utilitarian education essay

Utilitarians and College Education Essay

Utilitarianism is a part of ethics, according to which the moral value of behavior or deed is determined by its utility. The usefulness of action means the integral pleasure or happiness received by all affected parties during the duration of the consequences of the action (Portmore, 2020). Utilitarianism belongs to the consequential group of ethical theories since it judges an act not by itself, but by its results. Utilitarianism is based on hedonism or eudemonism. These are axiological teachings, according to which the highest value is pleasure or happiness. Rigorous definitions of pleasure and happiness remain a challenge for the time being. Another problematic question is whether these concepts are identical (Blackie, 2019). Modern utilitarians tend to identify them. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the value of education in utilitarianism and to answer the question of whether a utilitarian can argue that going to college is morally wrong.

The value of modern education is in question, and many young people are reluctant to it. They understand that the practical skills gained during the work can be much more useful than extensive basic knowledge of various topics. As a result, they are eager to find an interesting job and get all the necessary knowledge there. In addition, the experience is much more important to many modern employers than having a diploma. The document may not reflect the student’s real skills, whereas reviews from previous employers describe them in detail. Consequently, the question of the need for study is indeed controversial.

Thus, this issue becomes controversial for the utilitarian as well. On the one hand, education has been one of the key values of people from high society for several centuries. It allows people to form certain views of the world, have opportunities for professional development, and just be interesting interlocutors. There is also a stereotype that the more people know, the more they can achieve. In addition, the college does not offer students exceptional knowledge and overly complex material. On the contrary, college education involves learning basic subjects that can indeed come in handy in everyday life, and these studies are available to most. People do not spend too much effort on college education, so it cannot be said that it harms them or spoils their lives.

On the other hand, the quality of modern studies is not always high enough to be beneficial. Not all teachers can convince students of the importance of their subjects and convey the material clearly. Unfortunately, many people go into this profession due to a lack of choice or desire to earn money. Moreover, students themselves are often not interested in studies and go to college only under the guidance of their parents. They do not know where they want to develop professionally, and therefore cannot make an informed choice of an educational institution. Unfortunately, this is why do not pay due attention to their studies. They look for all the information they need on the Internet and simply pass it through themselves, while nothing useful remains inside. In other words, college can be a waste of time for many, especially when students themselves are not sure what they need.

Hence, in this situation, utilitarians cannot accurately determine whether going to college might be morally wrong. In other words, they do not know if education is beneficial since it is individual in each case. For some, studies can be the starting point for rapid development and a brilliant career. In this case, utilitarians can confidently assert that college education is morally correct and even necessary. For other people, however, going to college can be a waste of time, money, and effort. Students will not learn anything new there because they simply do not want to, and they will not get any benefit. In this case, college education becomes morally wrong from the utilitarians’ point of view.

Regardless, even if students think they are wasting time in college, they receive a degree. In addition, they gain useful skills, albeit not related to fundamental knowledge. For example, they learn to find information in all available sources and process it according to assigned tasks. They learn to plan and adhere to deadlines because these tasks need to be done and delivered on time. Thus, even seemingly meaningless education can be of significant benefit to students. They can use their education papers to find work and be more successful in the workplace due to certain skills.

Thus, utilitarians can hardly say that education is morally wrong. Undoubtedly, sometimes it can be a burden for students, and the received documents seem useless. Nevertheless, the educational path passed and its results can be useful in one way or another. Hence, they become morally correct from a utilitarian point of view. Undoubtedly, there are situations where college education becomes truly meaningless for the student: for instance, when they studied humanities, and then continued the family business of repairing cars. In other words, utilitarians can call college education morally wrong. However, such situations are quite rare, therefore, this statement is controversial and not widespread.

Blackie, J. S. (2019). Four phases of morals: Socrates, Aristotle, Christianity, Utilitarianism. Good Press.

Portmore, D. W. (2020). The Oxford handbook of consequentialism. Oxford University Press.

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Utilitarian sensibility and liberal education: the case of London University, 1825–36

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Mohd Helmi Mohd Sobri, Utilitarian sensibility and liberal education: the case of London University, 1825–36, Historical Research , Volume 92, Issue 257, August 2019, Pages 585–607, https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2281.12280

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This article re-examines the utilitarian character of London University during its foundational years between 1825 and 1836. Previous historians have evaluated the utilitarian character of the institution in terms of whether or not it was influenced by Jeremy Bentham and his philosophy. This approach, however, overlooks the fact that the contemporary sense of being utilitarian was much richer than, and autonomous from, Benthamite utilitarianism. It was a cultural sensibility rather than a systematic philosophy. The eighteen-twenties witnessed the rise of this sensibility. The founders of the new university significantly benefited from this atmosphere as they could define their cause and criticize their opponents in its terms.

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Famine, Affluence, and Morality
Utilitarianism: Simply Explained

An Introduction to Utilitarianism

This is an online textbook aiming to provide a concise, accessible, and engaging introduction to modern utilitarianism, targeted at the undergraduate level.

For a high-school level introduction, see Utilitarianism: Simply Explained .

Introduction to Utilitarianism

This chapter introduces utilitarianism, and its major costs and benefits as a moral theory.

Elements and Types of Utilitarianism

After defining utilitarianism, this chapter offers a detailed analysis of its four key elements (consequentialism, welfarism, impartiality, and aggregationism). It explains the difference between maximizing, satisficing, and scalar utilitarianism, and other important distinctions between utilitarian theories.

Arguments for Utilitarianism

This chapter explains reflective equilibrium as a moral methodology, and presents several arguments for utilitarianism over non-consequentialist approaches to ethics.

Theories of Well-Being

Explores the three major theories of well-being, or what makes a life good for the individual living it: hedonism, desire theory, and objective list theory.

Population Ethics

Population ethics tackles questions like how we should weigh new lives against existing lives, and how we should balance quantity and quality of life (when comparing different-sized populations). This chapter critically surveys five major approaches to population ethics: the total view, the average view, variable value theories, critical level (and critical range) theories, and person-affecting views.

Utilitarianism and Practical Ethics

Utilitarianism has important implications for how we should think about leading an ethical life. Despite giving no intrinsic weight to deontic constraints, it supports many commonsense prohibitions and virtues in practice. Its main practical difference instead lies in its emphasis on positively doing good, in more expansive and efficient ways than people typically prioritize.

Near-Utilitarian Alternatives

There are several ways to reject aspects of utilitarianism while remaining on board with the general thrust of the theory (at least in practice). This chapter explores a range of such near-utilitarian views, to demonstrate the robustness of utilitarianism's practical recommendations. Even if you think the theory is technically false, you may nonetheless have good grounds to largely agree with its practical verdicts.

Objections to Utilitarianism and Responses

This chapter presents a toolkit of general strategies for responding to objections to utilitarianism, before introducing the most influential specific objections to the theory.

The Rights Objection

Many find it objectionable that utilitarianism seemingly licenses outrageous rights violations in certain hypothetical scenarios, killing innocent people for the greater good. This article explores how utilitarians might best respond.

The Mere Means Objection

Critics often allege that utilitarianism objectionably instrumentalizes people—treating us as mere means to the greater good, rather than properly valuing individuals as ends in themselves. In this article, we assess whether this is a fair objection.

The Separateness of Persons Objection

The idea that utilitarianism neglects the 'separateness of persons' has proven to be a widely influential objection. But it is one that is difficult to pin down. This article explores three candidate interpretations of the objection, and how utilitarians can respond to each.

The Demandingness Objection

In directing us to choose the impartially best outcome, even at significant cost to ourselves, utilitarianism can seem an incredibly demanding theory. This page explores whether this feature of utilitarianism is objectionable, and if so, how defenders of the view might best respond.

The Alienation Objection

Abstract moral theories threaten to alienate us from much that we hold dear. This article explores two possible defenses of utilitarianism against this charge. One recommends adopting motivations other than explicitly utilitarian ones. The second argues that suitably concrete concerns can be subsumed within broader utilitarian motivations.

The Special Obligations Objection

Relationships like parenthood or guardianship seemingly give rise to special obligations to protect those who fall under our care (where these obligations are more stringent than our general duties of beneficence towards strangers). This article explores the extent to which impartial utilitarianism can accommodate intuitions and normative practices of partiality.

The Equality Objection

Utilitarianism is concerned with the overall well-being of individuals in the population, but many object that justice requires an additional concern for how this well-being is distributed across individuals. This article examines this objection, and how utilitarians might best respond.

The Cluelessness Objection

Is utilitarianism undermined by our inability to predict the long-term consequences of our actions? This article explores whether utilitarians can still be guided by near-term expected value even when this is small in comparison to the potential value or disvalue of the unknown long-term consequences.

The Abusability Objection

Some argue that utilitarianism is self-effacing, or recommends against its own acceptance, due to the risk that mistaken appeals to the 'greater good' may actually result in horrifically harmful actions being done. This article explores how best to guard against such risks, and questions whether it is an objection to a theory if it turns out to be self-effacing in this way.

Resources and Further Reading

Resources and further reading about utilitarianism.

