Utilitarianism And Aristotle's View Of Virtue

Jeremy Bentham’s Utilitarianism, and Aristotle’s View of Virtue Utilitarianism is “a normative ethical theory that places the locus of right and wrong solely on the outcomes (consequences) of choosing one action/policy over other actions/policies.” (Utilitarian, 2017) which essentially means that this looks past one’s own personal interests and toward the interests of others. Bentham also had his own “Principle of Utility” which focuses on the role of pain and pleasure in human life, approves or disapproves of an action depending on the negative or positive outcome and the amount of pain or pleasure, generally speaking this means the consequences of one’s actions, making pain equal to negative or evil actions or consequences, and pleasure

Along with his Principle of Utility and the criteria to judge pleasure and pain, he adds more criteria into the mixture such as intensity, duration, certainty (uncertainty), and nearness (farness), along with fecundity meaning if more of the same pleasure or pain will follow, and purity meaning that the pleasure is not followed by pain, or the pain not followed by pleasure. (Utilitarian, 2017). The addition of all these criteria means that the “utility” can be a measurable amount, and with increasing the criteria it can be measured well, and with more certainty. This measure of “utility” can be used for any number of actions, or rules. Utilitarianism very simply is a way to test the utility of any action, or rules, that are put through the criteria, but it takes into account the well-being of not only the person judging the Utility, but also the well-being and impact on the others that may be involved, others simply being sentient beings. Act-utilitarianism can be defined as “good” or “bad” depending on the results of the criteria the right or wrong act is judged based of the best, or the least amount of bad results, like most ethical issues judging acts is very difficult, as they can be seen in different light or as possibly beneficial in one way while detrimental in another. Rule-utilitarianism is the same, but it judges and questions how valid rules of codes of conduct are.

And specifically looking at the consequences of each, including the consequences affecting others. What sets Utility apart from Virtue though, is that judging Utility is something that people understand, because much like a conscience people understand reasoning, without really being taught it, or needing experience for it. While Aristotle views Virtue, or moral virtue, as something that people learn through experience, and is influenced through habit. The gap between these two is large in a way, because to have the ability for Utility from basic human reasoning, and being a virtuous person, which truly only come from habitually showing good character and being virtuous, and from experience, is a leap from one to the