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Final Questions and Activities on Ethics and Morality to Consider
- Do you see Jeremy Bentham’s points on “pleasure” and “pain” correlating to the readings in the “Art and Aesthetics” chapter? Why or why not?
- Think of Bentham’s definition of utility for a moment: “that principle which approves or disapproves of every action whatsoever, according to the tendency it appears to have to augment or diminish the happiness of the party whose interest is in question: or, what is the same thing in other words to promote or to oppose that happiness. I say of every action whatsoever, and therefore not only of every action of a private individual, but of every measure of government” (emphasis mine; II). Can you think of an example from local, Louisiana, or federal government or a modern issue in general, where this principle of utility could be applied? What are the limits of such an application, if any? Do you see this concept of utility better applied to individual, rather than collective, actions? Can you think of a personal example, then?
This chapter is an adaptation of The Originals: Classic Readings in Western Philosophy (on BC Campus) by Jeff McLaughlin, R. Adam Dastrup, and Maura Hahnenberger, and is used under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International license.
- Added an introduction that includes learning objectives.
- Added closing statement that includes questions for further reflection.
- Removed writings of “Plato – On Justice.”
- Modified “Aristotle – On Virtue” for length.
- Modified “David Hume – On the Foundations of Morals” for length.
- Modified “Immanuel Kant – On Moral Principles” for length.
- Modified “Jeremy Bentham – On the Principle of Utility” for length.
- Modified “John Stuart Mill – On Utilitarianism” for length.
