In the film, “The Good Place,” Chidi is faced with a dilemma of either helping Eleanor, a previously evil person who enters The Good Place by mistake to turn into a good person and live in the place or give her up to the community to prevent possible chaos. Bentham’s utilitarian theory suggests that we should act by relying on the principle of utility, in which the rightness or wrongness of an act depends on the happiness of all the people affected by the act (Bentham, n.d). In this essay, I argue that even if Chidi would give up Eleanor to save the community of The Good Place from chaos, the same utilitarian theory can be applied to save Eleanor because the principle of utility bases the interest of the community on the interests of all individuals.
Bentham theory of utilitarianism suggest that the correct way of determining whether actions are morally right or not is by checking whether they lead to the happiness or pleasure of all the individuals impacted by those actions (Bentham, n.d). This implies that if the actions promote suffering, pain, or unhappiness of most of the people affected, then they are morally wrong. This is the first point about the principle of utility, which suggests that man is placed by nature under the governance of two supreme masters, which are pain and pleasure. These two determine whether the effects of one’s actions are good or bad. Bentham explained that the principle should not be used to determine the morality of an individual’s action, but also the actions taken by the government. He uses the term utility to imply the propertuy of an object to produce advantage, happiness, good, pleasure, or benefit while preventing the occurrence of evil, mischief, pain, or unhappiness to the parties whose interests are being considered (Bentham, n.d). The interest of the community is a major principle used in determining morals. However, without talking about the interest of specific individuals, talking about the interest of the community is in vain.
According to his theory of utilitarianism, Bentham would not advise Chidi to help Eleanor. This is because helping Eleanor to turn into a good person and saving her from the community of The Good Place would not lead to the happiness and benefit of all the members of the community. The principle of utility as explained by Bentham requires that we should act in such a way that all those affected by the action will be considered for their good (Bentham, n.d). If Chidi was to help Eleanor, the members of The Good Place would not have pleasure because they would be exposed to possible chaos because a person who is not as upright as them would continue living in the righteous place, which would put the lives of the community in danger. Chidi would also be acting against the requirements of the existing laws, which implies that the peace and purity of the community is not spoilt. However, this advice by Bentham reveals that the theory of utilitarianism has a weakness of relying too much on the consequence of Chidi’s action instead of looking at the morality of the action itself. If Chidi was to act from goodwill and through responsibility of ensuring that morality prevails, he would help Eleanor to stop bad morals and act ethically. This shows that, just like Williams opines, utilitarianism can make a person to act without following his feelings or project when making decisions (Class notes).
Hare’s comeback to Williams’ criticism of utilitarianism, in which Williams suggests that utilitarianism may have consequences that are not consistent with intuitive moral judgments or commonsense, by answering that an ideal observer looking at the effects of an act and the effects it has to everyone would judge the act of utilitarianism to be the best (Hare, n.d). Act utilitarianism slightly differs from rule utilitarianism in the way they describe consequentialism. In act utilitarianism, determining the rightness and wrongness of any act is judged completely based on consequences, which implies that the principle of utility is the only way of determining the way of viewing an act. Therefore, some actions, even if viewed as generally immoral such as lying, stealing, or even killing an innocent could be seen as right as long as it leads to maximum happiness in society (Bentham, n.d). On the other hand, rule utilitarianism suggests that the consequences that are used to determine the wrongness or rightness of an action is not the consequence of one action but the consequence that would result if all similar circumstances apply the rule. If I were to help Chidi using rule utilitarianism, I would tell him to help Eleanor to turn into a good person because if he applied the same measure when he was in Eleanor’s position, he would see the injustice he would feel injustice was done to him.
In my opinion, I believe that the best action that Chidi should take should take when solving the dilemma before him is to help Eleanor turn into a good person and live The Good Place. I would still apply the same theory of utilitarianism as described by Bentham even if I would offer a different suggestion from the one Bentham would give. Even if Bentham explains that the method that should be used in choosing the right action involves the maximum happiness for all the community, he also appreciates through the principle of utility that the interest of the community does not make sense if the interest of individuals is not considered. I would thus advise Chidi to help Eleanor in becoming a good person with the hope that she will become a good person before she brings chaos in The Good Place.
In conclusion, Bentham’s theory of utilitarianism may be applied by Chidi in the dilemma facing him, where he would consider minding the happiness and pleasure of the community. This way, he would give up Eleanor because her evil nature has the possibility of bringing troubles to the whole community. However, Williams would advise Chidi to save Eleanor by looking at the reasoning of removing evil from Eleanor and save her from danger. Hare would respond to Williams’ critique of utilitarianism by arguing that a neutral person would apply impartiality to save the community. I opine that utilitarianism can still be used to help Eleanor because the principle of utility holds that the interests of the community are based on the interests of individuals.
References
Bentham,(n.d). Principles of Morals and Legislation
Class Notes
Hare. (n.d) A Defense of Utilitarianism.
Micheal, S., Director. (2016). The Good Place. NBC.