2.1 Utilitarianism Flashcards
Who first developed the idea of utilitarianism?
Jeremy Bentham
What is the trolley problem?
A trolley is going to hit 4 people tied to the track. You have the option to flip the switch, changing the course of the trolley and therefore the trolley only hits one person tied to the track.
Who came up with the trolley problem?
Philippa Foot
Who are the 19th century philosophers of classical utilitarianism?
Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill
What book did Jeremy Bentham write?
The principles of Morals and Legislation 1789
What are the 3 sections of Bentham’s book?
- The motivation of human beings
- The principle of utility
- The hedonistic calculus
What does Bentham say the motivation of humans is?
To get pleasure out of life, to be happy, and avoid things that don’t bring happiness.
Bentham believed the sole good was pleasure and the sole evil was pain
What is the principle of utility?
The greatest good for the greatest number of people. Refers to the amount of happiness the action causes- wants to bring the greatest pleasure for the greatest number- democratic theory: never be for the good of one person
what is the hedonistic calculus?
a system of 7 criteria to consider when making decisions based on the consequences of their actions
What are the 7 criteria of the hedonistic calculus?
- Intensity- how much pain will be felt?
- Duration- How long will the pain/ pleasure last?
- Certainty- how sure is it that the action causes pleasure?
- Remoteness- how near or immediate is the pain?
- Richness- the likelihood of further pleasure following the action
- Purity- likelihood of pain occuring in the future
- Extent- what number of people are affected by the action?
What are the advantages of the hedonistic calculus?
- a set way of decision making, makes a person less indecisive
- Ideas are intuitive
- discourages criminal behaviour
What are the disadvantages of the hedonistic calculus?
- there is an oppurtunity to harm the minority
- emotions fluctuate
- lots of grey area, you don’t know the consequences of the choice made
- happiness is subjective
- the decision made won’t benefit everyone
- too many criteria in hedonic calculus
What does quantative mean and why can the theory be described as such?
Deals with number results. Theory is concerned with how many people can be made happy
What is an example of an action that can be justified under quantative measures?
Torturing a terrorist to save a crowd
What are the criticisms of act utilitarianism?
- Theory is quantative not qualititive
- It is too simplistic
- It only values happiness- other emotions are important
- It is too subjective
- Any action can be justified
What are the strengths of act utilitarianism?
- It is practical and relevant- most people want happiness
- The hedonic calculus allows little margin for error
- It is democratic
- Theory applies appropriate measures to the situation
Did Mill support Bentham?
Yes, he supported utilitarianism
BUT he thought it was too quantative and he focused more on quality
How did Mill attempt to focus more on quality?
He distinguished between ‘higher’ pleasure and ‘lower’ pleasure
Higher- benefits the mind
lower- meets body’s needs or basic needs
How do people criticise Mill?
They say it is not realistsic- going to a west end play and watching tv at home may rank differently in nourishing your mind, but one may be more pleasurable.
Why torture yourself for the sake of intellect, when your life could be easier staying at home?
How does Mill respond to criticisms?
“It is better to be a human being disatisfied then a pig satisfied”
He believed that there is a distinction between happiness and contentment. Mill claims those who have ‘higher facilities’ may be less content but are more happy.
What is rule utilitarianism?
The right action is one which follows rules that, if universally obeyed, would create the maximum amount of happiness and the minimum amount of pain.
What does Mill reject about Bentham’s (act) utilitarianism?
The hedonistic calculus, Mill believed happiness was ‘too complex and indefinite’ to be calculated in every situation. Believed rules should be followed based on trial and error
What do strong rule utilitarians believe?
Rules should never be disobeyed
What do weak rule utilitarians believe?
There should be generally accepted rules or guidelines, but they don’t always have to be adhered to. Rules when ignored can bring a greater result.
do not lie- you can lie for other people’s benefit
What are the strengths of rule utilitariamisn?
- Appeals to our inner convictions- harm principle
- Follows an absolutist approach
- Society understands and wants rules
- Allows flexibility (strong vs weak)
- doesn’t follow the hedonistic calculator
What is the harm principle?
Theorised by J.S Mill, a liberal principle which believes that people should be allowed to do what they want if it brings them pleasure and doent’s cause harm to other people
What are the weaknesses of rule utilitarianism?
- higher and lower pleasures are very subjective
- too focused on rules, tries to be a theory for everyone
- Not clear when rules can and cannot be broken
- Not clear who is qualified to judge higher and lower pleasures
- does following rules remove the consequentialist aspect of utilitarianism
What is preference utilitarianism?
The belief that a right action is one that maximises the preferences than an individual human being makes in life, and the action is judged based on the execution of the preferneces of the group affected.
What thinker supports rule utilitarianism?
Peter Singer
what are manifest preferences?
preferneces which are mannifested by observed behaviour, including preferneces possibly based on wrong factual beliefs or on careless logical analysis
e.g a small glass of wine everyday is good for you
what are true preferences?
preferences based on true information, correctly reasoned in a rational state of mind
e.g eating fruit and veg will always be true in a balanced diet
What are the strengths of preference utilitarianism?
- you have more autonomy because it is specific to one person’s preferences
- it is democratic, allows people to speak up and defend their rights
- increasingly secular, so applicable to more people
- Acknowledges that not all situations are identical
- Wamts to reduce suffering in the world by expanding the circle of concern to include the interest of non-human sentient creatures
What are the weaknesses of preference utilitarianism?
- someone could have a preference to cruelty, which is justifiable
- Does not take into account the negative impacts an action may have
- what if someone is not able to express their preference like a baby
- is the preference based on current or future preferences
- Religious people who find meaning in suffering, like Joni eareckson tada, won’t be able to use this theory which avoids suffering
What is negative utilitarianism?
A theory which foremost seeks to remove pain before enducing happiness
Who theorised negative utilitarianism?
Karl Popper
What are the strengths of negative utilitarianism?
- there are more ways to do harm than good, so the sole focus should be on avoiding harm
- avoiding harm is more important that enducing pleasure. Without pain there is pleasure but with pleasure does not mean we are without pain
What are the weaknesses of negative utilitarianism?
- too pesimistic
- could lead to mass euthanasia to ensure people who are suffering from something like cancer don’t have to, removing pain
what is ideal utilitarianism?
A form of utilitarianism which takes into account intrinsic benefits like beauty or knowledge not just pleasure. These intrinsically good thing may not provide pleasure but will improve society e.g having chemotherapy
who theorised ideal utilitarianism?
GE Moore
Example in history where utilitarianism has been used
- The USA’s use of nuclear weapons (less total people died in the attack than would have if the war continued)
