Chapter 12: The Utilitarian: John Stuart Mill Flashcards
Imagine there is a job opening at Target, and your friend Sage works there. You are looking for a job, and so you ask Sage to hire you. Sage replies, “Don’t worry, I’ll vouch for you. Put in your application!” If you are hired on the basis of your friendship with Sage rather than being the best candidate for the job, this business has hired you based on which of the following conceptions?
a. Nepotism
b. Hedonism
c. Ageism
d. The principle of utility
a. Nepotism
Which of the following ideas is attributed to Thomas Malthus?
a. He believed that the biggest problem of the Industrial Revolution was the proletariat.
b. He is credited with the theory of evolution by natural selection.
c. He is responsible for the development of the heliocentric model of the solar system.
d. He believed that welfare programs encourage idleness and overpopulation.
d. He believed that welfare programs encourage idleness and overpopulation.
A government is deciding on whether to build a new highway that will reduce travel time for thousands but will also displace a small community. According to the principle of utility, what should the government do?
a. Offer fair compensation to the displaced community and build the highway
b. Build a public transit system that is better for more people without as much loss
c. Conduct a vote among the affected community members
d. Do not build the highway because it unfairly displaces the community
b. Build a public transit system that is better for more people without as much loss
A fire breaks out in a crowded building. You can save either the group of four people on the first floor or the one person trapped on the top floor. According to the principle of utility, who should you save?
a. Try to save everyone, even if it’s not possible; Batman would
b. Save the one person on the top floor
c. Call for help and wait for professional rescuers
d. Save the four people on the first floor
d. Save the four people on the first floor
What is Bentham’s hedonic calculus?
a. It is a type of mathematics used by hedonists to assess group members’ pain tolerance.
b. It is the idea that individuals should act however they want to in the moment. Don’t overthink it.
c. It is the view that a life of modest pleasures and intellectual contemplation is the only utility, or hedonic, calculus.
d. It is a method for calculating whether an action is moral by quantifying the amount of pleasure and pain an action brings about.
d. It is a method for calculating whether an action is moral by quantifying the amount of pleasure and pain an action brings about.
Can Bentham’s hedonic calculus be extended to animals?
a. Yes. Bentham poses the question “Can they suffer?” Because the answer is yes, then their suffering can be quantified by using hedonic calculus.
b. No. Although animals can suffer, Bentham asserts that we are within our moral rights to “use them as we please, treating them in the way which best suits us; for their nature is not like ours, and their emotions are naturally different from human emotions.”
c. No. Bentham asserted the notion that animals lack moral worth simply because they cannot reason.
d. Maybe. In order for the hedonic calculus to be extended to animals, the animal must have more cognitive capabilities than a two year old. This would include some including apes, chimpanzees, and dolphins.
a. Yes. Bentham poses the question “Can they suffer?” Because the answer is yes, then their suffering can be quantified by using hedonic calculus.
Which of the following best describes John Stuart Mill’s home life as a child?
a. He struggled with intellectual disabilities, and his parents were mainly absent. He was a latch key kid, always alone.
b. He received an education of love—love of wisdom and love of his family and peers.
c. Like most philosophers, he grew up with all of the advantages of wealth and a happy home.
d. The family lived under the same roof, but they were worlds apart. His father educated him but at the expense of emotion and spontaneity.
d. The family lived under the same roof, but they were worlds apart. His father educated him but at the expense of emotion and spontaneity.
John Stuart Mill received an education based on Bentham’s own education as a child prodigy. What is this method of learning?
a. Isolation: not being able to play with other children, not being able to think for himself, and just compiling information and memorizing facts.
b. He was given a different type of education in which he studied psychology, anthropology, and criminal justice; that way he could develop his father’s teacher’s (Bentham’s) moral theory.
c. He focused exclusively on practical skills, such as carpentry, metalworking, and farming, with no emphasis on classical education, literature, or philosophy. This hands-on, trade-based approach was designed to prepare him for a life of manual labor and craftsmanship rather than intellectual pursuits.
d. He had to learn everything by himself first before his teachers would explain it. This method was used to avoid him just parroting knowledge. The environment was strict, critical, and analytical.
d. He had to learn everything by himself first before his teachers would explain it. This method was used to avoid him just parroting knowledge. The environment was strict, critical, and analytical.
In John Stuart Mill’s autobiography, what was his “crisis”?
a. He suffered from histrionic disorder, a mental illness.
b. He suffered from bouts of depression because his education robbed him of human emotion and felt that life was devoid of meaning without it.
c. He was stranded at sea with a well-equipped boat but no sail or oars to row back to shore.
d. He didn’t know how to grieve his father’s death because he was emotionally stunted.
b. He suffered from bouts of depression because his education robbed him of human emotion and felt that life was devoid of meaning without it.
