Bentham and Kant Flashcards
What does the acronym Dr Ficep stand for and what does each word mean? This is the Hedonic Calculus
D Duration - how long does the pleasure last
R Remoteness (Propinquity) - how soon will the pleasure happen
F Fecundity - how likely is the act(pleasure) will happen again
I Intensity - how strong the pleasure is
C Certainty - How likely is it that the pleasure will happen
E Extent - How far will the pleasure/pain extend to other people affected by the action
P Purity - to what extent does the action have pain involved
Explain what the principle of Utility means?
We can see that we should commit a useful action and an action that is GGFGN
What are the three postulates?
- God
- Immortality
- Freedom
What are the 3 formulations and what do they mean ?
- Universability - Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law
Kant states we have a ‘perfect duty’ - The practical imperative - this principle excludes using other people simply as a means of achieving your own ends
You have to allow that all others are free moral agents, just as you are. But to treat people as only as ‘means’ is to dehumanise them - The Kingdom of Ends - Act as though legislating member in the universal kingdom of ends
Everyone is to be treated as an ‘end’ and not as a means; in other words, a society of free and autonomous human individuals
What does summum bonum mean?
- Supreme good
It is received after we die
We can use this to link it to religion (Christianity)
What is the main key quote when Bentham is talking about how humans are motivated to seek pleasure and avoid pain?
” Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure”
Another key way to put this is
” pleasure and pain pervade our lives”
Our actions are highly and rigorously conditioned by the implication of pain and pleasure from our actions
When talking about Kant and how we have moral ‘oughts’ what is a person who opposes it and a quote?
Peter Baron
“in order to make the imaginative leap of universalising we have to imagine the consequences”
Kant splits reality into two aspects what are they and what do they mean ?
- Noumenal - the way reality ‘really’ is ( this is the main problem philosophers have with Kantian Ethics as there is no evidence to support this idea of this realm)
- Phenomenal - what reality appears to be like according to our senses
What does the word ‘volition’ mean
Exercise of the will
With Kant what does ‘Ought implies Can’ mean ?
The force of the moral ought- The Categorical Imperative says that we ought to do our moral duty- implies that we can do our moral duty.
What is a maxim?
A general guideline or principle of action.
When talking about Kantian ethics and Utilitarianism what does Kant and Bentham start with when deciding how people should act ?
Kant starts with what is right
Bentham starts with what is good
What is the difference between the Categorical Imperative and the Hypothetical Imperative ?
The Categorical Imperative has the form: ‘Do A’. The Hypothetical Imperative has the form: ‘If A, then B’
Remember Kant chooses the Categorical Imperative and is the main part of Kantian ethics
