1A: Bentham’s Act Utilitarianism Flashcards
What is utilitarianism influenced by?
Hedonism
Who are the key thinkers of utilitarianism?
Jeremy Bentham and JS Mill
What is the telos of utilitarianism?
maximising happiness
What are the key principles of utilitarianism?
- maximising happiness
- harm principle
- the utility principle
What is utilitarianism?
- relativist, consequentialist, teleological
- achieves to maximise pleasure and minimise pain to achieve the greatest overall happiness
What did Bentham believe people were motivated by?
pain and pleasure
What is hedonism?
the idea is that the only intrinsically good thing is pleasure
What is the problem with a hedonistic mindset?
- pain cannot be avoided
- sometimes pain can be beneficial and held build character
- what one person might think is pleasurable might not be to someone else
- pain and pleasure is subjective
What does consequentialist mean?
pays attention to outcome
What does relativist mean?
no action is right or wrong in itself
Is utilitarianism a religious ethical system?
No
Who was Jeremy Bentham?
A lawyer and social reformer
What did Bentham do as a part of his social reforming?
formulated a system that would benefit the needs of most people
What is the name of Benthams book?
The Principles of Morals and Legislation
Epicurus: “when __________ is present, we have everything, when it is absent, we do everything to ________ it”
happiness, possess
Bentham: “nature has placed mankind under the governance of two ___________ __________, pain and pleasure”
sovereign masters
What was Bentham’s guiding principle?
“the greatest happiness for the greatest number”
Why is the theory called utilitarianism?
- derives from the word ‘utility’ meaning ‘useful’
- an ethical theory which says that the right thing to do in a moral dilemma is the most ‘useful’ thing
- the thing that is the most useful is the one which has the most likelihood of achieving the telos which we aim for
- Bentham said that the goal for which to aim is happiness
- Bentham was influenced by hedonism (seeing pleasure as the only intrinsic good, pain the only intrinsic evil)
- this was of thinking means happiness is to be achieved by maximising pleasure and minimising pain
What is the utility principle?
- right actions are those which are most useful in maximising happiness
- the rightness/wrongness of an action is determined by its utility - the amount of pleasure or pain caused by an action
What did the utility principle say that good moral actions are determined by?
whether or not they maximise pleasure/happiness and minimise pain
What is the hedonic calculus?
a system made by Bentham to measure pleasure and pain
What are the seven elements of the hedonic calculus?
intensity, duration, certainty, propinquity, fecundity, purity, extent
Intensity
how strong is the happiness
- the stronger the better
Duration
how long does the happiness last for (referred to as long)
- the longer the better
Certainty
how sure can we be that the act will produce happiness
- the more certain the better
Propinquity
how close does the happiness follow after
- the nearer the better
Fecundity
how likely is this happiness going to lead to further happiness (will the happiness reproduce) (referred to as speedy)
- the more chance the pleasure will be repeated, the better
Purity
how free from pain is the act
- the least amount of pain involved, the better
Extent
how many people will receive the happiness
- the more people who receive it the better
What is act utilitarianism?
an act is right if and only if it results in as much good as any other alternative
What is a problem with consequentialism?
we don’t know for sure what consequences will result from our actions
What quote summarises Bentham’s quantitative position? What does the quote mean?
“push pin is as good as poetry”
- means that it doesn’t matter what gives you pleasure, as long as it gives you deep pleasure
- THERE IS NO HIERARCHY OF PLEASURE
What makes act utilitarianism consequentialist?
- it determines whether ethical decisions and judgements are right or wrong based on the consequences of an action, how much pleasure it will produce
- favours individual situations more than cases for the majority
What makes act utilitarianism relativist?
- it looks as each situation independently because each situation is different
- no universal moral absolute norms or rules
Where does the hedonic calculus derive its name from?
Greek term for pleasure - “hedone”
According to Bentham, how is pain and pleasure supreme in power?
they determine how we act mentally, physically, emotionally, psychologically etc
Why is Bentham’s version called act utilitarianism?
“act” refers to individual actions that people choose to do when faced with a moral dilemma
What are some problems with Bentham’s system?
- it is consequentialist meaning we don’t know from sure what consequences will result from our actions
- there is something instinctively wrong with judging the morality of an action solely based on its outcome: some people are motivated by greed. what about sadists? they gain pleasure from torturing people
- the theory seems to support the exploitation and abuse of minority groups
What does egalitarianism mean and how can it be referred to in the context of Bentham’s act utilitarianism?
- nobody’s pleasure is more important than anyone else’s
- benthams measure of extent: “everyone is to count for one person” all pleasures should be a seen as one of equal value. all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities
What does impartiality mean and how can it be referred to in the context of Bentham’s act utilitarianism?
- equal treatment
- not being biased or prejudice
- nobody is more important than anyone else
- everyone should be treated without favouritism when it comes to happiness
- example: just because someone is your best friend doesn’t mean you should favour them over everyone else when calculating how to act
