meaning: morally right actions produces most value.
- how to decide what’s morally right?
- how does value creation benefits? who is benefitted?
morally right action maximise overall good. scope of the consequences decide whether an action is right or wrong in utilitarian view.
”They also held that we ought to maximise the good, that is, bring about ‘the greatest amount of good for the greatest number’.” 1
- overall good that is beneficial in short term or long term? should all morally right favour long term consequences?
- are there any examples where short term thinking yields more value? does short term thinking only benefit a small subset of stakeholders?
”Utilitarianism is also distinguished by impartiality and agent-neutrality. Everyone’s happiness counts the same. When one maximises the good, it is the good impartially considered. My good counts for no more than anyone else’s good. Further, the reason I have to promote the overall good is the same reason anyone else has to so promote the good. It is not peculiar to me.” 1
- if utilitarianism favours neutrality, then love becomes much more important because lack of love produces selfish actions.
- are there differences between happiness and utility? acc. to me, happiness follows utility.
early works on utilitarianism formed a view of utility based on God’s, civil obligation and virtuous obligation. Any actions happen based on God’s will, thus, to benefit humankind, aligning our virtues together increases probability of producing high-utility actions. But, God’s will, although compatible with utilitarianism, is unknown and moreover, utilitarianism doesn’t require this.
Instead of using God as conformativity, late work based utilitarianism on