mill set texts

Question 1

consideration of what is right/wrong

Answer 1

• highlights concern with the criteria of right/wrong and the summum bonum
• ‘neither thinkers nor mankind at large seem nearer to be unanimous on the subject, than when the youth Socrates listened to the old Protagoras, and asserted….the theory of utilitarianism against the popular morality of the so-called sophist’ (115)
  o Protagoras – arguing for relativist, Sophist account of morality
  o Socrates – arguing for objective account of nature of human good

Question 2

first principles

Answer 2

• Introduces idea of first principles – for science, most certain first principle = mathematics
  o ‘the truths which are ultimately accepted as the first principles of a science, are really the last results of metaphysical analysis’ (115)
  o ‘but though in science the particular truths precede the general theory, the contrary might be expected to be the case with a practical art, such as morals or legislation. All action is for the sake of some end, and rules of action…must take their whole character and colour from the end to which they are subservient’ (116)
  o ‘a test of right and wrong must be the means…of ascertaining what is right or wrong, and not a consequence of having already ascertained it’ (116)
  ♣ rule utilitarianism

Question 3

criticises innate moral sense - general

Answer 3

• the idea of an innate moral sense is wrong as our moral fault is only one ‘branch of our reason, not of our sensitive faculty; and must be looked to for the abstract doctrines of morality, not for perception of it in the concrete’ (116)
• the intuitive school of thought desires general laws
  o ‘the morality of an individual action is not a question of direct perception, but of the application of a law to an individual case’ (116)

Question 4

criticises innate moral sense - diversity in moral views

Answer 4

o some view it as a priori, others as based on experience
o ‘but both hold equally that morality must be deduced from principles; and the intuitive school affirm as strongly as the inductive, that there is a science of morals’ (116)
o but, hard to narrow down morality to a priori principles
o need a fundamental law, otherwise morality is reduced to emotion

Question 5

intention to prove value of utilitarianism

Answer 5

• ‘men’s sentiments, both of favour and of aversion, are greatly influenced by what they supposed to be the effects of things upon their happiness, the principle of utility, or as Bentham latterly called it, the greatest-happiness principle’ (117)
• wants to prove value of utilitarianism
  o but, recognises that to fully prove is impossible without looking at things that are ‘admitted to be good without proof’ (118)
  o e.g. ‘the art of music is good, for the reason…that it produces pleasure; but what proof is it possible to give that pleasure is good?’ (118)

Question 6

what is the greatest happiness principle

Answer 6

• ‘the Greatest Happiness Principle holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. By happiness is intended pleasure, and the absence of pain; by unhappiness, pain, and the privation of pleasure’ (121)

Question 7

criticism of hedonism and M response

Answer 7

• some criticise utility on the basis that to have pleasure as one’s aim is grovelling, ‘as a doctrine worthy only of swine’ (121)
  o but… this criticism ‘supposes human beings to be capable of no pleasure except those of which swine are capable’ (121)
  o human faculties > animals
  o the Epicureans mention pleasures of the intellect
  o ‘it is quite compatible with the principle of utility to recognise the fact, that some kinds of pleasure are more desirable and more valuable than others’ (122)
  o it would be wrong to base pleasure on quantity alone

Question 8

higher pleasures

Answer 8

o people prefer pleasures that ‘employ their higher faculties’ (123)
o a being of higher faculties desires more than base pleasures
♣ this may be explained by the ‘love of liberty and personal independence, an appeal to which was with the Stoics one of the most effective means for the inculcation of it…but its most appropriate appellation is a sense of dignity, which all human beings possess in one form or other’ (123)
♣ ‘whoever supposes that this preference takes place at a sacrifice of happiness – that the superior being, in anything like equal circumstances, is not happier than the inferior – confounds…happiness and content’ (123)
o ‘it is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied. And if the fool, or the pig, is of a different opinion, it is because they only know their own side of the question’ (124)

Question 9

• potential objection: higher beings reduce themselves to lower pleasures due to temptation etc.

Answer 9

o however… higher beings are aware that they are choosing lower pleasures.
o Truly higher beings are incapable of choosing lower pleasures
o ‘men lose their high aspirations as they lose their intellectual tastes…and they addict themselves to inferior pleasures, not because they deliberately prefer them, but because they are either the only ones to which they have access, or the only ones which they are no longer capable of enjoying’ (124)

Question 10

difficulty in calculating pleasure/pain

Answer 10

• hard to calculate pleasure/pain as ‘neither pains nor pleasures are homogeneous, and pain is always heterogeneous with pleasure’ (125)
  o need to focus on the experience
• ‘Utilitarianism…could only attain its end by the general cultivation of nobleness of character’ (125)

