1B: Mill’s Rule Utilitarianism

Question 1

Who was JS Mill?

Answer 1

English philosopher and social reformer

Question 2

What are the two key texts from Mill?

Answer 2

Utilitarianism and On Liberty

Question 3

What did Mill agree with Bentham on?

Answer 3

the principle of utility (the idea that happiness should be the goal towards all our moral actions are aimed)

Question 4

What did Mill disagree with Bentham on?

Answer 4

the hedonic calculus could lead to justifying actions which still felt wrong

Question 5

What was Mill’s adaption of Bentham’s utilitarianism?

Answer 5

• not all people pleasures are of equal worth
• higher pleasures with the intellectual are superior to lower pleasures that just satisfy basic physical pleasure

Question 6

Quote from Mill about higher and lower pleasures and the meaning of it

Answer 6

“It is better to be a human dissatisfied than a pig satisfied. better to be socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied”
- means that humans gain more from life. being an unhappy human is better than being an unhappy pig because pigs can only reach a certain stage of happiness
- Socrates is capable of experiencing intellectual pleasures, a pig cannot

Question 7

Why did Mill dislike the hedonic calculus?

Answer 7

because it focused on the quantity of happiness and not the quality

Question 8

What does ‘higher pleasure’ mean?

Answer 8

• those which are ‘intellectual’ and stimulate the mind
• examples: reading, reciting poetry, catching up on sleep, being forgiven

Question 9

What does ‘lower pleasure’ mean?

Answer 9

• those which satisfy the body
• examples: eating, having sex

Question 10

Why did Mill argue people can only be fully happy if they aim towards intellectual pleasures?

Answer 10

because satisfying lower pleasures is not enough

Question 11

What is the harm principle?

Answer 11

people should be free to act however they wish unless their actions cause harm to somebody else

Question 12

Why did Mill think there was danger of ‘tyranny of the majority’ in Bentham’s utilitarianism?

Answer 12

because there was a risk that the happiness of individuals would be ignored if the majority took a different view on where the happiness lay

Question 13

What was Mill’s idea of ‘universalisability’?

Answer 13

what is right and wrong for an individual is right and wrong for society

Question 14

What are the 3 steps of Mill’s argument that what is right and wrong for one person in a situation is right or wrong for everyone?

Answer 14

1. happiness is desirable, we all desire it
2. happiness is the only thing desirable as an end, since things are only desirable because they bring about happiness
3. therefore everyone should aim at the happiness of everyone, because increasing general happiness will increase my happiness

Question 15

What are the similarities between Bentham and Mill’s utilitarianism?

Answer 15

• both aim to maximise happiness
• teleological

Question 16

What are the differences between Bentham and Mill’s utilitarianism?

Answer 16

• Bentham uses hedonic calculus
• Mill’s is deontological
• Bentham believed all moral decisions have to be made separately in each situation
• Bentham: quantative measurement, Mill: qualitative
• Mill uses the harm principle
• Mill uses higher and lower pleasures

Question 17

What is rule utilitarianism?

Answer 17

rules can be put in motion which ensure the principle of utility is being fulfilled eg do not murder

Question 18

Why did Mill say it would helps us to make decisions quickly if we didn’t use the hedonic calculus?

Answer 18

• it would be more efficient to consider what general rules of thumb have previously confirmed to the principle of utility
• we can use these rules to shape our moral decisions

Question 19

How might rules be formulated? (give an example)

Answer 19

1. Look at an action and determine whether it is moral, from this general rules can be derived (example; road traffic accident, a pregnant woman will be treated first since her and the unborn child will have a greater potential for future happiness than anyone else involved)
2. Deriving these general rules mean certain actions will be ruled out as unacceptable
3. The principle of utility has been applied to a rule so the rule will generally hold if it leads to greater happiness
4. In an individual case, even if injustice brings about greater happiness, if it goes against the general principle that injustice tends to lead to misery, it is deemed wrong

Question 20

What is strong rule utilitarianism?

Answer 20

• the rules used to promote the principle of utility are universal in nature and will always lead to greatest happiness if applied in any situation, even if it doesn’t bring the greatest happiness
• they ALWAYS follow the rules
• an action is only if it follows the rules

Question 21

What is weak rule utilitarianism?

Answer 21

• may break such rules in extreme cases if to do so in a particular situation would lead to more happiness
• example: ‘do not kill’ may have been deliberately broken by someone who had the opportunity to kill Hitler

Question 22

Was Mill a strong or weak rule utilitarian?

Answer 22

weak
- viewed the rules more as helpful guidance and necessary as a means of saving time

Question 23

Why is rule utilitarianism seen as a hybrid ethical theory?

Answer 23

• it is both deontological and teleological
• a mix of application of rules that have been established through experiences of applying utilitarianism but also through consideration of the telos