1.4 Utilitarianism Flashcards
IN PROGRESS
Bentham’s quote on human nature?
“nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters; pain and pleasure”
the principles of morals and legislation 1789
in what book does Bentham highlight the principle of utility?
a fragment on government
“it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong”
what are the seven criteria of the hedonic calculus?
- intensity: how strong is the pleasure or pain
- duration: how long will the pleasure or pain last
- certainty: how likely is it that the pleasure of pain will actually occur
- propinquity: how soon will the pleasure or pain occur
- fecundity: how likely is it that the pleasure will lead to further pleasures
- purity: how likely is it that pain will come from the original pleasure
- extent: how many people will be affected
what are three weaknesses with Bentham’s utilitarianism?
- the focus on pleasure is too narrow, more to life
- it could justify all kinds of things
- it is too complex and difficult to aply to every situation
how does Mill develop Bentham’s theory?
- he accepts the utility principle but rejects the hedonic calculus
- quality of pleasure is more important than quantity
- when talking of pleasure Mill is not talking of Bentham’s understanding but eudaimonia, the ultimate end that all actions should lead towards
- idea of higher and lower pleasures
- better be a sad philosopher than happy pig
- the highest pleasures are intellectual and social, lower pleasures are food, sex and sleep
what is act v rule utilitarianism?
- act is the idea we should always perform the act that leads to the greatest balance of good over evil
- rule is the idea that we should always follow the rule that generally leads to the greatest balance of good over evil
five ways in which utilitarianism can be applied?
- the trolley problem, philippa foot
- the dying billionaire: makes you promise to give all his money to the local football team but you break the promise and give the money to charity instead
- executing the innocent: in a town the sheriff knows that the guilty person is already dead but he executes someone else to prevent rising tensions and violence in the town
- the decriminalisation of homosexuality: argued by both Mill and Bentham
- euthanasia: should be able to end our lives if we wish, particularly argued by Singer
- business ethics: adam smith’s approach is utilitarian
what are six strengths of utilitarianism?
- impartial
- secular
- maximising happiness is a good aim
- a straightforward theory
- progressive and moves with the times
- democratic
what are six weaknesses of utilitarianism?
- measuring pleasure and pain can be subjective even with the calculus
- it requires impossible predictions of the future
- causes issues for minority groups
- there are no absolute boundaries to the theory
- meta-ethics, why are pleasure and happiness the only goods
- we all have different understandings of pleasure and pain
how does Peter Singer develop utilitarianism?
preference utilitarianism:
- addresses one of the key issues, that we all have the same understanding of pleasure
- people should be allowed to follow their preferences as long as it does not interfere with anyone else’s pursiot of happiness
- a preference approach focuses more on minimising suffering and harm rather than increasing pleasure (negative utilitarianism?)
- in his book ‘the life you can save’ he says we have a responsibility to give to developing countries to minimise pointless deaths
G.E. Moore
- he argued against the hedonistic foundations of classical utilitarianism and instead for a broader understanding of ‘good’
- wrote ‘principia ethica’
- it challenges the quantative measures of utility
- he instead proposes an ethical theory that appreciates intrinsic value
Robert Nozick
- wrote ‘Anarchy, State and Utopia’
- argued utilitarianism causes infringement on individual rights and property
- he defended liberterian principles against utilitarianism emphasising individual rights over the collective good
- reminiscent of Rand’s ‘virtue of selfishness’
Bernard Williams
- said utilitarianism fails to account for the complexity and integrity of individuals
- utilitarianism could cause people to sacrifice their own integrity for the greater good
- this could lead to moral alienation
Alasdair MacIntyre
- said utilitarianism had a reductionist approach to morality
- it fails to provide a coherent account to moral reasoning
- it lacks a robust concept of virtues and goods and reduces morality to a mere calculus of pleasure and pain
