Communication Ethics

15 Pages 3670 Words

on with his own pleasure:

As between his own happiness and that of others, utilitarianism requires him to be as strictly impartial as a disinterested and benevolent spectator. In the golden rule of Jesus of Nazareth, we read the complete spirit of the ethics of utility. "To do as you would be done by," and "to love your neighbor as yourself," constitute the ideal perfection of utilitarian morality.4

Mill urged readers to seek the greatest happiness for the greatest number. Utilitarian morality requires a hedonistic calculus similar to the moral transformations described by social exchange theory (see Chapter 16).

Utilitarianism permits one person to be sacrificed for the good of the group, even if punishment is undeserved.

Mill would ask us to cast a wide net when computing pleasure and pain, but it’s impossible to figure out all the consequences ahead of time.

There’s no doubt that the principle of utility is difficult to apply in specific cases. But there are ways to compensate for self-serving bias. Sissela Bok recommen...