What did Mill mean when he asserted “The spring of my life is broken”?
a. When his ideas were rejected, he asserted this comment, feeling overly emotional that he had wasted his childhood to live a life without meaning.
b. This was Mill’s reaction when Harriet Taylor’s husband found out about their relationship and affinity.
c. He said this as he lay with a fever in Avignon ready to die in 1873.
d. This was Mill’s sentiment after his wife, Harriet Taylor Mill, died suddenly. He attributed his humanness to her.
d. This was Mill’s sentiment after his wife, Harriet Taylor Mill, died suddenly. He attributed his humanness to her.
Who was Harriet Taylor Mill?
a. She was a writer, an abolitionist, and a proponent of the women’s suffragist movement. She was also John Stuart Mill’s wife and heavily influenced his ideas.
b. Harriet Taylor Mill was a renowned nineteenth-century opera singer. Harriet’s contribution to the arts was significant, and she is often credited with popularizing opera in several European cities. She also founded a prestigious music academy, where she mentored many young singers who later became famous in their own right.
c. Harriet Taylor Mill was a celebrated French painter who led the Impressionist movement in the late nineteenth century. Born in Paris, she studied art at the École des Beaux-Arts and became known for her innovative techniques and use of color. Harriet’s paintings often depicted scenes of everyday life, capturing the beauty and complexity of the world around her.
d. Harriet’s research led to the groundbreaking identification of the double helix structure of DNA, a discovery that revolutionized the field of genetics and earned her numerous awards and accolades.
a. She was a writer, an abolitionist, and a proponent of the women’s suffragist movement. She was also John Stuart Mill’s wife and heavily influenced his ideas.
What is one way that Mill refined utilitarianism?
a. He realized that pleasures differ in kind as well as degree, so he introduced the idea of quality to improve the theory.
b. Mill refined utilitarianism by introducing the concept of “moral absolutism,” which asserts that certain actions are intrinsically right or wrong, regardless of their consequences.
c. Mill refined utilitarianism by proposing the “political expediency” doctrine, which holds that actions are right if they contribute to the political stability and power of the state. This approach suggested that the utility of an action should be measured by its ability to strengthen governmental authority and maintain social order rather than by individual happiness.
d. He thought we should remove the pain of other people from the calculus; he was in love with a married woman and realized that our own suffering should be considered before the suffering of others.
a. He realized that pleasures differ in kind as well as degree, so he introduced the idea of quality to improve the theory.
What did Mill mean when he said, “It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied”?
a. It is always better to be human than an animal like a pig; pigs get slaughtered and do not have equal rights. So, it is better to be a human being, even in poverty, than to be a well-fed pig with good living conditions.
b. He meant that higher-order pleasures are always better than lower-order pleasures. Higher-order pleasures encompass intellectual pleasures, which are long lasting and preferable, over sense or body pleasures.
c. He meant that it is better to have depression than gluttony.
d. He meant that it is better for children to play video games than to play piano; piano is something adults enjoy. Through this quote he showed that people ought to act their age or in kind.
b. He meant that higher-order pleasures are always better than lower-order pleasures. Higher-order pleasures encompass intellectual pleasures, which are long lasting and preferable, over sense or body pleasures.
Why do some people seemingly choose lower-order pleasures instead of the higher intellectual pleasures, according to Mill?
a. He suggests that mostly men choose lower-order pleasures because they like instant gratification.
b. Some people might have things that prevent them from cultivating the higher pleasures, so they settle for what is readily available.
c. He suggests that mostly women choose lower-order pleasures because they have too many responsibilities to consider.
d. He suggests that most people choose lower-order pleasures because ignorance is bliss.
b. Some people might have things that prevent them from cultivating the higher pleasures, so they settle for what is readily available.
Which of the following best describes Mill’s conception of utilitarianism?
a. Altruistic
b. Aesthetic
c. Virtuistic
d. Egoistic
a. Altruistic
According to utilitarianism, why is slavery opposed?
a. It leads to higher economic costs for society in the long term.
b. It prevents cultural exchange and diversity.
c. It violates the principles of individual freedom and autonomy.
d. It inflicts severe suffering and deprives individuals of happiness.
d. It inflicts severe suffering and deprives individuals of happiness.
