Final Exam- Utilitarianism Flashcards
o What is Bentham’s conception of human nature?
- § According to Bentham, how are we to explain acts that seem to be altruistic, such as soldiers willing to sacrifice their life to save their country?
Bentham says that human nature has the tendency to be selfish as they always want to maximize the outcomes (meaning maximizing happiness and minimizing the pain) . In the case of a soldier sacrificing his life for his country, Bentham may argue that this soldier only comes after the benefits of being a soldier, like free health care or a sense of belonging, and a sense of purpose. So, it’s not altruistic.
What is the objective and universal criteria of Bentham’s utilitarianism?
The objective and universal criteria of Bentham’s utilitarianism is that “We should always do what promotes the greatest happiness of the greatest number of people, knowing that everybody’s equal-counts for one.”
o How to do a utility chart and the 4 aspects to consider when attributing a certain weight to pains and pleasures:
Scope: Number of individuals affected
§ Duration: How long would each consequence/effect last (short vs long term).
§ Intensity: Degree of harm/pain or pleasure
§ Probability: We should focus on the most probable outcomes.
Advantages of utilitarianism:Objective, Impartial, Simple/intuitive, Flexible, Extends to animals, Liberal and Progressive, scientific accuracy.
§ Objective
“We should always do what optimizes the outcome for everyone”: we all have to abide by this principle.
This gives a coherent instruction
§ Impartial
Treats everyone equally (everyone is entitled to be well- everyone is considered)
Ex: Parents should be impartial towards their children- they should not take sides.
§ Simple/intuitive
No need to be taught Bentham’s theories to reason like a utilitarian- it is the way even kids reason.
Ex: “If I steal chocolate, it would taste good, but mom would punish me.”- their decision would followingly rely on how much chocolate they would get and the consequences (how strict mom is).
§ Flexible
It includes everyone that are involved or will be touched by the consequences
§ Extends to animals
Inclusivity of the scope: utilitarianism is not about rationality. It dictates that we must consider babies, animals (all beings that are able to feel pleasure and pain).
§ Liberal and Progressive:
§ Moral Permissiveness Objection
Can justify the most problematic behaviors such as genocide and may end up sacrificing people.
From the perspective of actions themselves
§ Calculation Problem
Problem in the application of the theory- asks us to cite ALL possible consequences for EVERYONE.
Consequences and their level of intensity are relative to each’s experiences. Therefore, not everyone will end up with the same results.
Imprecise how much people we should include onto the scope- ex: in the divorce case, should we also include the inlaws. This also affects the final result.
Asks us to predict the future, which is impossible
§ Moral Saints Objection
Too demanding to ALWAYS consider the happiness of EVERYONE in our choices
Requires us to be saints
Sometimes, we would like to think “perhaps the happiness of my daughter should be more important than strangers’.
§ Promises, Justice and Rights
Perspective of people to whom those actions are done- receiving end of actions
Concept of fundamental human rights makes no sense in utilitarianism and clearly that is problematic.- solely bases on outcomes
None of us are protected by rights in ulititarianism, meaning that Bentham’s theory is willing to completely disregard our well-being if it optimizes the outcome for a majority of people.
