2.1 utilitarianism Flashcards
What is classical utilitarianism?
when faced with an ethical decision, we should choose a course of action which maximises pleasure and minimises pain for the greatest number of people
What did Jeremy Bentham create to help determine quantitatively the right course of action?
the hedonic calculus
What does the hedonic calculus consist of?
- intensity - how deeply will the pleasure be felt
- duration - how long will it last
- certainty - how likely is it to result in pleasure
- remoteness - how near to you will the pleasure be
- fecundity - how likely is it going to produce other happiness
- purity - will it produce only pleasure
- extent - how universal will the pleasure be
analysis of classical utilitarianism:
- asks us to set aside personal interests
- a morally demanding position
- always asks us to do the most
- it allows you to do something that is morally unacceptable -> tyranny of the majority upon a minority
What is act utilitarianism?
- often ascribed to Bentham though not proposed until the 1950s
- specific actions are deemed moral or immoral and rules are deduced from them
- all is relative to the situation
What is rule utilitarianism?
rules should be formed using utilitarian principles for the benefit of society
- rules can be broken depending on the context e.g. lying
- ascribed to Mill
J.S. Mill’s utilitarianism:
- believed that happiness, not pleasure should be the standard of utility
- believed in lower pleasures and higher pleasures
‘better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied’
analysis of rule utilitarianism:
+ avoids the need to use the hedonic calculus
+ avoids justifying immoral actions
What is preference utilitarianism?
act as so to create the greatest amount of satisfaction of the preferences for the greatest number of people involved
strengths and weaknesses of preference utilitarianism:
+ doesn’t attempt to calculate pleasure or happiness
+ avoids giving up your preferences for the sake of the majority
- as long as the preference of those involved are being satisfied, it would seem that preference utilitarianism can justify morally questionable acts
What is ideal utilitarianism?
proposed by G.E Moore
act so that you maximise the intrinsically good qualities
- it denies that the source of moral concern is hedonism
What is negative utilitarianism?
act so that you minimise the pain and suffering of the greatest number of people
- aim to minimise pain first rather than seek happiness
strengths and weaknesses of negative utilitarianism
+more realistic
+ there are more ways to do harm
- ignores the fact that suffering can be good
- life has its ups and downs and we value them
How has abortion been impacted by utilitarianism?
the 1967 Abortion Act legalised abortion -> a utilitarian bill
- many women were getting backstreet abortions which could result in death so in order to maximise happiness for the greatest number of women, they legalised abortion
How was the use of nuclear weapons in WW2 impacted by utilitarianism?
Truman’s decision was made on utilitarian grounds - he hoped to minimise loss of life and hence to end the war with the minimum amount of pain
