Bentham And Kant Flashcards
What are normative theories of ethics
a theoretical account of which actions, motives and character traits are right or good.
Intended guidance on what to do
According to both philosophers morality is objective. The problem is that each of them have different concepts of objective principles.
What is benthams principle for morals
Utilitarian
Act consequentialism
acts are morally right/wrong defending on their consequences
hedonism: the only good thing is happiness.
Therefore an act is morally right if its consequence maximises what is good, happiness. Actions are not judged by its type (a lie) or motive, but by solely its consequence.
How is this objective?
consequences are factual
What is Kant principle for morals
‘Deontology’ - is ANTI consequentialist
‘Deon’ - duty , hence the study of duty.
ethics is not based on an actions consequences.
Therefore acts are right or wrong within themselves
According to deontology, morality is a matter of duty.
These can be general duties, special duties, duties regarding our own actions
Its an obligation to do something/not do something
According to Kant, morality is therefore concerned with discovering what duties to follow, thorugh our reasoning and logic.
Reason and logic deliver ‘moral truths’
The categorical imperative: “act only on that maxim(duty) through which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law”
Reason itself can decide which maxims to follow.
first formulation of the categorical imperative (Kant - Groundwork for the metaphysics of morals)
The categorical imperative: “act only on that maxim(duty) through which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law”
What is hedonism - who is it relevant to
Hedonism is that the only good thing is happiness
Bentham appeals to this, stating that if consequences maximise the good (happiness) then it is right
How is an act morally right according to Bentham
if its consequence maximises what is good, happiness. Actions are not judged by its type (a lie) or motive, but by solely its consequence.
How is an act morally good according to Kant
“act only on that maxim(duty) through which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law”
Reason itself can decide which maxims to follow.
Act consequentialism
Act consequentialism - concept that actions are morally right or wrong depending on their consequences and nothing else. An act is right if it maximises what is good
Bentham appeals to this theory
What is benthams first formulation of the principle of utility
(‘An Introduction to the Principles of morals and legislation’ )
“the principle which approves or disapproves of every action whatsoever, according to the tendency which it appears to have to augment or diminish the happiness of the party whose interest is in the question”
Hedonic/felicific/happiness calculus
if a pleasure is more intense, lasts longer, more certain to occur, happen sooner rather than later, produces more pleasures and less paints then it ‘counts for me’
Add up total pleasures and subtract total pains
Like a risk v reward
Hedonic calculus:
Factors: intensity, extent (how many people will be affected), duration, certainty/un, remoteness (how soon will it occur), fecundity (will it lead to more pleasure), purity ( will the pleasure be accompanied by pain or lead to pain )
What does John Stuart Mill say about Bentham taking a hedonic approach
And the replies
- its wrong because happiness isnt the most important factor, it is about what is moral or ethical
- not only the happiness of the doer counts
2: utilitarianism isnt that a good act makes one happy but the greatest happiness for the greatest number
Two strengths of Benthams utilitarianism
- Makes ethics objective
Because ethical matters are natural matters they are measurable through empirical methods. This makes them a matter of science and therefore objective.
Ethics being a matter of science means it is measurable thorugh empirical methods. - Utilitarianism embraces equality and universality
Inherently a non selfish form of ethics
Not about personal happiness but the greatest happiness, promoting equality : “everyone counts for one and none for more than one” (argument from queerness)
John Stuart mill (utilitarianism) “to do as you would be done by constitutes the ideal perfection of utilitarian morality”
What does John Stuart Mill say about the equality and universality of Benthams utilitarianism
John Stuart Mill: “To do as you would be done by, constitutes the ideal perfection of utilitarian morality” (Text: Utilitarianism)
Three weaknesses of benthams utilitarianism
1.
Do we know all the consequences of an action?
How far do they go (temporally) and how wide do we look ( spacially )
We cannot predict every single possibility of every action, it is either unattainable or impossible in real life situations.
If you dont draw line at the predictions then the calculation is unattainable but if you do then you bring your own biases and intuitions to the limits of consequences
Benthams response: the principle of utility ‘approves/disaproves of every action, according to the TENDENCY which it APPEARS to augment happiness.’
TENDENCY - most likely consequence
APPEARS - what is the most obvious or likely consequence
much easier to work out the consequences that actions ‘tend’ to have
We dont need to pursue the hedonic calculus every time
- John Stuart Mill - What is happiness?
He said happiness is ‘much too complex and indefinite’ a standard to apply to actions
We cant base an ethical theory on a concept we cant fully comprehend. Using happiness as a sub for morality, doesnt work cause its not specific, fully comprehended etc
Benthams response: we know what it is.
It’s something we worked out over time, because of all general moral principles. For eg ‘dont steal’, secondary principle of ethics, because it tends to produce more unhappiness than happiness.