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In This Article Expand or collapse the "in this article" section Utilitarianism

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Act versus Rule Utilitarianism
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Utilitarianism by Ben Eggleston LAST REVIEWED: 29 November 2022 LAST MODIFIED: 29 November 2022 DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195396577-0431

Utilitarianism is a moral theory that judges actions based on their consequences—specifically, based on their effects on well-being. Most utilitarians take well-being to be constituted largely by happiness, and historically utilitarianism has been known by the phrase “the greatest happiness for the greatest number.” As the second part of this phrase suggests, utilitarianism is concerned with the well-being of all people, not just the person who performs an action or the people most directly affected; in fact, because nonhuman animals can also experience pleasure and pain, their well-being also counts in the moral assessment of actions, according to most utilitarians. Thus, a simple statement of the utilitarian view is that an action is right if and only if it brings about at least as much overall well-being as any action the agent could have performed instead. Controversially, this means that, according to utilitarianism, in principle, any type of action—such as lying, stealing, or even killing someone—could conceivably be condoned by utilitarianism if, in the particular circumstances, it would produce at least as much overall well-being as anything else the agent could have done. Utilitarians tend to condemn such actions because they tend to reduce overall well-being, but they hold that the impact on well-being is what makes such actions wrong—not their being prohibited by conventionally accepted moral rules, the commands of a deity, principles of human rights, or other considerations that can conflict with the fundamental moral goal of maximizing overall well-being. In addition to the straightforward form of utilitarianism summarized above, there are other forms of the view, such as ones that judge acts not in terms of their direct effects on overall well-being, but in terms of their compliance with rules whose general acceptance tends to promote well-being. All forms of the view, however, hold that the moral assessment of acts derives directly or indirectly from the fundamental utilitarian moral criterion of the maximization of overall well-being.

For most readers, de Lazari-Radek and Singer 2017 is the best work to start with. They will then be well-situated to enjoy the debate between Smart 1973 and Williams 1973 . They can then turn to Brink 2006 to appreciate the place of utilitarianism within consequentialism and several issues that arise there.

Brink, David O. “Some Forms and Limits of Consequentialism.” In The Oxford Handbook of Ethical Theory . Edited by David Copp, 380–423. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.

DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195325911.003.0015

An overview of the general consequentialist approach to ethics, situating utilitarianism within that approach. The chapter is divided into twenty sections, providing clarity of organization and enabling the reader to home in on topics of particular interest. The introduction and sections 1–8 (pp. 380–398) are especially important and accessible.

de Lazari-Radek, Katarzyna, and Peter Singer. Utilitarianism: A Very Short Introduction . Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017.

DOI: 10.1093/actrade/9780198728795.001.0001

A brief and accessible introduction to utilitarianism, by two leading contemporary utilitarian theorists, covering the historical roots of the view, arguments in support of it, objections, different varieties of the view, and its contemporary relevance. Probably the best choice for most readers looking for a brief but substantial introduction presupposing no prior philosophical background.

Smart, J. J. C. “An Outline of a System of Utilitarian Ethics.” In Utilitarianism: For and Against . Edited by J. J. C. Smart and Bernard Williams, 3–74. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1973.

One of the classic defenses of utilitarianism, emphasizing act utilitarianism in particular, and a hedonistic theory of well-being. Brief, direct, and uncompromising. Some aspects of Smart’s view have been superseded by subsequent developments in utilitarian thought, but Smart’s essay is still well worth the time required to read it. Best read just before Williams 1973 .

Williams, Bernard. “A Critique of Utilitarianism.” In Utilitarianism: For and Against . Edited by J. J. C. Smart and Bernard Williams, 77–150. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1973.

One of the classic critiques of utilitarianism, by one of the most influential ethicists of the twentieth century, written with his customary verve. The essay’s examples and arguments on two topics—negative responsibility and what has come to be called the integrity objection—have become mainstays of the critical literature on utilitarianism. Even proponents of utilitarianism who consider Williams’s objections misguided generally acknowledge his critique as seminal. Best read just after Smart 1973 .

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Utilitarians and College Education Essay

1. introduction.

The 18th century philosopher Jeremy Bentham is given the responsibility of introducing this system of moral reasoning. It has become one of the most influential, persuasive, and compelling approaches to normative ethics. He formulated this theory based on the idea that humans are ruled by pleasure and pain. It is a quantitative and reductionist theory because it is based simply on the measurement of pleasure and pain. His famous quote, "Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure. It is by them alone that we judge whether something is good or bad." This quote gives an important basis for his theory. By situating this theory in the Enlightenment period, the age of science, he claimed that Utilitarianism was a scientific approach to decision making. His aim throughout the various writings was to develop a set of rules with the goal of creating social legislation, and he believed that Utilitarianism was the guideline for completing that task. Individuals or groups must decide what is best to avoid pain and increase pleasure, but it is always about the greatest good for the greatest number. This principle led to much debate, which ended in a perpetuated argument that the minority would always be discriminated against. Critics argue against Utilitarianism because of the difficulty in making a prediction of the future consequences, sometimes with very limited information, and the possible interaction of various rule-complexes. There is also a problem of not all consequences being foreseeable, which is an important point for the education of children and adults. But essentially, the critics say that the theory is too optimistic.

1.1. Background of Utilitarianism

Utilitarianism is a political-philosophical doctrine for considering decisions of any sort, for institutions as well as individuals, and one which implies that public policy should be evaluated in terms of its consequences in increasing or decreasing the general welfare. Passion about social justice is as characteristic of utilitarians as concern with consequences. There have been, however, influential utilitarians who were indifferent to or actively disdainful of social justice. Prior to Sidgwick, there were influential utilitarians who held a hedonistic and empiricist doctrine of man's nature when it was not technically behaviorist. Empiricism is influential in the less psychologistic methodological presumption, shared with Hume and other empiricists, that empirical investigation will show that there is nothing in the practical reason of agents that is not really a spring of action, and that action cannot be explained except by reference to such springs. Utilitarians have often assumed a general theory of irrationality as preference inconsistency, on the flimsy grounds that whenever one organism is preferred to another it must be because the former is better all things considered, and the more plausible it is supposed that agents can rationally reject what is best. Skepticism about human rationality is a main reason for the suspicion of a strong theory of justice. A definitive utilitarian theory of rationality would have practical implications too strong for some pluralists, determinists, and relativists.

1.2. Importance of College Education

According to the utilitarians, radically, it is not the right rule or policy that brings the greatest overall utility directly for the agent, but a rule which would have the best overall result if it were to be a universal rule in similar situations for all agents (Smart & Williams, 1973, Rawls, 1986). To elaborate, utilitarians believe that every action and policy should be thought of in terms of the amount of happiness it tends to generate. Based on the concept of act utilitarianism, it tells the rightness of action depends solely on the net happiness it produces. An act is right if and only if no other act available to the agent would produce a better net expected happiness than this. The problem with this theory is that no one is always able to know in advance what the results of their actions are going to be. It is harmful to think that one can always rightly foresee which of several alternative options is going to have the best consequences. Because of actions such as taking a risk where the chances of success are not very high, people make mistakes or are irrational. Also, sometimes external factors limit the goodness or happiness of an action. Contracts are permanent agreements and form the basis of any type of formal organization. It exists among individuals, between an individual and a group of individuals, or a formal organization. An individual may in the future cause a certain action that would benefit himself but bring disfavor to others. With rule utilitarianism, he must then judge whether the situation would still hold the same relevance and then compare consequences. He may forego the action in deciding that it would bring greater unhappiness to others. From the rule and contract, it would benefit an individual to come together with others to create a contract that would be beneficial (to do so will require comparing alternative situations). This, in a way, creates an ideal base of morality among the group of individuals or organization.

2. Utilitarian Perspective on College Education

College education is perceived as an investment. When we invest, we expect compensation in return. It seems rational to believe that investing several years of one's life and a considerable amount of money into a college education would result in a higher paying job and overall happiness. Peter C. Wollan and Dale Meyer in their essay "Utilitarians And College Education" examine this belief. They pose the question: "how much should one expect from college?" and go on to explain the utilitarian value of college education. According to utilitarian philosophy, the goal of an individual is to achieve the highest possible overall happiness. As described by Wollan and Meyer, John Stuart Mill believed that those who were truly educated would make the greatest contribution to society and would be the happiest. Known as the Aristotelian premise, this belief is the reason why many students attend college, with the expectations of higher level of education leading to a higher level of happiness. The utilitarian perspective raises the issue of the diminishing returns of education. The premise concludes that those who fail to complete their education are less likely to achieve higher rankings of happiness than those who finish. This suggests that attempting college and failing to complete the degree cause more unhappiness than not attempting college at all. This hypothesis can be easily refuted if one were to compare two individuals, one who has completed a college degree and another who has not. Given that the cost of college education equals only slightly more income over a lifetime and that many graduates do not have higher-ranking jobs than they would have had with a high school education, the two individuals are equally matched in the level of happiness if the college graduate is not in debt from his education.

2.1. Maximizing Overall Happiness

The theory of utilitarianism posits that the action which produces the greatest intrinsic good is the morally right one. Different actions are always comparable in terms of the degree to which they increase or diminish overall happiness of those affected. In terms of college education, those in favor of the education would argue that it produces more happiness than not having it, given the increased income that would be a result of a college graduate obtaining a higher paying job. Critics of college education, however, would say it does not maximally increase happiness, given the heavy debt a student incurs and the opportunity cost of four years of rudimentary a job the graduate could have had coming out of high school. To find out if this is true, we simply have to assess the situation capitalism provides and compare the net increases in happiness. It follows from utilitarian doctrine that the "best" action is the one which would bring about the greatest intrinsic good. The concept of "best" can be dependent on the situation and need not be the same in every case. An action that is the "best" in one situation may not be the "best" in another. This important point conveys that sometimes there are several courses of action open to us, each with a different probable outcome. And other times, there may be only one thing that we can do to make things as best as they can possibly be. In a capitalistic society, the sole option is to take the action with the most probability of increasing one's happiness. Given the opportunity cost and debt incurred by college students, it can be said they have taken the action that was believed to bring the most increase in happiness. This is because the successful completion of college and securing of a job requiring a college degree is likely the only way a person can maximize their happiness in the long run. This is not to say that college is a guarantee of happiness, but it sure is a step in the right direction for most people.

