03/24 - Putting a Price Tag on Life - HARVARD's Michael Sandel's JUSTICE

Summary

The video script explores Jeremy Bentham's utilitarian philosophy, emphasizing the principle of maximizing overall happiness or utility. It delves into the practical application of this principle through cost-benefit analysis, highlighting controversial examples such as the Ford Pinto case and the valuation of human life in various scenarios. The script also addresses criticisms of utilitarianism, particularly concerning the treatment of minority rights and the aggregation of diverse values into a single measure, concluding with a discussion on the implications for moral theory.

Takeaways

• 📚 Jeremy Bentham, the father of utilitarian philosophy, believed in maximizing overall happiness or utility as the highest principle of morality.
• 🧮 Utilitarianism is often applied in cost-benefit analysis, where the value of benefits and costs are quantified, typically in monetary terms, to determine the best course of action.
• 🚬 A controversial example of cost-benefit analysis was conducted by Philip Morris in the Czech Republic, suggesting that the government gains financially from citizens smoking due to reduced healthcare and pension costs.
• 🚗 The Ford Pinto case highlighted the ethical issues with cost-benefit analysis when it was revealed that Ford decided not to improve vehicle safety due to the perceived high cost relative to the assigned value of human lives saved.
• 💡 Some critics of utilitarianism argue that it does not adequately respect individual or minority rights, potentially sacrificing them for the perceived greater good.
• 🤔 The debate over assigning a monetary value to human life in cost-benefit analysis raises questions about the ethics of quantifying the value of life and the potential devaluation of human suffering.
• 🔢 The psychologist's study from the 1930s attempted to measure various life experiences in monetary terms, suggesting that all values might be quantifiable, but also highlighting the absurdity of assigning values to certain experiences.
• 🚨 The transcript raises the question of whether all values and goods can be translated into a single uniform measure, which is a foundational assumption of utilitarianism.
• 📉 The transcript discusses the potential shortcomings of utilitarianism, including the risk of overlooking individual rights and the difficulty of aggregating diverse values into a single measure.
• 🤝 The discussion includes various perspectives on utilitarianism, with some participants defending its practicality in decision-making and others expressing concerns about its ethical implications.
• 🌐 The script touches on the broader implications of utilitarianism for policy, law, and moral philosophy, and how it is perceived and applied in different contexts.

Q & A

What is the main principle of Jeremy Bentham's utilitarian philosophy?

The main principle of Jeremy Bentham's utilitarian philosophy is to maximize the general welfare, collective happiness, or the overall balance of pleasure over pain, which is also known as maximizing utility.

Why did Bentham believe that the principle of maximizing utility should be applied to individuals, communities, and legislators?

Bentham believed that since pain and pleasure govern all individuals, any moral system must take them into account. Since a community is the sum of individuals, maximizing utility should guide personal decisions, policy-making, and legislation to achieve the greatest good for the greatest number.

What is cost-benefit analysis, and how is it related to utilitarianism?

Cost-benefit analysis is a method used by companies and governments to evaluate the costs and benefits of various proposals, often assigning a monetary value to represent utility. It is related to utilitarianism as it embodies the utilitarian logic of maximizing utility by comparing the sum of benefits against the sum of costs.

What controversy arose from the cost-benefit analysis commissioned by Philip Morris in the Czech Republic regarding smoking?

The controversy arose because the analysis concluded that the government gains financially from citizens smoking due to increased tax revenues and savings in healthcare, housing, and pension costs when people die prematurely from smoking-related diseases. This was seen as a heartless calculation that monetized human life and suffering.

What was the Ford Pinto case, and how did it relate to cost-benefit analysis?

The Ford Pinto case involved a car model with a vulnerable fuel tank that could explode in rear collisions, leading to deaths and injuries. Ford conducted a cost-benefit analysis to decide whether to install a safety device. They did not install it because the cost of the device exceeded the calculated monetary value of the lives and injuries saved, which led to public outrage and a large settlement in court.

What are some of the criticisms of cost-benefit analysis, especially when it involves placing a dollar value on human life?

Critics argue that cost-benefit analysis can be heartless and fail to account for the intrinsic value of human life, the suffering of families, and the loss of potential contributions from individuals. It can also be seen as unfair to minorities, as their interests may be overlooked in the pursuit of maximizing utility for the majority.

What is the argument against using a monetary value to represent the value of life in cost-benefit analysis?

The argument is that life is inherently priceless and cannot be accurately represented by a monetary value. Assigning a dollar value to life can lead to morally questionable decisions and does not account for the emotional and social impacts of loss.

What was the psychologist's experiment in the 1930s that attempted to measure various unpleasant experiences in monetary terms?

The psychologist conducted a survey asking recipients of relief how much they would have to be paid to undergo various unpleasant experiences, such as having a tooth pulled or eating a live earthworm. The results showed a wide range of values assigned to different experiences, suggesting that not all values can be uniformly measured.

What was the most expensive and least expensive item in the psychologist's survey of unpleasant experiences?

The most expensive item was living the rest of one's life on a farm in Kansas, with respondents valuing it at $300,000. The least expensive was having an upper front tooth pulled, for which people were willing to accept only $4,500 during the Depression.

What are the two main objections to utilitarianism presented in the script?

The first objection is that utilitarianism may not adequately respect individual or minority rights, potentially sacrificing them for the greater good of the majority. The second objection questions the feasibility of aggregating all values and preferences into a single uniform measure, suggesting that some values may be inherently incommensurable.

What is the implication of the psychologist's study for the utilitarian theory of morality?

The study suggests that the utilitarian assumption of being able to translate all goods and values into a single uniform measure may be flawed. If different values cannot be accurately compared or aggregated, it challenges the utilitarian approach to morality, which relies on this assumption for decision-making.