The Principle of Utility (POU):

An act is right to the extent that it brings about the overall well-being (utility, good) of all those with moral standing who are affected by the act.
 
An act is wrong to the extent that it diminishes the overall well-
Being (utility, good) of all those with moral standing who are affected by the act.
 

Pat and Jessie are going to the movies.  The following table represents the utilities for each movie for Pat and Jessie  (from –10 to +10):

                                Pat       Jessie
Big Budget Action      +7      -3
Tear-jerker Drama     -2     +5
Art-house Indy          +3     +2

You are part of a village in the middle of a plague for which there is no cure.  Some people in town have come down with the plague, but you don’t know what percentage of the town has been affected.  You can either:

(1) Impose a quarantine, knowing that this will likely result in the death of almost all of the villagers, but will prevent the disease from spreading. Or:

(2) You can let anyone who is not yet symptomatic leave, knowing that there is a very high probability that some of these people carry the virus.
 

You are a federal agent.  A terrorist has released a deadly disease into a hotel.  To prevent hysteria, you haven’t informed the guests.  You see a guest attempt to leave.  You try to stop him, but he insists on leaving.  You start to approach, and he begins to run.  Do you shoot him?

Utilitarianism is not the view that says “the ends justifies the means.”
A more accurate slogan would be "the consequences justify the action."

Need an account of well-being (the POU and the account of well-being combine to give one a particular version of utilitarianism).

Classical utilitarianism combines the POU with a hedonistic account of the good.

According to Hedonism:

 Pleasure is the only intrinsic good.
 Pain is the only intrinsic bad.

 Note:  intrinsic = good as an end in itself.
            instrumental = good as a means to something else.

An act is good for a person to the extent that it satisfies that  person’s desires (preferences).

An act is promotes the overall good to the extent that it satisfies the most number of desires (preferences) for all those concerned.

1.  Is the content/object of a given desire relevant in determining whether it is good to satisfy that desire?
2.  Are pleasure and/or desire-satisfaction the best yardstick for measuring overall well-being (good, utility)?
 
 

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