Question 11

ultimate end

Answer 11

• ‘the ultimate end…is an existence exempt as far as possible from pain, and as rich as possible in enjoyments, both in point of quantity and quality’ (125)
  o this is the ‘standard of morality’ (126)

Question 12

• another objection: happiness cannot be rational purpose of life – it is unattainable and we do not need it anyway

Answer 12

o idea of happiness unattainable would stand if it were true
♣ but, it fails to recognise how ‘utility includes not solely the pursuit of happiness, but the prevention or mitigation of unhappiness’ (126)
♣ happiness is not the short-lived fulfilment of low pleasures

Question 13

response to idea that we do not need happiness

Answer 13

• evil is mostly propagated by humans and subsequently can be removed e.g. poverty through good will of individuals/disease through physical and moral education
• this addresses criticism that we can learn to do without happiness – it is possible but often sacrifice of one’s happiness is to enable happiness of others
  o if the end of self-sacrifice ‘is not happiness, but virtue, which is better than happiness, I ask, would the sacrifice be made if the hero or martyr did not believe that it would earn for others immunity from similar sacrifices?’ (129)
  o ‘the readiness to make such a sacrifice is the highest virtue which can be found in man’ (130)
  o knowledge of the absence of happiness makes it possible to realise that happiness is attainable
  o sacrifice is not always good if it does not increase sum of happiness

Question 14

happiness of all concerned - jesus

Answer 14

• must focus on happiness of ‘all concerned’ (130)
  o ‘utilitarianism requires him to be as strictly impartial as a disinterested and benevolent spectator’ (130)
  o ‘In the golden rule of Jesus of Nazareth, we read the complete spirit of the ethics of utility. To do as one would be done by, and to love one’s neighbour as oneself, constitute the ideal perfection of utilitarian morality’ (131)
  o it shows a concern with ‘the interest of the whole’ as well as it placing emphasis on education as a means of establishing the ‘indissoluble association between his own happiness and the good of the whole’ (131)

Question 15

util expects too much from humanity (link to duty)

Answer 15

o but this is to ‘confound the rule with the motive’ of actions
o ‘it is the business of ethics to tell us what are our duties…but no system of ethics requires that the sole motive of all we do shall be a feeling of duty’ (131)
o for Utils, ‘the motive has nothing to do with the morality of the action…he who saves a fellow creature from drowning does what is morally right, whether his motive be duty, or the hope of being paid for his trouble’ (132)
o cannot only speak of actions done from motive of duty – most actions are aimed at the individual

Question 16

util makes people emotionless?

Answer 16

o but, we are interested in things other than whether our actions are right or wrong
o ‘Utilitarians are quite aware that there are other desirable possessions and qualities besides virtue’ (134)
o a right action does not necessarily mean virtuous intention/character

Question 17

debate surrounding moral questions and util

Answer 17

debate surrounding moral questions is not one unique to Util
o ‘it is not the fault of any creed, but of the complicated nature of human affairs, that rules of conduct cannot be so framed as to require no exceptions’ (138)
o ‘there exists no moral system under which there do not arise unequivocal cases of conflicting obligation’ (139)

Question 18

util as godless?

Answer 18

o Depends on conception of the ‘moral character of the Deity’ (135)
o ‘if it be a true belief that God desires, above all things, the happiness of his creatures, and that this was his purpose in their creation, utility is not only not a godless doctrine, but more profoundly religious than any other’ (135)
o ‘a utilitarian who believes in the perfect goodness and wisdom of God necessarily believes that whatever God has thought fit to reveal on the subject of morals, must fulfil the requirements of utility in a supreme degree’ (135)
o some argue that Xian revelation allows people to incline towards the good. Need an ethical doctrine in order to interpret the will of God
o ‘whatever aid religion, either natural or revealed, can afford to ethical investigation, is as open to the utilitarian moralist as to any other’ (135)

Question 19

response to the idea that we do not have time to calculate whether an action is in line with utility

Answer 19

• to say that we don’t have time to calculate whether an action is in line with utility is like saying we can’t act according to Xian values without consulting OT/NT
  o ‘the answer to the objection is, that there has been ample time, namely, the whole past duration of the human species. During all that time mankind have been learning by experience the tendencies of actions’ (137)
  o ‘to consider the rules of morality as improvable, is one thing; to pass over the intermediate generalisations entirely, and endeavour to test each individual action directly by the first principle, is another’ (137)
  o cannot ignore subordinate principles of utility

Question 20

Of the Ultimate Sanction of the Principle of Utility - obligation/sanction conflict

Answer 20

• in moral philosophy, we need to be aware of questions of obligation/sanction
• some don’t accept the idea that our sense of obligation derives from a general principle – it is not obligatory in itself
  this sense of conflict will always be the case until education begins to inform people of the importance of solidarity so that ‘unity with our fellow creatures shall be…as deeply rooted in our character’ (140)

