Jeremy Bentham (Utilitarianism) Flashcards
utilitarianism
the consequences of your actions are the ultimate determinant of the rightness or wrongness of them
most widely cited work
Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation
what is he considered to be?
founder of the utilitarian school of philosophy
what did he place a heavy emphasis on?
practicality of his philosophical ideas
how did he view his application of utilitarian thought?
similar to applying newtons laws to the physical world
teleological morals
if something is deemed “good”, as in it provides utility, then the right action in any situation is the one that brings the most “good”
what is right is determined by what is good
deontological morals
what is right and what is good are defined independently
any moral system that rests on concepts such as natural law are deontological
what does Bentham believe is the goal of the legislature?
increase pleasures and decrease pain
why does he attack the English legal system
that don’t aim towards increasing pleasures
what is he an advocate for?
legal positivism
legal positivism
laws are socially constructed and mean what they are designed to mean
how does Bentham view natural law?
device to express peoples preferences w/o a practical justification for it
can rights exist w/o a legal system?
no
what does the existence of the legal system imply?
rights are not natural
what does he call the declaration of the Rights of a Man
a perpetual vein of nonsense, flowing from a perpetual abuse of words
can existing laws serve individuals and have the society continue to stand?
yes
what is important when codifying the law?
appeal logical principle, the greatest good for the greatest number
The interest of a community is…
the sum of the interests of the several members who compose it
how does he view pleasure?
things with tangible measurable properties
what’s a weakness of his logic?
he doesn’t factor in variability
Felicific Calculus
intensity
certainty
propinquity
fecundity
purity
extent
intensity
absolute level of utility gained
certainty
likelihood of utility being gained
propinquity
temporal proximity of utility
fecundity
chance of reproducibility
purity
chance of not being followed by opposite thing
extent
how many people are affected by an action
what does Bentham argue about calculating your actions?
you should be able to precisely calculate the impact of your actions by measuring each of these variables
Is utilitarianism liberal?
centered on individual - yes
community is just a collection of individuals - yes
politics is instrumental - yes mostly
government should be limited in scope - no
conception of freedom is negative - yes
is he right about human motivation?
assumes psychological hedonism
is the relationship between the good of an individual and the good of society clear?
argued that they match up pretty well
does it protect from tyranny of the individual?
societies political good is most important
how do you actually make the decision of what is politically good?
majorities can rule the day
can lead to bad outcomes for minority groups of any stripe
