality or social action result from the utility of happiness and satisfaction. These traits ultimatley justify themselves as both ends and means, and therfore I cannot see any other rational standpoint when descerning such matters. But Its really daunting how many people only view utilitarianism in a simplistic and childish form; it does not justify sensless pleasures which go against the common good

[darrinbaker73]

thanks...your lectures helped me a lot this semester.

[goodguy2949]

because it shows that they are cultured I assume.

[jakemate2k8]

I hope you get to read this comment because your video helped me so much in my RE exam so thankyou.

[ChrizzeeB]

There would be NO HANNIBAL LECTER movies if the death penalty was fully enforced.

That is, accounting for the gargantuan world utility drawn from Lecter movies.

[21mattg21]

twat

[violetember]

In essence, Utilitarianism would be a STRONG Proponent of the Death Penalty for Convicted Murderers in Prison rather than having them serve life.

[SuperJesus316]

That's not necessarily true. If maintaining such a system stunts the growth of civil society's health, then Utilitarianism would oppose it. If maintaining the death penalty maintains prevents a society from having compassion for the criminals, and this in turn prevents us learning about the nature of crime, which then prevents us from reducing crime, it fails the test of utility.

[Paradoxical003]

and the psychological world can learn a great deal about them, and the geneticists if there is a "violence gene" we could replace it, thus no one would ever have to go to jail ever again because they would have a genetically enhanced: stronger concience, greater empathy threshold, and lower aggresion rates

[violetember]

So reducing the individual to the level of a lab rat is acceptable if it possibly allow for future generations to be safe from aggression? So we can reduce the individual to a lab rat for the means to justify the end...but not execute them to prevent further danger to those around them? Using tax dollars to house & study is only adding additional fiscal burdens on society.

[violetember]

How would the death penalty stunt the growth of a society's health compared to relying on dozens of people employed everyday to keep them from escaping or killing eachother in prison as well as all the tax dollars spent on such resources? If high risk killers were eliminated, there would be more resources allocated to things other than keeping the peace in prison & making sure they don't escape into the populace.

[cheeseit126]

yes; unless you believe that the cost of rehabilitation would be less than the benefits of the member in society- previous liabilities

[violetember]

cost of rehabilitation is not even the main thrust of the issue. If the possibility to be rehabilitated back into society is always there then what major inhibitions prevent the criminally minded from committing such acts like murder? The threat of death is still going to be the ultimate inhibiting factor to impede murders. Not guaranteed to inhibit all murders, it still stands as the strongest ultimate consequence, leaving NO hope for continued life after committing such acts.

[violetember]

Why do philosophy commentators on youtube ALWAYS have thier bookshelf behind them?

[Bmaster25]

to show that they might have read all those books. and books = smartness

[SuperJesus316]

Probably because their computer is in their office and their bookshelf happens to be there as well. That's the case for me (and I don't even post videos)

[shaneho78]

that's a wallpaper that looks like a bookshelf

[matvarn]

@violetember HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHHA­HAHHAHAHHAHHHAHHAHAHAHAHAH HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHHA­HAHHAHAHHAHHHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA­HAAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH­HAAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHHHAHH­AHAHAHAHAH HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHHA­HAHHAHAHHAHHHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA­HAAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH­HAAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHHHAHH­AHAHAHAHAH

[violetember]

@matvarn Are you ok man?

[collins1188]

The argument of denying the individual for the greater community is pretty weak in all honesty as the alternative would be to help the individual at the expense of everyone else. We must realize that costs and benefits are not single tiered... there are levels to each. Putting one person through hell to give slight benefits to a few is not ethical under utilitarian theory... so the level of "hedons" that we receive is taken into consideration.

[TauFortheGreaterGood]

The idea of denyng the individual for the greater community is the mythical communtiy. This group is in essense a group of individuals. Therefore the individual should sacrifice for the community the community loses as well. The reason this is true just as that individual lost all the individuals lost. I agree that all law should be helpful or harmfull its basic common sense.

[Bianissim]

great overview. thanks!

[ali4nia]

u said that the weakness of utilitarian theory is greatest benefit for greatest number eventhough it can be harmful for a minority etc.. dont you think its just the concept of life? example a 1000 yrs ago people used to reproduce more because of high infant mortality, 5 kids lost 2still have 3,or the police take the decision to attack in a hostage taking situation to save a maximum of life despite the risk etc..I think this is not a weakness of this theory but a inevitable characteristic of life

[metalhaze1982]

Very helpful video, I like your presentations, felt like being in class. keep em coming!

[neothomist1275]

"The rule and measure of duty is not utility, nor expedience, nor the happiness of the greatest number, nor State convenience, nor fitness, order, and the pulchrum. Conscience is not a long-sighted selfishness, nor a desire to be consistent with oneself; but it is a messenger from Him who both in nature and in grace, speaks to us behind a veil, and teaches and rules us." -- John Henry Newman

[BadlanAlun]

Cheers.

[thefinalsalute]

This is a very helpful video. Thanks.

[humder]

The hedonic calculus makes everything so much easier.