![]() There is also something instinctively wrong with judging the morality of an action by it’s outcome – a person motivated solely by greed or revenge might choose a course of action that happens to make the greatest number of people happy. Is the joy of reading a magazine more intense than the joy of playing with a toy? Pleasure cannot be measured, so the idea of adding it all up doesn't work. ![]() ![]() Even with the simplest event - choosing whether to buy a toy or a magazine for a child - it is impossible to decide on a value to give for happiness. ![]() Immeasurable - A more fundamental flaw.Incalculable - Even if you knew exactly what would happen, it is impossible to add up all of the pain and pleasure resulting from a course of action.It cannot be right to judge an action right or wrong based on outcomes that are down to chance. Unpredictable - You can't know the future, and things rarely turn out as we think they will.It is unclear what counts as pleasure or how to equate pleasure and pain. However, many of our moral decisions do not have predictable or measurable outcomes at all. There are some circumstances when you can usefully use the calculus as a guide to determining the overall effects of a course of action, such as in choosing how to spend lottery money, or in deciding how to prioritise medical procedures in a hospital. ![]() Have a look at the Strengths and Weaknesses of Utilitarianism. ![]()
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