Moral: 1.2 Happiness. Pleasure & prefrence

Question 1

What is Mill’s quote on pleasure?

Answer 1

-“Happiness isn’t continuous pleasure or excitement but moments of such in existence made up of few and transitory pains”
-“predominance of the active over the passive”
-Not to expect more from life that it is capable of bestowing”

Question 2

What was Mill’s criticism of his godfather Bentham’s utilitarianism?

Answer 2

-“doctrine worthy of swine”
-Animal pleasure
-Quality of pleasure
-All pleasure of equal worth
-Qualitative approach

Question 3

What are Higher and lower pleasures according to Mill

Answer 3

-Higher pleasures are the more valuable engage faculties, intellect or imagination and aid spiritual development.
-Lower pleasure involves the body and senses
-A pleasure is higher than another if almost everyone who is “completely acquainted” ( accessible to them) with it prefers one over the other

Question 4

Define psychological hedonism

Answer 4

The view that all we desire is happiness/pleasure

Question 5

Define ethical hedonism

Answer 5

The view that we ought to desire happiness/pleasure

Question 6

Explain how psychological and ethical hedonism relate.

Answer 6

Hedonistic act utilitarianism presupposes psychological hedonism in order to argue for ethical hedonism ( natural fallacy?)

Question 7

Explain what the experience machine is.

Answer 7

-There is an ‘experience machein@ which gives you any experience you desire
-Brain could be stimulated to make you think you were living a great life or reading a great book
-In reality, you are in a tank with electrodes plugged into you
-you wouldn’t know you were plugged in
-yet most won’t want to plug in but doesn’t this maximise happiness?

Question 8

Who came up with the experience machine and what does it challenge and conclude?

Answer 8

-Robert Nozick
-Challenges Psychological Hedonism
- We don’t just desire pleasure but other things e.g. contact with reality, a relation of something outside our minds
P1 if we all desire happiness we would plug into the machine
P2 Most od us wouldn’t plug in
C Therefore we don’t only desire happyness

Question 9

Define preference

Answer 9

An individual’s best interests

Question 10

What is preference utilitarianism?

Answer 10

Type of Utilitarianism places emphasis on avoiding pain rather than causing pleasure an to put people’s preferences first