2.2. Balancing Individual and Societal Benefits

The issue of individual benefits versus societal benefits is split into two different questions. The first question is whether the individual will benefit from the education. The second question is whether the society as a whole will benefit. It is important to answer both questions because if college education does not benefit the individual, he/she will not pursue an education and if college education does not benefit society, there will be no utilitarian value. The belief that information learned in college is soon forgotten is a common argument for those who feel it does not benefit an individual. In a study done by Boyce and Alton, people were asked to recall any enjoyable experience and rate its pleasantness once a day for 21 days. Experiences of eating good food, socializing, and sexual fantasies resulted in 60% recall at the end of the 21 days. Doing something they enjoyed because it was mentally engaging resulted in 90% recall. High school and college students fall into this last category. The information learned in school is mentally challenging and compared to the other activities, the information is not quickly forgotten. People also tend to remember what was learned in school when they use the information at a later time. This is especially true for the transition from high school to college, as it is found to increase the level of knowledge retention. Other benefits to the individual are increased job security, higher job satisfaction, and being able to move up in the social strata.

2.3. Assessing the Utilitarian Value of College Education

Critical to the utilitarian perspective is the claim that actions are right only insofar as they tend to promote happiness. A benefit from an action is thus anything that increases the happiness experienced by the affected parties. This is the general framing of the value of college education, and is at the heart of the disagreements surrounding it. No one would argue the intrinsic value of increased knowledge and a more cultured mind. The crux of the issue is the opportunity cost of pursuing higher education. It is the contention of some that the marginal benefit of another year of schooling is not worth the cost, and that it would have been more beneficial to enter the workforce and gain experience. Although this has become less true with the increasing importance of a college degree in the job market, it is a solid argument for some. It is also difficult for a utilitarian to refute this claim; although it is obvious that more education is a benefit, it is less clear if it is the best way to increase one's future earning potential and thus increase the overall happiness in one's life. Another argument against the value of college comes from the consideration of the individuals involved. It is a common belief in classical economics that people make the best decisions for themselves, and that these decisions aggregate to form the best state of affairs. So if a person is altruistic and always makes decisions with other people's best interests in mind, it naturally follows that an accumulation of these decisions will produce a society with the greatest overall welfare. For the person considering higher education, moving directly into the workforce might well be the best decision for himself. It is no guarantee that he will make use of the extra education in a way that increases his happiness or the happiness of others. By spending more money and time, he may well put himself in a position with less job experience and thus lower job performance. He could use the opportunity cost of the foregone wages and the increased job performance to achieve greater net benefit for himself and others by engaging in some other endeavor to increase the money and happiness achieved per unit time. Compare this to an argument for the intrinsic value of education, and we come to another value judgment about the marginal benefit of education to self and others.

3. Criticisms and Counterarguments

Most criticism of utilitarianism is focused on the risk of placing the well-being of society in the hands of the government. This is risky since in order for utilitarianism to work, everyone's happiness must be weighed equally and the possibility for discrimination in making legislation intended to increase the overall happiness exists. The most predominant criticisms of utilitarianism in regards to education revolve around the changes required and the possibility for inequalities occurring, leaving certain groups worse off. 3.1 Potential Inequalities and Unfairness Striving for the greatest good means spending resources on those most in need. However, this may conflict with the education of the majority of society's children. The minority that require the resources are likely to fare better in a more vocational education; however, this is counterproductive to the happiness of society as a whole. Looking at the bigger picture, it is not beneficial to steer any group of children towards a job involving hard or dirty work, and the resources would likely be used in an attempt to educate them beyond their intelligence. This would result in the minority taking higher paid jobs from the educated majority, thus being unfair. This theory is similar to the economic theory of market failure. Utilitarianism in education is likely to fail to provide an efficient allocation of resources and possibly make matters worse. A further potential inequality rests in the fact that special education for the disabled actually attempts to increase the happiness of those children but may detract from the happiness of others. This has raised ethical questions on the nature of who utilitarianism should actually apply to. The reality is that applying utilitarianism to education would prove extremely challenging, to say the least. It would require a complete shift of political ideologies to one where the long-term welfare of society takes precedence over the short-term interests of individuals. A government would necessarily have to reduce individual freedoms on education choices to limit decisions which detract from the overall good. Making these changes in today's political climate would be difficult, and further still, utilitarianism does not provide clear-cut solutions to many educational problems. An example being the scrapping of a failing project to chase up past failures. This may increase overall happiness but possibly give up on those who could have taken the second chance, and there is no precise method of calculating the opportunity costs.

3.1. Potential Inequalities and Unfairness

Utilitarians have traditionally focused on the satisfaction of preferences or desires as being the crucial element in assessing the overall utility of a practice. Education is seen as being of instrumental value. As Bowles and Gintis put it, educational qualifications are a "social currency" which enable those who possess them to gain access to jobs with higher pay, greater autonomy, and more interesting work. The utilitarian is not committed to the view that everyone should have the same, or even an equal, amount of the social currency. This will depend on the nature of the educational process and the alternatives. For Mill, the best educational method was through university education. In his own words, "such a period of juvenile instruction is a necessary preparation for a life which is likely to be led under the eye and influence of our fellow creatures in a public or a private capacity, or both." University education at the time was very much the privilege of the wealthy and for Mill, it was not a concern that this would change. He saw the role of education as being to fit people into appropriate stations in life and it was the role of the government to determine what educations would be best for what stations. He did not rule out the teaching of the same things to all classes of society, but this was because he thought that the same subject would be taught differently to those of different stations.

3.2. Alternative Approaches to Education

Sedgwick, in his criticism, rejects the entire competence rule, on which the arguments of the last section are based, and says that the things in which the lower classes are really interested, such as a more generous diet and better housing, are not touched by any proposal as to education. Then, he argues that under any possible application of the rule as between different kinds of mental training, the result will always be to give the better to those who already have the best. For similar conditions in a competition always produce superior excellence, and the advantages, which accrue more easily to the better natures, are counted among the best things. Thus, in trying to make education a means of class leveling, we should in fact only intensify the existing inequalities. This argument is certainly valid against the more extreme forms of the theory which propose to base the whole system of education and the whole treatment of the young upon one rigid line of social utility, and which ignore the fact that the things which have great utility for one class have little or none for another. But if the theory were read as merely pointing out in the general way a connection between mental training and national efficiency, it might still be saved. And it is to be observed that equality in the amount or kind of education provided does not necessarily involve the supplying of equal facilities to every class for taking full advantage of it.

3.3. Evaluating the Limitations of Utilitarianism

Evaluating the limitations of utilitarianism is a necessary step in demonstrating the truly persuasive nature of the theory. There are always going to be objections to a particular moral and political philosophy, but to show that it is always superior to its competitors is a very difficult thing to do. Utilitarianism is no exception. Support for the theory is widespread, but many believe it to be severely lacking in specific areas, which either reduces its persuasive strength or proves that an entirely different approach to normative political and moral theory would be preferable. The two most important objections to utilitarianism are that it is impossible to use as a practical moral or political principle, and that it fails to safeguard the interests of the individual. The first of these objections has in its scope many other criticisms, such as the one made by Rawls that it is a comprehensive doctrine, similar to that of justice that he called into question, and one that is addressed by a different approach to normative political and moral theory, that being the theory of right as opposed to the theory of the good. Schauer argued that the implication of utilitarianism is that the law must always be obeyed, as he believes that adherence to the rule of recognizing valid laws as binding and disregarding invalid ones would not always serve to maximize utility. These objections are fairly valid and quite damaging to the theory. If there is a possible way to determine that utilitarianism is not always the best principle for a particular agent in a particular society to follow, then it has failed in demonstrating that it is a superior principle to act in that way. The same is true if it can be shown that rule-utilitarianism would not always generate the best overall result by comparison with a conflicting rule.

4. Conclusion

The previous section provided more than a dozen arguments for a utilitarian approach to college education. These supported the view that it is only where an individual stands to gain useful knowledge and skills – and where the intellectual atmosphere is not inimical to imbibing those things – that college is the right place for him. For the majority – and this means over 50% – some other form of education beyond high school will be a more propitious place to spend time and money. These included arguments that: the opportunity cost of attending college is very high; the high high school dropout rate indicates a lack of interest in learning; those going on to college are doing so ill-prepared and with a barely higher interest in real learning; the welfare dependency of college students indicates a lack of better employment options; and many are being lured to college by grade inflation, a dishonest signalling mechanism. It is true that the conduct of recent high school graduates and the state of academe today are not what they should be. Therefore, even if the analyses and arguments above are correct, it does not mean things could not be changed for the better and that going to college would not be the right decision for many high school graduates in the future. This might come about by strengthening the link between high school and college, by improvements to the intellectual atmosphere of college, or by reduced reliance on college as a signal. But all in all, the debate on whether most people currently attending college would do better to forego it, and the doubt in the minds of many present and potential college students, shows that the current situation is not as some would have it – that college is just "what smart people do after high school".