How does utilitarianism view women’s equality?
a. Utilitarianism sees gender roles as natural and unchangeable.
b. Utilitarianism views striving for women’s equality as a potential cause of social instability and therefore prefers maintaining the status quo.
c. Utilitarianism considers women’s equality unimportant so long as men are happy and satisfied.
d. Utilitarianism promotes women’s equality because it increases overall happiness and well-being.
d. Utilitarianism promotes women’s equality because it increases overall happiness and well-being.
Why do utilitarians support equal access to education?
a. Utilitarians support equal access to education to ensure that everyone can maintain traditional gender roles and societal norms.
b. Utilitarians support equal access to education to limit the spread of technological advancements that might disrupt the current job market.
c. Utilitarians support equal access to education to make everyone equally capable of performing manual labor, which is seen as the most valuable contribution to society.
d. Utilitarians support equal access to education because it increases personal development and societal progress, leading to greater happiness.
d. Utilitarians support equal access to education because it increases personal development and societal progress, leading to greater happiness.
Why have some people criticized Mill, saying that he is Eurocentric and supports colonization?
a. Mill is criticized for his belief that European cultural norms are universally applicable and should be imposed globally.
b. He thinks that only the wealthy can be despots, which is suspect. So, in turn, he has been charged with being Eurocentric and for colonization of the people below the poverty line.
c. People criticize Mill because he blames people for the violence they sustain. His idea that one can just pick themselves up by the proverbial bootstraps shows his Eurocentric and colonial ideas.
d. Mill advocated for the notion of enlightened or benevolent despotism to be used for those who were not yet mature enough to govern themselves: children and “barbarians.”
d. Mill advocated for the notion of enlightened or benevolent despotism to be used for those who were not yet mature enough to govern themselves: children and “barbarians.”
What is the “tyranny of the majority”?
a. It is another way of saying benevolent despotism.
b. It is a phrase used to describe the colonizers from Britain ruling violently over India and other nations.
c. “Tyranny of the majority” is when we let the opinions held by the most people count as the right opinions, when we elevate considerations of quantity over more substantial qualitative matter.
d. It is where enlightened people use their reason to help others live well and better.
c. “Tyranny of the majority” is when we let the opinions held by the most people count as the right opinions, when we elevate considerations of quantity over more substantial qualitative matter.
Who did Mill advocate on behalf of for a benevolent despotism?
a. Children and barbarians
b. Slaves and immigrants
c. Men and women
d. Women and children
a. Children and barbarians
What does Sarah Conly think is the principal cause of unhappiness?
a. Autonomy
b. Paternalism
c. Ignorance
d. Utilitarianism
a. Autonomy
What does Sarah Conly criticize enlightenment philosophers for doing?
a. Nothing; she is a proponent of Enlightenment philosophy
b. Failing to include reason in their catalog of virtues
c. Relying on science and logic to solve social problems
d. Their enthusiastic faith in human reason
d. Their enthusiastic faith in human reason
What is Sarah Conly’s position on freedom, liberty, and autonomy?
a. Conly believes that we cannot live a happy life so long as we have coercive constraints in our choices.
b. She thinks it is only acceptable to limit and coerce children because they are dependents.
c. Conly believes that our freedom of choice should be limited because, when left to our own devices, we do not choose well. Coercive paternalism is needed.
d. Conly believes that freedom, liberty, and autonomy are necessary and that Mill’s paternalism is in violation of people’s freedom, liberty, and autonomy.
c. Conly believes that our freedom of choice should be limited because, when left to our own devices, we do not choose well. Coercive paternalism is needed.
What is happiness according to Mill?
a. Happiness is about achieving a perfect balance of pleasures and pain; Mill proposed that the ideal state of happiness is reached by carefully balancing positive and negative experiences in life. This view suggests that Mill saw happiness as a delicate equilibrium between enjoying pleasures and enduring pain and that maintaining this balance is the key to a happy life.
b. Happiness is the accumulation of wealth and material possessions; Mill believed that financial success and the ownership of luxurious items lead to a fulfilling and happy life.
c. Happiness is the avoidance of any form of suffering or discomfort. Mill thought that any experience of pain or discomfort inherently detracts from happiness; therefore, the ultimate goal is to create a life free from all forms of suffering, focusing on a continuous state of ease and pleasure.
d. Mill argues that true happiness is found by aiming at something beyond oneself. When people are dedicated to external ends—whether it be the well-being of others, societal progress, or an intrinsic passion—they achieve happiness incidentally.
d. Mill argues that true happiness is found by aiming at something beyond oneself. When people are dedicated to external ends—whether it be the well-being of others, societal progress, or an intrinsic passion—they achieve happiness incidentally.