Question 21

Of the Ultimate Sanction of the Principle of Utility - internal/external sanctions

Answer 21

• utility still has sanctions
  o external sanctions = ‘the hope of favour and the fear of displeasure from our fellow creatures or from the Ruler of the Universe, along with whatever we may have of sympathy or affection for them, or of love and awe of Him, inclining us to do his will independently of selfish consequences’ (141)
  o men do desire happiness
  o ‘with regard to the religious motive, if men believe, as most profess to do, in the goodness of God, those who think that conduciveness to the general happiness the essence, or even only criterion, of good, must necessarily believe that it is also that which God approves. The whole force therefore of external reward and punishment, whether physical or moral, and whether proceeding from God or from our fellow men…become available to enforce the utilitarian morality’ (141)
  o internal sanction = duty
  ♣ essence of conscience
  socially framed

Question 22

Of the Ultimate Sanction of the Principle of Utility - belief in god as an objective reality

Answer 22

• ‘no one’s belief that duty is an objective reality is stronger than the belief that God is so; yet the belief in God, apart from the expectation of actual reward and punishment only operates on conduct through, and in proportion to, the subjective religious feeling’ (143)
• for transcendental moralists, sanction is in mind but has root out of the mind

Question 23

Of the Ultimate Sanction of the Principle of Utility - moral feelings as acquired, but…

Answer 23

• Mill views moral feelings as acquired
  o Can be easily swayed
  o Could mean that our emphasis on congeniality could disappear
• However…. ‘there is this basis of powerful natural sentiment; and this it is which, when once the general happiness is recognised as the ethical standard, will constitute the strength of the utilitarian morality. This firm foundation is that of the social feelings of mankind’ (144)

Question 24

Of the Ultimate Sanction of the Principle of Utility - natural orientation towards unity

Answer 24

o This orientation towards unity = natural
o Society is impossible with ‘any other footing than that the interests of all are to be consulted. Society between equals can only exist on the understanding that the interests of all are to be regarded equally’ (145)
o Leads people to orientate feelings towards good
o ‘the good of others becomes to him a thing naturally and necessarily to be attended to’ (145)
o this becomes more possible through ‘removing the sources of opposition of interest, and levelling those inequalities of legal privilege between individuals or classes’ (146)
o need to work on the human mind and this sense of cohesion will follow

Question 25

Of the Ultimate Sanction of the Principle of Utility - unity alignment with religion

Answer 25

• ‘if we now suppose this feeling of unity to be taught as a religion, and the whole force of education, of institutions, and of opinion, directed, as it once was in the case of religion, to make every person grow up from infancy surrounded on all sides both by the profession and by the practice of it, I think that no one, who can realise this conception, will feel any misgiving about the sufficiency of the ultimate sanction for the Happiness morality’ (146)

Question 26

Of What Sort of Proof the Principle of Utility is Susceptible - teleological

Answer 26

• ‘to be incapable of proof by reasoning is common to all first principles’ (148)
• ‘questions about ends are, in other words, questions about what things are desirable. The utilitarian doctrine is that happiness is desirable, and the only thing desirable, as an end’ (148)
• can only prove something is desirable if people desire it – utilitarianism must have happiness as end

Question 27

Of What Sort of Proof the Principle of Utility is Susceptible - proof that people desire nothing other than happiness

Answer 27

o people desire things such as virtue, but virtue is a strand of happiness
o Utils maintain ‘not only that virtue is to be desired, but that it is to be desired disinterestedly, for itself’ (149)
o It can be good in itself and not seek an end
o Need to recognise different forms of pleasure – they can all be part of the end in some way
o Virtue has become valued ‘not as a means to happiness, but as a part of their happiness’ (150)

Question 28

Of What Sort of Proof the Principle of Utility is Susceptible - love of money

Answer 28

o E.g. love of money motivates people. It can be said that ‘money is desired not for the sake of an end, but as part of the end’ (150)
♣ It is a means to attainment of other ends
♣ ‘what was once desired as an instrument for the attainment of happiness, has come to be desired for its own sake. In being desired for its own sake it is, however, desired as part of happiness’ (150)
♣ happiness = a whole with several parts
o no original desire for virtue. But became associated with being a good in itself
♣ virtue is now key to general happiness
o all means lead to the eventual end of happiness

Question 29

Of What Sort of Proof the Principle of Utility is Susceptible, is will not different to desire?