4.1. Summary of Utilitarian View on College Education

The chapter consists of three parts. The first is a concise summary of the foregoing argument concerning the utilitarian perspective on higher education. The second considers how the concerns for efficiency and equity identified in the preceding pages might be balanced in a way that is most conducive to achieving the goals of the traditional liberal and the vocational views. An important aspect of this will involve the development of criteria for evaluating the efficiency of various educational arrangements. Finally, the chapter concludes with a brief speculation concerning the future of the role of the state in higher education. It was suggested that the utilitarian believes higher education to be a way in which an individual acquires power. The surest way to the acquisition of paid power is acquisition of a corresponding unpaid power. The skilled industrialist may be said to acquire paid power, in so far as he exchanges his skill for money. But the skill is not specific; it can be turned into something else, and if the industrialist is a utilitarian he will think that he would be more desirable at any time when his skill commands better pay. Therefore what the industrialist will seek, as well as more pay, is some skill which is in greater demand. Now it is evident that the demand for men with the higher education is a function of the prevalent social conditions. A change in these conditions might decrease the demand for such men, but there is no escape from the conclusion that if a higher education increases a man's unpaid power, it increases his chance of exercising intellect and character, as they say, in competitive examinations. This form of power is a general form and the place to look for its exercise is where there are few men of equal calibre. The utilitarian contention is here unproven, yet if our previous analysis of educational values has been carried out with anything like success, the reader should be able to prove it for himself. He should be able to show that the things of the mind and the general form of consummate skill are above all other things and essentially enviable. Now the utilitarian has said that pollution is the line which divides the higher education from the lower. At no time is a young man so full of hope and desire to taste the best of life and find his place in the competition for the most desirable goods. If then it can be proved to the satisfaction of such men that the higher education is a factor in increasing their chance of attaining these goods, it will be demanded by them and in case of a just government this demand will be answered. The analysis which has led to this conclusion has been a long one, yet it will not have been too long if we have thereby discovered the essential unity which underlies the great diversity apparent educational values. Now the unity of educational values is the condition of an efficient educational system and in so far as it has been demonstrated here, it can be used to improve the efficiency of every kind of educational scheme.

4.2. Reflection on the Debate and Future Considerations

In examining the past and present of American college education, it seems that the value of the undergraduate degree has changed and will continue to change. The economy becomes more complex, making the employment market more specialized. This trend has created a steady increase in the length of time the average college student stays in school. Arguably, the undergraduate degree is now a qualification to determine the type of employment, rather than a means to prepare for it. If this is the case, it seems that education beyond the undergraduate degree will become the norm for the coming generation. Understanding the increasing credential society we are moving into is important to gauge the value of college education in the future. Transition to a society where advanced degrees are the norm presents a problem to the utilitarian ideal that society would benefit most if a certain portion of individuals pursue higher learning while the rest go directly into the workforce. The job market requiring an undergraduate degree would be seen as taboo by future societies with college graduates who possess a higher level of education. This in turn would result in an even more competitive undergraduate education and could lead to legislation reserving some spots at undergraduate universities for the students who are deemed to be of "college material". A shift to a society where most individuals are students into their mid 20's is not necessarily an efficient one given the opportunity costs of forgoing potential work and the increase in time spent as a dependent. Still, it could be the case that future generations will see increased education as the way to a better society and will work towards one that closely resembles the ideal utilitarian state described by Mill and Veblen.

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Elizabeth J. Peterson

Thinking Through Philosophy, Culture, and Psychology

Equality and Education: Mill’s Theory of Utilitarianism

The beauty of the utilitarian theory of philosophy is that it puts every person on an equal footing, and evaluates happiness on a scale to maximize it for everyone. It is the epitome of practical ethics. Seeking to answer the question, “How should one act?”, the theory states that an action is right or wrong to the degree that it tends to promote happiness. When a choice between two pleasures must be made, the higher of the two becomes the moral choice.

“The utilitarian doctrine is, that happiness is desirable, and the only thing desirable, as an end.”

Because men act in pursuit of happiness, there must be a hierarchy of happiness and pleasure, from which we can determine which pleasures are basic needs and which are less vital. Mill does say that the most basic needs are for food and security, so we shall consider these to be the very basic needs and pleasures in this theory. Having our basic food, clothing, and shelter needs/ pleasures provided (the first two levels), what should be the next level? As we will see, education, self-reflection, and thought will all play a large part in determining that answer.

Historical Context

Many of the philosophers and texts we’ve discussed recently have embodied Enlightenment ideals of rationalism, reason, and a rejection of spiritual or supernatural sources as truth. However, as we leave the Romantic era (about 1790 – 1837) and continue through the Victorian Era (1837 -1901), the pendulum of popular taste swings back to the exploration of emotion, introspection and imagination embodied by those Romantic years. Where the Enlightenment valued reason, science, and empiricism, Romanticism embraced the concepts of beauty, spiritual transcendence, emotion, introspection, the personal or individual, and the imaginative.

Under Queen Victoria’s reign, the British empire swelled, as did literacy, city living, commerce and trade. With this abundance came increased sensibilities of caring for the less fortunate, the virtue of thriftiness, and a personal sense of morality. Honesty and hard work were valued. Greed and exploitation were disdained. Mill’s Utilitarianism, written in 1861, rests in the midst of this cultural revolution, calling attention to the need and value of introspection, individual ethics, and the individual in society.

Mill’s legacy is his championing of the rights of the individual. He was among the first to advocate for women’s suffrage and their rights to an education, and, most often, for defending the notion that all lives are of equal value. He is remembered as one of the greatest thinkers on social and political theory.

Utilitarianism values everyone’s happiness equally. This philosophy has been chiefly influential in law, government, politics, and, of course, philosophical disciplines. Today, we acknowledge that there is no legal or moral provision for valuing any one life above another. However, at the time it was introduced, this idea was novel, and cause for concern in some better-heeled circles. Master’s lives were considered more important than slaves’, and likewise a nobleman’s life was more valued than a laborer’s. Now, especially in legal and governmental settings, most societies consider all lives to be of equal importance, and work to maximize happiness for the greatest number of people, in large part to Mill, and the other Utilitarian thinkers.

Utilitarian political thought is particularly interesting with respect to the fact that different ideas about what is best can lead to very different positions. If a utilitarian believes that government is best kept as small as possible, she might tend toward conservative politics. Similarly, if one were to hold the opinion that the government should have a role in providing care and assistance as much as feasible to its citizens, he would likely envision more liberal policies.

This wide array of opinions within the philosophy underscores the need for high quality education. Human nature, and the problems we face, are all complex. The only way to move forward and solve problems is by gathering quality information and taking action.

“It is by no means an indispensable condition to the acceptance of the utilitarian standard; for that standard is not the agent’s own greatest happiness but the greatest amount of happiness altogether; and if it may possibly be doubted whether a noble character is always the happier for its nobleness, there can be no doubt that it makes other people happier, and that the world in general is immensely a gainer by it.” [emphasis mine].

Here Mill is addressing the objection that the standard of utility is merely hedonism; whatever gives the most pleasure is the right and moral decision. His qualification on happiness, though, is that it is the happiness of the greater, general community which must be considered, not simply individual pleasure. This is followed by his assertion that utilitarianism can only be accomplished by creating and stoking this higher, noble desire in everyone in the community, requiring a training of character and education.

“Utilitarianism could only attain its end by the general cultivation of nobleness of character, even if each individual were only benefited by the nobleness of others, and his own, so far as happiness is concerned, were a sheer deduction from the benefit.”

“Better to be a man dissatisfied than a pig satisfied, better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied.”

In order for a system predicated on a hierarchy of pleasures to work, the people would need to be educated to even understand the appeal or benefit of delaying immediate, lesser pleasure, for a later, great pleasure. This is a call for generalized education, not something reserved for the elite or powerful. In order for a populace to make moral decisions, you must educate the populace. If the people are unaware of higher pleasures, or cannot see the value in them, the system breaks down. We stated earlier that the person who has experience or knowledge of both is the person most capable of making a moral decision, but again, that depends on the individual having experienced the higher and lower pleasure. Our takeaway for learning, is therefore, that education must be widespread, common, and cultivate a taste and preference for the higher faculties and pleasures.

Relationships

Mill writes that society depends on man’s understanding of reciprocity. This is the expectation that good is to be returned for good, and evil for evil. Further, we understand that evil should not be returned for good, nor good for evil. This give and take is the basis of a working, healthy society, and when it is violated, we take action to correct or avoid those situations. For example, how would you respond to someone who repeatedly asks to borrow money, but never pays you back? We consider them unjust, and don’t continue to do good while it goes unreturned.

“The important rank, among human evils and wrongs, of the disappointment of expectation, is shown in the fact that it constitutes the principal criminality of two such highly immoral acts as a breach of friendship and a breach of promise.”

He even goes on to say,

“[F]ew wrongs are greater than this withholding of good.”

This give and take extends to society at large. We implicitly agree to abide by the laws upon which society agrees, and submit to fines, jail time, suspensions of privileges, etc, when found in violation of said laws. The justice system exists to avenge evil, and reward good, and when it fails to do so, it falls to the people to take steps to correct the issue.

