Utilitarianism
By April Gray
Utilitarianism is one of the central themes represented in Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World.”It is tied strongly to the values of the supposed “utopia” presented in Huxley’s novel.
Utilitarianism became a popular philosophy sometime during the late 18th or 19th century led by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. However, even before it became publicized, older philosophers, such as David Hume and John Gay, were said to have had a Utilitarian view. Even though they did not clearly define themselves as Utilitarian, their work laid the foundations.
The basic goal of Utilitarianism is to maximize happiness with the least amount of unhappiness. It differs from the principle of egoism, which values the happiness of the individual over the happiness of the populace, in that the pursuit of happiness of the individual is not required at all. Happiness, for utilitarians, is defined as the presence of pleasure and the absence of pain.
The focus of Utilitarianism falls on the consequences of actions and evaluating the overall happiness based on the result. Because it is the end result that matters, following this theory means the motives involved are not important. This point is often represented by the saying the “ends justify the means.” Utilitarianism has often been criticized for its neglect of the nature of the actual act taken to procure the end result of happiness. For example, if a person steals what would be a small portion of a rich person’s overall funds and distributes it to the poor, this would be a perfectly moral thing to do according to the utilitarian theory because the poor would be happier in total with receiving the funds than the rich would be unhappy in losing it. Even though the poor have a lower station in life, in the theory, everyone’s happiness counts for the same amount.
Overall, Utilitarianism is a theory where actions are right based on the happiness they produce and that the principle that should guide action is producing the greatest amount of happiness for the most people. It aims to measure the good and bad produced by the consequences of actions and weighs the result in terms of maximizing society’s happiness. However, it has come under fire by many criticisms, such as with the novel “Brave New World,” which provides its own arguments on the effectiveness of Utilitarianism.
Utilitarianism became a popular philosophy sometime during the late 18th or 19th century led by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. However, even before it became publicized, older philosophers, such as David Hume and John Gay, were said to have had a Utilitarian view. Even though they did not clearly define themselves as Utilitarian, their work laid the foundations.
The basic goal of Utilitarianism is to maximize happiness with the least amount of unhappiness. It differs from the principle of egoism, which values the happiness of the individual over the happiness of the populace, in that the pursuit of happiness of the individual is not required at all. Happiness, for utilitarians, is defined as the presence of pleasure and the absence of pain.
The focus of Utilitarianism falls on the consequences of actions and evaluating the overall happiness based on the result. Because it is the end result that matters, following this theory means the motives involved are not important. This point is often represented by the saying the “ends justify the means.” Utilitarianism has often been criticized for its neglect of the nature of the actual act taken to procure the end result of happiness. For example, if a person steals what would be a small portion of a rich person’s overall funds and distributes it to the poor, this would be a perfectly moral thing to do according to the utilitarian theory because the poor would be happier in total with receiving the funds than the rich would be unhappy in losing it. Even though the poor have a lower station in life, in the theory, everyone’s happiness counts for the same amount.
Overall, Utilitarianism is a theory where actions are right based on the happiness they produce and that the principle that should guide action is producing the greatest amount of happiness for the most people. It aims to measure the good and bad produced by the consequences of actions and weighs the result in terms of maximizing society’s happiness. However, it has come under fire by many criticisms, such as with the novel “Brave New World,” which provides its own arguments on the effectiveness of Utilitarianism.
Bibliography
Davidson, William L. Political Thought in England: The Utilitarians. Westport, Connecticut: Hyperion Press, INC., 1979.
Driver, Julia. The History of Utilitarianism. Ed. Edward N. Zalta. Summer 2009. 31 march 2014 <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2009/entries/utilitarianism-history>.
West, Henry R. "Utilitarianism." Encyclopedia Britannica . 2013.
Whale, John. Imagination Under Pressure, 1787-1832: Aesthetics, Poltics and Utility. . Cambridge University Press, 2000.
Driver, Julia. The History of Utilitarianism. Ed. Edward N. Zalta. Summer 2009. 31 march 2014 <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2009/entries/utilitarianism-history>.
West, Henry R. "Utilitarianism." Encyclopedia Britannica . 2013.
Whale, John. Imagination Under Pressure, 1787-1832: Aesthetics, Poltics and Utility. . Cambridge University Press, 2000.