AN INTRODUCTION TO UTILITARIANISM
by Laxwinniey Vasudevan and Ashwinniey Vasudevan, BPS
Utilitarian philosophy:
Utilitarianism is a system for maximising happiness, an incurred notion to morality fostering actions that generate happiness, not pleasure, and opposes unhappiness; maximising utility which is defined by actions and rules with the greatest difference between total happiness and total suffering. Entailed to cause social betterment, one acts to make the least burdensome decision whilst considering long-term benefits to society.
Utilitarianism in school life:
With regard to school life, utilitarianism is clearly implemented into lessons. Teachers seek out interesting ways to engage different types of students, perhaps through creative interaction rather than traditional classes as the incorporation of many learning techniques aids various different types of students – leading to higher academic success. This proactive approach which can be seen through the schools’ ‘ESL’ and ‘Extended Learning’ programs, challenges the idea of requirement, thus creating a sense of purpose and fulfilment for all teachers.
Moreover, CAS (Community Action Service) groups, supporting varying SDGs, are usually determined to give back to our community altruistically to decrease suffering and improve quality of all life. For example, ‘RISE’ and ‘At Your Service’ act to minimise local inequality by giving necessities to the Manthai and Klong Toey slums targeting Zero Poverty.
Rule utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism which can be explained through the example of homework. The consequences of not completing homework outweigh the effort put into the act of doing homework, therefore enforcing discipline to one’s life. This showcases an approach to student life that perpetuates both happiness and order. cultivating a motivating environment that provides an equal gain in academic success.
Restraints to the philosophy:
There are many issues that do not allow for maximum happiness which include procrastination, where current pleasure is precedent over future happiness. Proven scientifically, our body biologically places the pleasure hormone (dopamine) on a much higher priority than the happiness hormone (serotonin). Additionally, we can argue that human specialisation and education allows humans to efficiently execute said jobs, causing greater social welfare. Counter-intuitively, it may however cause us to become more self-indulgent of our own roles and discriminate against other perspectives. Seen clearly through ‘filter bubbles’ and social media, we are given information about things we already enjoy thus conditioning ourselves to act selfishly by indulging in only our world view – neglecting how our actions can contribute to the wider good.
Happiness has so many components that constantly making optimal decisions is impossible. Therefore, we present to you a question: Would you rather eat a bug or let your friend eat a bug? Considerably, both options have equal suffering but hierarchy, wealth, health or intellect may be a deciding factor as one person may have a greater benefit to society long-term. On the other hand, this is both time consuming and irrational to constantly consider before making any action. Instead, we should pursue what we consider the best option, both for ourselves and those around us, hoping it would generate both present and future joy.
How do you value the utilitarian principle? Do you think everyone should try to be happy, or should we assume we are impractically bound through searching for a structurally-caused pleasure-seeking optimum?