A healthy society, then, depends on an educated populace, who are actively engaged in their communities.

“On a question which is the best worth having of two pleasure, or which of two modes of existence is the most grateful to the feelings, apart from its moral attributes and from its consequences, the judgment of those who are qualified by knowledge of both, or, if they differ, that of the majority among them, must be admitted as final.”

It would seem that the person in Mill’s system most fit to lead are the elders. As Mill states, the person best equipped to judge between two conflicting pleasures is the one who has experienced them both. To take this idea further, it would follow that the persons most fit to lead their communities are those who have acquired the most experiences in life. I find it interesting that Mill bases this on experience, rather than age. It could be reasoned that a younger person who has traveled or gathered whatever relevant experience may have more experience and wisdom than someone who has lived more years, but not gained many experiences. It can certainly be true. Mill himself traveled and worked from the very young age of seventeen. Perhaps his own experiences colored his thinking in this regard.

The elevating of higher pleasures reinforces those ideals to the community. When we place a higher value on benevolence and efforts to build bridges than on individual success or pleasures, we show the community what they should value. When we place a higher value on education, medicine, and an ability to think well than on entertainment or physical efforts, society improves. We become what we focus on. If we place our attention on worthless, mindless things, we will reap those attributes in our lives. When we turn our attention to learning about loftier subjects, we will benefit from those higher ideals.

A common criticism of Mill’s theory is that it is idealistic; that it fails to acknowledge the laziness or wickedness of which humans are capable. The solution which Mill provides, education, is not unlike our current solutions to these problems. In areas where there is little opportunity for gainful employment, we bring education and empowerment to create jobs and positions of responsibility. “Idle hands are the devil’s playground,” as the quote goes. By prioritizing education, and emphasizing the greater good to be found in pursuing higher pleasures (building up the community, forming strong rewarding relationships, attaining self-fulfillment), society improves itself. We are seeing it work in America, and in formerly troubled areas around the world. Education, simply put, provides awareness, opportunity and the confidence for individuals and society to all succeed.

The healthy society, in summary, is the educated, civically engaged community, which values insight and wisdom from those with pertinent experience.

Ed. note: This is the twenty-fourth post in a series looking at the three schools of philosophy for perspectives on navigating our modern world. Inspired by Emerson’s “The American Scholar,” we are exploring timeless wisdom which endures to inform our approaches to learning, relationships and leadership.Click here for all the posts in this series.

Emerson’s Theory of History

Happy Birthday, Montaigne: Celebrating the Essay and Its Inventor

Why Being a Skeptic is a Good Thing: Emerson on Montaigne

Spencer on Education

Herbert Spencer
Topic: Education

Source: Herbert Spencer, Essays on Education and Kindred Subjects , Introduction by Charles W. Eliot (London: Dent, 1911). Chapter: INTRODUCTION .

Copyright: The text is in the public domain.

Fair Use: This material is put online to further the educational goals of Liberty Fund, Inc. Unless otherwise stated in the Copyright Information section above, this material may be used freely for educational and academic purposes. It may not be used in any way for profit.

INTRODUCTION

The four essays on education which Herbert Spencer published in a single volume in 1861 were all written and separately published between 1854 and 1859. Their tone was aggressive and their proposals revolutionary; although all the doctrines—with one important exception—had already been vigorously preached by earlier writers on education, as Spencer himself was at pains to point out. The doctrine which was comparatively new ran through all four essays; but was most amply stated in the essay first published in 1859 under the title “What Knowledge is of Most Worth?” In this essay Spencer divided the leading kinds of human activity into those which minister to self-preservation, those which secure the necessaries of life, those whose end is the care of offspring, those which make good citizens, and those which prepare adults to enjoy nature, literature, and the fine arts; and he then maintained that in each of these several classes, knowledge of science was worth more than any other knowledge. He argued that everywhere throughout creation faculties are developed through the performance of the appropriate functions; so that it would be contrary to the whole harmony of nature “if one kind of culture were needed for the gaining of information, and another kind were needed as a mental gymnastic.” He then maintained that the sciences are superior in all respects to languages as educational material; they train the memory better, and a superior kind of memory; they cultivate the judgment, and they impart an admirable moral and religious discipline. He concluded that “for discipline, as well as for guidance, science is of chiefest value. In all its effects, learning the meaning of things is better than learning the meaning of words.” He answered the question “what knowledge is of most worth?” with the one word—science.

This doctrine was extremely repulsive to the established profession of education in England, where Latin, Greek, and mathematics had been the staples of education for many generations, and were believed to afford the only suitable preparation for the learned professions, public life, and cultivated society. In proclaiming this doctrine with ample illustration, ingenious argument, and forcible reiteration, Spencer was a true educational pioneer, although some of his scientific contemporaries were really preaching similar doctrines, each in his own field.

The profession of teaching has long been characterised by certain habitual convictions, which Spencer undertook to shake rudely, and even to deride. The first of these convictions is that all education, physical, intellectual, and moral, must be authoritative, and need take no account of the natural wishes, tendencies, and motives of the ignorant and undeveloped child. The second dominating conviction is that to teach means to tell, or show, children what they ought to see, believe, and utter. Expositions by the teacher and books are therefore the true means of education. The third and supreme conviction is that the method of education which produced the teacher himself and the contemporary or earlier scholars, authors, and publicists, must be the righteous and sufficient method. Its fruits demonstrate its soundness, and make it sacred. Herbert Spencer, in the essays included in the present volume, assaulted all three of these firm convictions. Accordingly, the ideas on education which he put forth more than fifty years ago have penetrated educational practice very slowly—particularly in England; but they are now coming to prevail in most civilised countries, and they will prevail more and more. Through him, the thoughts on education of Comenius, Montaigne, Locke, Milton, Rousseau, Pestalozzi, and other noted writers on this neglected subject are at last winning their way into practice, with the modifications or adaptations which the immense gains of the human race in knowledge and power since the nineteenth century opened have shown to be wise.

For teachers and educational administrators it is interesting to observe the steps by which Spencer’s doctrines—and especially his doctrine of the supreme value of science—have advanced towards acceptance in practice. In general, the advance has been brought about through the indirect effects of the enormous industrial, social, and political changes of the last fifty years. The first practical step was the introduction of laboratory teaching of one or more of the sciences into the secondary schools and colleges. Chemistry and physics were the commonest subjects selected. These two subjects had been taught from books even earlier; but memorising science out of books is far less useful as training than memorising grammars and vocabularies. The characteristic discipline of science can be imparted only through the laboratory method. The schoolmasters and college faculties who took this step by no means admitted Spencer’s contention that science should be the universal staple at all stages of child development. On the contrary, they believed, as most people do to-day, that the mind of the young child cannot grasp the processes and generalisations of science, and that science is no more universally fitted to develop mental power than the classics or mathematics. Indeed, experience during the past fifty years seems to have proved that fewer minds are naturally inclined to scientific study than to linguistic or historical study; so that if some science is to be learnt by everybody, the amount of such study should be limited to acquiring in one or two sciences knowledge of the scientific method in general. So much scientific training is indeed universally desirable; because good training of the senses to observe accurately is universally desirable, and the collecting, comparing, and grouping of many facts teach orderliness in thinking, and lead up to something which Spencer valued highly in education—“a rational explanation of phenomena.”

Science having obtained a foothold in secondary schools and colleges, an adequate development of science-teaching resulted from the introduction of options or elections for the pupils among numerous different courses, in place of a curriculum prescribed for all. The elaborate teaching of many sciences was thus introduced. The pupil or student saw and recorded for himself; used books only as helps and guides in seeing, recording, and generalising; proceeded from the known to the unknown; and in short, made numerous applications of the doctrines which pervade all Spencer’s writings on education. In the United States these methods were introduced earlier and have been carried farther than in England; but within the last few years the changes made in education have been more extensive and rapid in England than in any other country;—witness the announcements of the new high schools and the re-organised grammar schools, of such colleges as South Kensington, Armstrong, King’s, the University College (London), and Goldsmiths’, and of the new municipal universities such as Victoria, Bristol, Sheffield, Birmingham, Liverpool, and Leeds. The new technical schools also illustrate the advent of instruction in applied science as an important element in advanced education. Such institutions as the Seafield Park Engineering College, the City Guilds of London Institute, the City of London College, and the Battersea Polytechnic are instances of the same development. Some endowed institutions for girls illustrate the same tendencies, as, for example, the Bedford College for Women and the Royal Holloway College. All these institutions teach sciences in considerable variety, and in the way that Spencer advocated,—not so much because they have distinctly accepted his views, as because modern industrial and social conditions compel the preparation in science of young people destined for various occupations and services indispensable to modern society. The method of the preparation is essentially that which he advocated.

Spencer’s propositions to the effect that the study of science was desirable for artisans, artists, and, in general, for people who were to get their livings through various skills of hand and eye, were received with great incredulity, not to say derision—particularly when he maintained that some knowledge of the theory which underlies an art was desirable for manual practitioners of the art; but the changes of the last fifty years in the practice of the arts and trades may be said to have demonstrated that his views were thoroughly sound. The applications of science in the arts and trades have been so numerous and productive, that widespread training in science has become indispensable to any nation which means to excel in the manufacturing industries, whether of large scale or small scale. The extraordinary popularity of evening schools and correspondence schools in the United States rests on the need which young people employed in the various industries of the country feel of obtaining more theoretical knowledge about the physical or chemical processes through which they are earning a livelihood. The Young Men’s Christian Associations in the American cities have become great centres of evening instruction for just such young persons. The correspondence schools are teaching hundreds of thousands of young people at work in machine-shops, mills, mines, and factories, who believe that they can advance themselves in their several occupations by supplementing their elementary education with correspondence courses, taken while they are at work earning a livelihood in industries that rest ultimately on applications of science.

