Is it OK to inflict pain on someone else?

What if it is a small amount of pain to prevent a great deal of suffering?

o Ethical theory that judges the moral rightness or wrongness of an act according to the desirability of its consequences

Two questions must be asked

What has intrinsic value?

Who should receive this value?

Intrinsic Value: Value that is good or desirable in itself

Instrumental Value: Value is judged in terms of achievement of other ends

People should always act to promote their own self interest

Note -- egoism should not be confused with being an egotist-- a self centered person with an inflated ego

What has intrinsic value?

Self Interest (Happiness)

Who should receive this value?

Me

Hedonism: Moral rightness of an actions depends upon how much pleasure or pain it produces.

Not concerned with gratifying immediate desires

Concerned with promoting our objective (long term) self interest

What does it mean to act in your self interest?

Pursue those ends that will contribute to your personal happiness

Maximize our own good an well being

“Love and friendship are profoundly personal, selfish values…. One gains a profoundly personal, selfish joy from the mere existence of the person one loves. It is one’s own personal, selfish happiness that one seeks, earns and derives from love”

How would an ethical egoist justify the following?

Putting your life at risk to save a loved one.

Giving money to a worthy charity

Helping your neighbor move

What has intrinsic value?

Pleasure (Happiness)

Who should receive this value?The greatest number of people

Ethical theory that maintains that the morally right act is the one that promotes the greatest good for the greatest number of people

Jeremy Bentham (1748-1842)

John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)

A traffic light should be installed at the intersection to prevent accidents

The person who stole your money must be punished to deter future crime

All citizens will be required to pay income tax

The speed limit on highways should be 65 mph

Act-utilitarianism:

affirms that the right action is the one that directly produces the best balance of happiness over unhappiness for all concerned

Rule-utilitarianism: says that the morally

right action is the one that, if followed as a general rule, would produce the greatest overall good, all instances and everyone considered

What has intrinsic value? Is pleasure or happiness the ultimate

goal in life?

Who should receive this value?Can we justify seemingly immoral acts on utilitarian grounds?