Ch 6 Flashcards
What are the three possible problems with utilitarianism?
1) Problem of the future
2) Willing to sacrifice the minority
3) The Measurement Problem
What is the problem of the future?
we can never be sure of consequences
What is the problem of sacrificing the minority?
j
What is the measurement problem?
j
What is the fourth problem of utilitarianism?
Swine objection
What is the swine objection?
if utilitarians are only concerned with the quantity and not the quality of pleasure, then on an individual level, the life of a human would e no better than the life of animal
Who wrote “ The Psychology of Optimal Experience”?
Mihlay Cskikszentmihalyi
What does pleasure suggest?
an immediate kind of satisfaction
What did Mill think?
k
What is lower pleasures?
bodily pleasures that bring intense pleasure and tend to be easily overindulged(ex. food, drink, sex, etc.)
What is a higher pleasure?
comes from the unique psychological faculties of humans )pleasures of the intellect, emotion, imagination, or moral sentiments) that tend to be self-sustaining and can not be easily overindulged (they are unique to humans)
What are the three basic steps that lead us from our basic claims about happiness to a utilitarian ethical theory?
1) Happiness is one of the main ultimate aims of human action (it is the final end)
2) If something is a good thing than more of that thing is clearly better (maximize happiness, minimize pain)
3) For one to be happy, all as to be happy
According to Mill how do we know which of the two pleasures (lower or higher) is higher?
we ask a competent judge (someone who has experienced both judges, someone who can weight long term and short term consequences)
Who are the two founders of utilitarianism?
Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill
What did Jeremy Bentham found?
The greatest good of the greatest number which is called the principle of utility
Her pleasures tend to be?
safer, cheaper, more permanent and equal greater happiness to the greatest amount of people
What does Mill say about ignorance?
It is always better to be aware (human) than it is to be ignorant (animal/swine)
Who wrote “‘From Utilitarianism”?
John Stuart Mill
Who wrote “The harm that Good men do”?
Bertrand Russell
Utilitarians argue that ultimately all values…?
reduce to benefits and costs, so that all conflict is really about how to achieve the greatest happiness
Utilitarians think that happiness and utility can be…?
measured/weighed