Spencer’s objection to the constant exercise of authority and compulsion in schools, families, and the State is felt to-day much more widely than it was in 1858, when he wrote his essay on moral education. His proposal that children should be allowed to suffer the natural consequences of their foolish or wrong acts does not seem to the present generation—any more than it did to him—to be applicable to very young children, who need protection from the undue severity of many natural penalties; but the soundness of his general doctrine that it is the true function of parents and teachers to see that children habitually experience the normal consequences of their conduct, without putting artificial consequences in place of them, now commands the assent of most persons whose minds have been freed from the theological dogmas of original sin and total depravity. Spencer did not expect the immediate adoption of this principle; because society as a whole was not yet humane enough. He admitted that the uncontrollable child of ill-controlled adults might sometimes have to be scolded or beaten, and that these barbarous methods might be “perhaps the best preparation such children can have for the barbarous society in which they are presently to play a part.” He hoped, however, that the civilised members of society would by and by spontaneously use milder measures; and this hope has been realised in good degree, with the result that happiness in childhood is much commoner and more constant than it used to be. Parents and teachers are beginning to realise that self-control is a prime object in moral education, and that this self-control cannot be practised under a regime of constant supervision, unexplained commands, and painful punishments, but must be gained in freedom. Some large-scale experience with American secondary schools which prepare boys for admission to college has been edifying in this respect. The American colleges, as a rule, do not undertake to exercise much supervision over their students, but leave them free to regulate their own lives in regard to both work and play. Now it is the boys who come from the secondary schools where the closest supervision is maintained that are in most danger of falling into evil ways when they first go to college.

Spencer put very forcibly a valuable doctrine for which many earlier writers on the theory of education had failed to get a hearing—the doctrine, namely, that all instruction should be pleasurable and interesting. Fifty years ago almost all teachers believed that it was impossible to make school-work interesting, or life-work either; so that the child must be forced to grind without pleasure, in preparation for life’s grind; and the forcing was to be done by experience of the teacher’s displeasure and the infliction of pain. Through the slow effects of Spencer’s teaching and of the experience of practical teachers who have demonstrated that instruction can be made pleasurable, and that the very hardest work is done by interested pupils because they are interested, it has gradually come to pass that his heresy has become the prevailing judgment among sensible and humane teachers. The experience of many adults, hard at work in the modern industrial, commercial, and financial world, has taught them that human beings can make their intensest application only to problems in which they are personally interested for one reason or another, and that freemen work much harder than slaves, because they feel within themselves strong motives for exertion which slaves cannot possibly feel. So, many intelligent adults, including many parents and teachers, have come to believe it possible that children will learn to do hard work, both in school and in after life, through the free play of interior motives which appeal to them, and prompt them to persistent exertion.

The justice of Spencer’s views about training through pleasurable sensation and achievement in freedom rather than through uninterested work and pain inflicted by despotic government, is well illustrated by the recent improvements in the discipline of reformatories for boys and girls and young men and women. It has been demonstrated that the only useful reformatories are those which diminish the criminal’s liberty of action as little as possible, require him to perform productive labour, educate him for a trade or other useful occupation, and offer him the reward of an abridgment of sentence in return for industry and self-control. Repression and compulsion under penalties however severe fail to reform, and often make bad moral conditions worse. Instruction, as much freedom as is consistent with the safety of society, and an appeal to the ordinary motives of emulation, satisfaction in achievement, and the desire to win credit, can, and do, reform.

Many schools, both public and private, have now adopted—in most cases unconsciously—many of Spencer’s more detailed suggestions. The laboratory method of instruction, for example, now common for scientific subjects in good schools, is an application of his doctrines of concrete illustration, training in the accurate use of the senses, and subordination of book-work. Many schools realise, too, that learning by heart and, in general, memorising from books are not the only means of storing the mind of a child. They should make parts of a sound education, but should not be used to the exclusion of learning through eye, ear, and hand. Spencer pointed out with much elaboration that children acquire in their early years a vast amount of information exclusively through the incessant use of their senses. To-day teachers know this fact, and realise much better than the teachers of fifty years ago did, that all through the school and college period the pupils should be getting a large part of their new knowledge through the careful application of their own powers of observation, aided, indeed, by books and pictures which record the observations, old and new, of other people. The young human being, unlike the puppy or the kitten, is not confined to the use of his own senses as sources of information and discovery; but can enjoy the fruits of a prodigious width and depth of observation acquired by preceding generations and adult members of his own generation. A recent illustration of this extension of the method of observation in teaching to observations made by other people is the new method of giving moral instruction to school children through photographs of actual scenes which illustrate both good morals and bad, the exhibition of the photographs being accompanied by a running oral comment from the teacher. In this kind of moral instruction it seems to be possible to interest all kinds of children, both civilised and barbarous, both ill-bred and well-bred. The teaching comes through the eye, for the children themselves observe intently the pictures which the lantern throws on the screen; but the striking scenes thus put before them probably lie in most instances quite outside the region of their own experiences.

The essay on “What Knowledge is of Most Worth?” contains a hot denunciation of that kind of information which in most schools used to usurp the name of history. It is enough to say of this part of Spencer’s educational doctrine that all the best historical writers since the middle of the nineteenth century seem to have adopted the principles which he declared should govern the writing of history. As a result, the teaching of history in schools and colleges has undergone a profound change. It now deals with the nature and action of government, central, local, and ecclesiastical, with social observances, industrial systems, and the customs which regulate popular life, out-of-doors and indoors. It depicts also the intellectual condition of the nation and the progress it has made in applied science, the fine arts, and legislation, and includes descriptions of the peoples’ food, shelters, and amusements. To this result many authors and teachers have contributed; but Spencer’s violent denunciation of history as it was taught in his time has greatly promoted this important reform.

Many twentieth - century teachers are sure to put in practice Spencer’s exhortation to teach children to draw with pen and pencil, and to use paints and brush. He maintained that the common omission of drawing as an important element in the training of children was in contempt of some of the most obvious of nature’s suggestions with regard to the natural development of human faculties; and the better recent practice in some English and American schools verifies his statement; nevertheless some of the best secondary schools in both countries still fail to recognise drawing and painting as important elements in liberal education.

Modern society as yet hardly approaches the putting into effective practice of the sound views which Spencer set forth with great detail in his essay on “Physical Education.” The instruction given in schools and colleges on the care of the body and the laws of health is still very meagre; and in certain subjects of the utmost importance no instruction whatever is given, as, for example, in the normal methods of reproduction in plants and animals, in eugenics, and in the ruinous consequences of disregarding sexual purity and honour. In one respect his fundamental doctrine of freedom, carried into the domain of physical exercise, has been extensively adopted in England, on the Continent, and in America. He taught that although gymnastics, military drill, and formal exercises of the limbs are better than nothing, they can never serve in place of the plays prompted by nature. He maintained that “for girls as well as boys the sportive activities to which the instincts impel are essential to bodily welfare.” This principle is now being carried into practice not only for school-children, but for operatives in factories, clerks, and other young persons whose occupations are sedentary and monotonous. For all such persons, free plays are vastly better than formal exercises of any sort.

The wide adoption of Spencer’s educational ideas has had to await the advent of the new educational administration and the new public interest therein. It awaited the coming of the state university in the United States and of the city university in England, the establishment of numerous technical schools, the profound modifications made in grammar schools and academies, and the multiplication in both countries of the secondary schools called high schools. In other words, his ideas gradually gained admission to a vast number of new institutions of education, which were created and maintained because both the governments and the nations felt a new sense of responsibility for the training of the future generations. These new agencies have been created in great variety, and the introduction of Spencer’s ideas has been much facilitated by this variety. These institutions were national, state, or municipal. They were tax-supported or endowed. They charged tuition fees, or were open to competent children or adults without fee. They undertook to meet alike the needs of the individual and the needs of the community; and this undertaking involved the introduction of many new subjects of instruction and many new methods. Through their variety they could be sympathetic with both individualism and collectivism. The variety of instruction offered is best illustrated in the strongest American universities, some of which are tax-supported and some endowed. These universities maintain a great variety of courses of instruction in subjects none of which was taught with the faintest approach to adequacy in American universities sixty years ago; but in making these extensions the universities have not found it necessary to reduce the instruction offered in the classics and mathematics. The traditional cultural studies are still provided; but they represent only one programme among many, and no one is compelled to follow it. The domination of the classics is at an end; but any student who prefers the traditional path to culture, or whose parents choose that path for him, will find in several American universities much richer provisions of classical instruction than any university in the country offered sixty years ago. The present proposals to widen the influence of Oxford University do not mean, therefore, that the classics, history, and philosophy are to be taught less there, but only that other subjects are to be taught more, and that a greater number and variety of young men will be prepared there for the service of the nation.