Answer 29

o Will = active
o Desire = passive sensibility
o Sometimes will can be fulfilment of general intention
o Distinction = real
o But… will is linked to habit: ‘we may will from habit what we no longer desire for itself, or desire only because we will it’ (153)
o Will = ‘the child of desire’ (153)
o Habit = only certainty

Question 30

Of What Sort of Proof the Principle of Utility is Susceptible - is the will good?

Answer 30

• ‘this state of the will is a means to good, not intrinsically a good; and does not contradict the doctrine that nothing is a good to human beings but in so far as it is either itself pleasurable, or a means of attaining pleasure or averting pain’ (154)

Question 31

On the Connection between Justice and Utility - what is justice?

Answer 31

• should not dwell on question of origin of justice – it may require a higher reason to be controlled

o Deprivation of liberty/any legal requirements = unjust
♣ This is a reference to legal rights
o ‘the legal rights of which he is deprived, may be rights which ought not to have belonged to him; in other words, the law which confers on him these rights, may be a bad law’ (157)
♣ debate surrounding whether a law should be disobeyed or not
♣ unjust to remove moral right
o people should obtain what they deserve
o it is unjust to break faith i.e. violate engagements (this is not absolute though)
o cannot be partial and show preference
♣ impartiality = ‘instrumental to some other duty’ (158)
o equality = key and is the ‘dictate of justice’ (159)

Question 32

On the Connection between Justice and Utility - justice evolution

Answer 32

• justice originally meant mode of doing things, but then came to mean prescribed manner
• Justice ‘constitued the entire idea among the Hebrews, up to the birth of Christianity; as might be expected in the case of a people whose laws attempted to embrace all subjects on which precepts were required, and who believed those laws to be a direct emanation from the Supreme Being’ (160)
• Greeks/Romans recognised that laws were made by men and hence introduced idea of injustice – law = key part of justice

Question 33

On the Connection between Justice and Utility - perfect vs. imperfect obligation

Answer 33

• some things we would like people to do, but they are not morally obliged to do so and so they are not punished
• perfect vs. imperfect obligation
  o imperfect – act is obligatory but way in which you do it is open e.g. charity
  o ‘duties of perfect obligation are those duties in virtue of which a correlative right resides in some person or persons; duties of imperfect obligation are those moral obligations which do not give birth to any right’ (163)

Question 34

On the Connection between Justice and Utility - justice and moral right

Answer 34

• ‘justice implies something which it is not only right to do, and wrong not to do, but which some individual person can claim from us as his moral right’ (163)
• ‘wherever there is a right, the case is one of justice, and not of the virtue of beneficence: and whoever does not place the distinction between justice and morality in general where we have now placed it, will be found to make no distinction between them at all, but to merge all morality in justice’ (163)

Question 35

On the Connection between Justice and Utility - collective identity

Answer 35

• ‘a human being is capable of apprehending a community of interest between himself and the human society of which he forms a part’ (164)
  sympathy allows for a sense of collective identity

Question 36

On the Connection between Justice and Utility - vengeance

Answer 36

o this feeling itself is not moral
o ‘what is moral is, the exclusive subordination of it to the social sympathies, so as to wait on and obey their call…when moralised by the social feeling, it only acts in the directions conformable to the general good’ (165)

Question 37

On the Connection between Justice and Utility - Kant

Answer 37

• can accept that feelings of justice outraged can be thought about too individually
  o if we think only about how a situation has affected us, we are not acting justly
  o M cites Kant’s universalisation maxim – need to think about others
  o ‘to give any meaning to Kant’s principle, the sense put upon it must be, that we ought to shape our conduct by a rule which all rational beings might adopt with benefit to their collective interest’ (166)

Question 38

On the Connection between Justice and Utility - what does justice suppose

Answer 38

• ‘the idea of justice supposes two things; a rule of conduct, and a sentiment which sanctions the rule. The first must be supposed common to all mankind and intended for their good. The other (the sentiment) is a desire that punishment may be suffered by those who infringe the rule’ (166)

Question 39

On the Connection between Justice and Utility - is justice objective

Answer 39

• cannot say that justice is objective. Like utility, it is dependent on context etc.
• ‘justice is a name for certain classes of moral rules, which concern the essential of human well-being more nearly, and are therefore of more absolute obligation, than any other rules for the guidance of life’ (172)
• rules that prevent people from hurting eachother = most important

Question 40

On the Connection between Justice and Utility - obligation and justice

Answer 40

• most maxims of justice are only instrumental – they prevent evil from evil
• impartiality = key to justice
• need to treat people equally. Equality comes from the first principle of morals
• distributive justice = key to idea of Utility
• ‘justice is a name for certain moral requirements, which, regarded collectively, stand higher in the scale of social utility, and are therefore of more paramount obligation’ (176)
  o there are some instances where social duty overrides general maxims of justice e.g. stealing to save a life