The new public interest in education as a necessary of modern industrial and political life has gradually brought about a great increase in the proportional number of young men and women whose education is prolonged beyond the period of primary or elementary instruction; and this multitude of young people is preparing for a great variety of callings, many of which are new within sixty years, having been brought into being by the extraordinary advances of applied science. The advent of these new callings has favoured the spread of Spencer’s educational ideas. The recent agitation in favour of what is called vocational training is a vivid illustration of the wide acceptance of his arguments. Even the farmers, their farmhands, and their children must nowadays be offered free instruction in agriculture; because the public, and especially the urban public, believes that by disseminating better methods of tillage, better seed, and appropriate manures, the yield of the farms can be improved in quality and multiplied in quantity. In regard to all material interests, the free peoples are acting on the principle that science is the knowledge of most worth. Spencer’s doctrine of natural consequences in place of artificial penalties, his view that all young people should be taught how to be wise parents and good citizens, and his advocacy of instruction in public and private hygiene, lie at the roots of many of the philanthropic and reformatory movements of the day.

On the whole, Herbert Spencer has been fortunate among educational philosophers. He has not had to wait so long for the acceptance of his teachings as Comenius, Montaigne, or Rousseau waited. His ideas have been floated on a prodigious tide of industrial and social change, which necessarily involved wide-spread and profound educational reform.

This introduction deals with Spencer’s four essays on education; but in the present volume are included three other famous essays written by him during the same period (1854-59) which produced the essays on education. All three are germane to the educational essays, because they deal with the general law of human progress, with the genesis of that science which Spencer thought to be the knowledge of most worth, and with the origin and function of music, a subject which he maintained should play an important part in any scheme of education.

CHARLES W. ELIOT.

Utilitarianism

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First Online: 01 January 2023
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Charles D. Kay 2

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Cost-benefit analysis; Expected utility; Expected value

Utilitarianism is a consequentialist theory of ethics which states that actions are morally right to the degree that they tend to promote the greatest good for the greatest number. Utilitarianism is a consequentialist theory of ethics which states that actions are morally right to the degree that they tend to promote the greatest good for the greatest number.

Introduction

Utilitarianism is the best-known version of consequentialist ethics. Consequentialist ethical theories evaluate the morality of actions strictly on the basis of their outcomes, setting aside any consideration of the agent’s motives or other circumstances. As such utilitarianism is readily distinguished as the opposite of deontology, which evaluates actions solely on the basis of moral duty and the will of the agent. Since it focuses on the morality of individual actions, utilitarianism is also distinct from theories of virtue which are...

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Bentham J (1789) An introduction to the principles of morals and legislation. Clarendon Press, Oxford

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Brandt RB (1979) A theory of the good and the right. Oxford University Press

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Darwall S (ed) (2003) Consequentialism. Oxford Blackwell Publishers

Mill JS (1861) Utilitarianism. London

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Kay, C.D. (2022). Utilitarianism. In: Farazmand, A. (eds) Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66252-3_2399

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Utah high school removes class assignment on student essay titled ‘It Is So Hard to Be Trans’

The essay, published in the new york times, contained no explicit or “pornographic” content that would have required its removal under utah law..

(Google Maps) Herriman High School, as shown in a 2021 Google Maps image, in Herriman, Utah. Jordan School District officials ordered that a class assignment at the school involving a transgender student's essay be removed.

Jordan School District officials ordered that an assignment involving a Texas student’s essay published in The New York Times titled “It Is So Hard to Be Trans” be removed from a Herriman High School class’s curriculum after it was brought to the attention of administrators.

“We apologize to any student offended by a Herriman High School classroom assignment involving a New York Times student essay and the disruption to learning it may have caused,” district spokesperson Sandra Riesgraf said in a statement Monday.

The district investigated the assignment, “which asked students to break down parts of speech in the essay,” after school administrators were notified, Riesgraf said. The assignment was ultimately removed and is “no longer part of the class.”

“Appropriate administrative action will be taken,” the statement continued, though the statement did not specify what that action would entail.

The district also did not specify why the assignment was removed. The content does not seem to violate Utah’s sensitive materials law .

But it did seem to prompt outrage after photos of the printed-out, stapled essay made rounds in conservative social media circles as early as last Thursday, with some posts claiming students were required to write a response to the essay explaining why being transgender “isn’t a choice.”

Riesgraf said that claim was false. “Students were not required to take a stance or form an opinion on why being trans isn’t a choice,” Riesgraf said. “The assignment was to review the writing, not the subject.”

Sen. Dan McCay, R-Riverton, weighed in on X , formerly Twitter, arguing that he didn’t see how the essay would “fit into any curriculum that is state approved.”

“I’ve asked the district to investigate,” he wrote.

McCay did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Salt Lake Tribune.

The assigned essay had been selected as one of the Top 11 winners in a 2023 student editorial contest through the The Learning Network, a free resource for teachers curated by The New York Times.

It was written by then 16-year-old Callisto Lim, a student at the Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, Texas. The essay details why Callisto felt scared for their “right to exist,” citing several states that had passed anti-transgender legislation.

“I am scared that if I stay in Texas I will be denied the health care that I need because of people like Governor Greg Abbott,” Callisto wrote.

Callisto’s essay contains no explicit “pornographic or indecent material” that would make it illegal under Utah’s current sensitive materials law.

Utah law also does not explicitly prohibit classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity, though lawmakers have made attempts to pass legislation banning such topics in the past.

Earlier this year, Rep. Jeff Stenquist , R-Draper, proposed a bill that would have prevented school officials from “endorsing, promoting, or disparaging certain beliefs or viewpoints,” building upon existing restrictions meant to uphold “constitutional freedom” in Utah public schools.

The bill would have specifically added “gender identity,” “sexual orientation,” and “political and social viewpoints” as restricted topics, but it ultimately failed to pass .

A year prior, Stenquist also ran a bill that would have prohibited any discussion of sexuality, sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade. HB550 took language directly from a controversial Florida bill that became more widely known as the “Don’t Say Gay” measure.

But after pushback from the LGBTQ community, Stenquist revised his draft , lifting the proposed ban on sexual orientation and gender identity but keeping the prohibition on sexuality. The bill failed to pass.

Donate to the newsroom now. The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity and contributions are tax deductible

Are We All Really Supposed to Wear Cargo Pants?

A reader tries to square the style’s enduring appeal with her own reluctance to wear them.

J.Lo on the street, about to steo into a car. She wears sand-colored cargo pants and a coordinating turtleneck. She carries a Birkin bag in a similar neutral shade.

By Vanessa Friedman

Can you please explain cargo pants (and shorts)? They are clearly enduringly popular for men and women, but the pockets seem neither functional nor flattering. What am I missing, and what is the best way to wear them? — Patti, Boulder, Colo.

Once upon a time cargo pants, otherwise known as “the military’s greatest fashion contribution,” were created to fulfill a very specific function: allowing soldiers to carry crucial tools (or cargo). Invented by the British military in 1938 as part of the new Battle Dress Uniform, cargo pants included a field dressing pocket on the side of the right hip for emergency first aid and a map pocket just above the left knee for navigation.

They quickly migrated into the general population, and at this point I think it’s pretty safe to say, cargo pants can no longer be classified as a trend. They have become a wardrobe basic, like the white shirt or the little black dress. No matter what your gender.

Think of them as “a more chic alternative to your classic cotton pants,” said Hillary Taymour of Collina Strada, whose cargo pants are worn by Travis Kelce and Gina Gershon. “Comfortable enough for the workplace and fancy enough for a cocktail hour.”

Cargo pants received some initial criticism when unveiled. ( Reportedly one British officer announced, “I’m not going to die dressed like a third-rate chauffeur.”) But it was only a matter of time before the fashion world, which loves to co-opt uniforms of all kinds, discovered them — especially when they became the uniform of the antiwar movement of the 1960s and from there made their way into the rock star wardrobe.

All that semiology, contained in a pair of trousers! Who could resist? They represented utilitarianism, rebellion, war, peace, masculinity, subversion, D.I.Y. practicality. Yves Saint Laurent was arguably the first designer to give cargo pants the high-fashion treatment, when he included a version in his Saharienne collection of 1968. Since then, it’s hard to think of a single label that hasn’t flirted with the style — on all ends of the fashion spectrum. Though they cycle up and down in popularity (big in the 1990s and noughties, less ubiquitous in the 2010s), they never disappear entirely. And at the moment they are having another major … well, moment.

A brief list of the brands that included cargo pants in recent offerings includes Dries Van Noten, Proenza Schouler, Mango, Cos, JW Anderson, Reformation, Valentino and Uniqlo. Vogue called them a “nonnegotiable for spring.” They come high-waist, low-waist and in all sorts of materials: cotton, canvas, velvet, satin.

There are cargo pants for pretty much everyone, and at this point they have become so denatured, so far removed from their point of origin, that the question of what you may be saying with your cargo pants — whether you are pro-military or not — is essentially moot.

Ms. Taymour recommends wearing cargos with a blazer or a button-up shirt, which makes them look less workwear, more debonair. Christopher John Rogers, who showed silk satin cargo pants on his runway under long button-up shirts left open from the waist down to create a quasi-train (and who lives in his own pair), suggested “wearing them low-slung with an oversize button-down and an elevated shoe, or high-waist and cinched with a belt and a contoured something on top.”

As for the pockets, Ms. Taymour suggests you think of them less as places to store stuff, as they once were intended, and more as architectural elements or “an accessory to your outfit.” The only cargo they should really be carrying, after all, is attitude.

Your Style Questions, Answered

Every week on Open Thread, Vanessa will answer a reader’s fashion-related question, which you can send to her anytime via email or Twitter . Questions are edited and condensed.

Vanessa Friedman has been the fashion director and chief fashion critic for The Times since 2014. More about Vanessa Friedman

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Utilitarian Ethics in Philosophy
Importance of education essay in english || Essay on education
Utilitarianism Essay
Utilitarianism Essay
The Utilitarian Theory and Its Major Downsides
Dickens' Hard Times: Critique of Utilitarian Education Free Essay Example

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Essay On UNIVERSITY EDUCATION
Utilitarianism
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Utilitarianism and its Critique

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Understanding the different perspectives in the higher ed debate (essay)
A utilitarian approach to higher education, therefore, assumes that colleges and universities must be primarily outward-looking, responding to the wishes of higher education's clients. ... In his famous essay on the "reflex arc" in psychology (1896), Dewey criticized those who distinguished between stimulus and response, noting that each ...
Utilitarians and College Education
Utilitarianism is a part of ethics, according to which the moral value of behavior or deed is determined by its utility. The usefulness of action means the integral pleasure or happiness received by all affected parties during the duration of the consequences of the action (Portmore, 2020). Utilitarianism belongs to the consequential group of ...
Reversing the Trend Toward Utilitarianism in Education
The trend toward utilitarianism in education, characterized by short-sightedness, lopsidedness, simplicity and infectiousness, excludes the all-round development of students, alienates the educational process, causes the overload of education, and triggers anxiety about education. As a phenomenal problem occurring in a particular historical ...
Utilitarianism: The Distinctive Motif of American Higher Education
The main idea set forth in this article is that higher learning in America, from Colonial days until the present time, has been organized and developed to serve the interests and needs of society. More specifically, the character of higher education has been utilitarian: as the specific practical interests and needs of society have altered, so ...
Utilitarian education
I argue that students need both general instruction in thinking and specialized instruction about the problems of moral thinking. My concern — like that of Kupperman (1983) and Levy (198 7) — is how education based on consequentialism should respond to the distinction between critical and intuitive moral thinking (summarized in ch. 1).
UTILITARIANISM: The Distinctive Motif of American Higher Education
utilitarian learning has held in American higher education, the origins and matrix from which it arose, and the course and forms it has taken. during past years. Thus, in the interest of putting serviceable and prag- matic education within its historical setting, this essay will set forth an.
Utilitarianism and the idea of university: A short ethical analysis
1) A university is not "a factory of knowledge" or training camp. As Anderson. puts it: "The fundamental purpose of a university is not to train pr ofession -. als but to produce culti vate ...
(PDF) UTILITARIANISM AS A PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION
The article is devoted to the representation of utilitarianism as the philosophy of education. The main problem is the relevance of utilitarian strategies for the present stage of development of ...
Utilitarianism as a Philosophy of Education
Journal of the History of Ideas. 1978. Vol. 39. № 2. P. 303-316. (Translated from English) 12. Kopkas J. Is the Casting of Utilitarian as Discordant with Arts Education Philosophy Justified? Journal of Thought. Spring. 2013. P. 52-72. (Translated from English) 13. Levarda M. L. A Victorian utilitarian education in Hard Times. Synergy ...
Utilitarianism and Other Essays
Utilitarianism and Other Essays. Author John Stuart Mill, Jeremy Bentham. Introduction by Alan Ryan. Edited by Alan Ryan. Add to Wish List. Paperback. $ 11.95 US. Penguin Adult HC/TR | Penguin Classics. On sale Aug 04, 1987 | 352 Pages | 978--14-043272-5.
Utilitarian sensibility and liberal education: the case of London
This system was appealing because it was considered cheap yet efficient. Some historians regard Chrestomathia as the utilitarian legacy to education. See, e.g., E. S. Itzkin, 'Bentham's Chrestomathia: utilitarian legacy to English education', Jour. History of Ideas, xxxix (1978), 303-16.
An Introduction to Utilitarianism
This is an online textbook aiming to provide a concise, accessible, and engaging introduction to modern utilitarianism, targeted at the undergraduate level. For a high-school level introduction, see Utilitarianism: Simply Explained. 1 Introduction to Utilitarianism This chapter introduces utilitarianism, and its major costs and benefits as a moral theory. 2 Elements and Types of Utilitarianism ...
Utilitarianism and Education: a reply to James Tarrant
A happiness based utilitarian account (of a more conventional sort than Barrow's) is critiqued by Miles who has particular problem with the use of happiness as an aspiration for arts education ...
Essay on The Utilitarian Education System
Essay on The Utilitarian Education System. Hard Times, written by Charles Dickens, was written during the early 1800's- a time when utilitarian ideas were spreading throughout Europe. Utilitarianism is the doctrine that actions that benefit a majority and promote happiness are right. In the classroom, these ideas are taught through facts.
Utilitarianism and moral education
Repr. with criticism by G. J. Warnock and rejoinder in D. B. Cochrane et al. (eds.), The Domain of Moral Education, New York, Paulist Press and Toronto, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, 1979; also in H 1992.
Utilitarianism
Introduction. Utilitarianism is a moral theory that judges actions based on their consequences—specifically, based on their effects on well-being. Most utilitarians take well-being to be constituted largely by happiness, and historically utilitarianism has been known by the phrase "the greatest happiness for the greatest number.".
Utilitarians and College Education Essay
Utilitarian Perspective on College Education. 2.1. Maximizing Overall Happiness. 2.2. Balancing Individual and Societal Benefits. 2.3. Assessing the Utilitarian Value of College Education. 3. Criticisms and Counterarguments.
Utilitarianism
utilitarianism, in normative ethics, a tradition stemming from the late 18th- and 19th-century English philosophers and economists Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill according to which an action (or type of action) is right if it tends to promote happiness or pleasure and wrong if it tends to produce unhappiness or pain—not just for the performer of the action but also for everyone else ...
Utilitarianism As a Philosophy of Education
Methods, results and scientific novelty. Utilitarianism is presented as an educational strategy, nominating at the forefront the principle of usefulness of education, positioning education as a means of achieving social and individual wellbeing. The author represents the basic principles of utilitarian philosophy, and also reveals how these ...
Equality and Education: Mill's Theory of Utilitarianism
Legacy. Mill's legacy is his championing of the rights of the individual. He was among the first to advocate for women's suffrage and their rights to an education, and, most often, for defending the notion that all lives are of equal value. He is remembered as one of the greatest thinkers on social and political theory.
Spencer on Education
INTRODUCTION. The four essays on education which Herbert Spencer published in a single volume in 1861 were all written and separately published between 1854 and 1859. Their tone was aggressive and their proposals revolutionary; although all the doctrines—with one important exception—had already been vigorously preached by earlier writers on education, as Spencer himself was at pains to ...
Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism is the best-known version of consequentialist ethics. Consequentialist ethical theories evaluate the morality of actions strictly on the basis of their outcomes, setting aside any consideration of the agent's motives or other circumstances. As such utilitarianism is readily distinguished as the opposite of deontology, which ...
Utilitarianism Essay
Long and Short Essays on Utilitarianism for Students and Kids in English. We are providing the students with essay samples, of a long essay of 500 words in English and a short essay of 150 words in English for reference. Long Essay on Utilitarianism 500 Words in English. Long Essay on Utilitarianism is usually given to classes 7, 8, 9, and 10.
Utah school removes class assignment on 'It Is So Hard to Be Trans' essay
The assigned essay had been selected as one of the Top 11 winners in a 2023 student editorial contest through the The Learning Network, a free resource for teachers curated by The New York Times.
Are We All Really Supposed to Wear Cargo Pants?
All that semiology, contained in a pair of trousers! Who could resist? They represented utilitarianism, rebellion, war, peace, masculinity, subversion, D.I.Y ...

Utilitarians and College Education Essay

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Utilitarian sensibility and liberal education: the case of London University, 1825–36

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An Introduction to Utilitarianism

Introduction to Utilitarianism

Elements and Types of Utilitarianism

Arguments for Utilitarianism

Theories of Well-Being

Population Ethics

Utilitarianism and Practical Ethics

Near-Utilitarian Alternatives

Objections to Utilitarianism and Responses

The Rights Objection

The Mere Means Objection

The Separateness of Persons Objection

The Demandingness Objection

The Alienation Objection

The Special Obligations Objection

The Equality Objection

The Cluelessness Objection

The Abusability Objection

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Utilitarianism by Ben Eggleston LAST REVIEWED: 29 November 2022 LAST MODIFIED: 29 November 2022 DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195396577-0431

Utilitarians and College Education Essay

1.1. Background of Utilitarianism

1.2. Importance of College Education

2. Utilitarian Perspective on College Education

2.1. Maximizing Overall Happiness

2.2. Balancing Individual and Societal Benefits

2.3. Assessing the Utilitarian Value of College Education

3. Criticisms and Counterarguments

3.1. Potential Inequalities and Unfairness

3.2. Alternative Approaches to Education

3.3. Evaluating the Limitations of Utilitarianism

4. Conclusion

4.1. Summary of Utilitarian View on College Education

4.2. Reflection on the Debate and Future Considerations

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Equality and Education: Mill’s Theory of Utilitarianism

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Can you please explain cargo pants (and shorts)? They are clearly enduringly popular for men and women, but the pockets seem neither functional nor flattering. What am I missing, and what is the best way to wear them? — Patti, Boulder, Colo.

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