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N5 Philosophy > Moral Philosophy > Flashcards

Moral Philosophy Flashcards

1
Q

What is the greatest happiness principle / principle of utlity?

A

The aim to maximise happiness and minimise pain for the majority when making moral decisions

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2
Q

What are the 3 key features of utilitarianism?

A
  • Consiquentialism
  • Hedonism
  • Equity Principle
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3
Q

Util Feature:

What is consiquentialism?

A

The idea that the morality of an action should be based on its consequences

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4
Q

Util feature:

What is hedonism?

A

The pursuit of pleasure and happiness - morally good to do so.

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5
Q

Util feature:

What is the equity principle?

A

The idea that everyones happiness and suffering should matter equally

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6
Q

What is the hedonic calculus?

A

A way to quantify the amount of pleasure or pain produced in the consequences of any given action

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7
Q

What are the 7 criterias of the Hedonic Calculus?

A
  • Intensity
  • Duration
  • Certainty
  • Propinquity (remoteness)
  • Fecundity (richness)
  • Purity
  • Extent
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8
Q

Hedonic calculus criteria:

What is intensity?

A

How intense the pleasure or pain is

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9
Q

Hedonic calculus criteria:

What is duration?

A

How long the pleasure or pain will last

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10
Q

Hedonic calculus criteria:

What is certainty?

A

The probability of the pleasure or pain occuring

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11
Q

Hedonic calculus criteria:

What is propinquity?

A

How far in the future the pleasure or pain will be

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12
Q

Hedonic calculus criteria:

What is fecundity?

A

The probability that the pleasure will lead to other pleasures

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13
Q

Hedonic calculus criteria:

What is purity?

A

The probability that the pain will lead to other pains

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14
Q

Hedonic calculus criteria:

What is extent?

A

The amount of people that are affected by the pleasure or pain

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15
Q

What is act utilitarianism?

3

A
  • Bentham would try and make the decision that would maximise happiness for the majority and minimise pain
  • He only focuses on the effects of on action connected to the individual situation
  • Bentham maintains a quantitative approach - the more pleasure the better, no matter the type
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16
Q

What are the weaknesses of utilitiarianism?

A
  • Evil Pleasures
  • Tyranny of the Majority
  • Hedonic Calculus
  • Problems with Predicting Consequences
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17
Q

What are the strengths of utilitarianism?

A
  • Easy to Understand & Apply
  • Meets Individual Circumstances
  • Hedonic Calculus
  • Equality
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18
Q

Weaknesses of util:

Evil Pleasures

3

A
  • Bentham’s approach is quantitative, meaning that the more pleasure the better no matter the type of pleasure
  • This allows for evil pleasures, such as 5 people taking pleasure out of torturing 1 person
  • According to Bentham, this would be acceptable as you are maximising happiness for the majority despite it being morally wrong
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19
Q

Weaknesses of util:

Tyranny of the Majority

3

A
  • This is the possibility of the majority exploiting the minority when maximising happiness.
  • The minority’s happiness can be sacrified for the benefit of the majority, such as slavery in America
  • What the majority want is not necessarily right as it may ignore the justice and/or rights of the minority
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20
Q

Weaknesses of util:

Hedonic Calculus

2

A
  • The Hedonic Calculus has a lot of criterias, which would take too long in situations where you have to make a quick decision
  • This makes it unrealistic to use in a real life, occuring situation
21
Q

Weaknesses of util:

Problems with Predicting Consequences

3

A
  • Although you may intend for a consequence to occur, events can play out differently leading to unexpected consequences
  • The short-term consequences of an action can be good but the long-term consequences can be bad, or vice versa
  • The local consequences of an action can be good, but the global consequences can be bad, or vice versa
22
Q

Strengths of util:

Meets Individual Circumstances

A

Act Utilitarianism assesses individual situations and so producees a unique answer that is fitting for the complexity of human life

23
Q

Strengths of util:

Easy to Undersand & Apply

A

Straightforward and can be applied everywhere - allows for diversity

24
Q

Strengths of util:

The Hedonic Calculus

A

Ensures that the likelihood of pain is always considered in any decision

25
Q

Strengths of util:

Equality

A

Everyone’s happiness is worth as much as everyone elses, no matter the circumstances (equity principle)

26
Q

Predicting consequences:

Intended Consequences vs Actual Consequences

2

A
  • Although we may have an intended consequence, we only have control over our own actions.
  • This can lead to unexpected consequences, which may produce a worse outcome than desired
27
Q

Predicting consequences:

Short-Term Consequences vs Long-Term Consequences

2

A
  • The short-term consequences of an action can be good, but the long-term consequences can be bad or vice versa
  • This makes it hard to consider whether the short-term consequences or the long-term consequences are more important
28
Q

Predicting consequences:

Global Consequences vs Local Consequences

2

A
  • An action such as buying cheap produce can have good local consequences as you save money, but can have bad global consequences as this is bad for the environment or vice versa
  • This makes it hard to consider whether the global consequences or the local consequences are more important
29
Q

What are higher pleasures?

A

Intellectual pleasures only enjoyed by humans with cultivated minds (e.g: literature and music)

30
Q

What are lower pleasures?

A

Animalistic pleasures that we share with animals (e.g: eating and drinking)

31
Q

What is a competent judge?

A

A person who would never sacrifice higher pleasures for lower pleasures, even if they sometimes resort to base pleasures

32
Q

What are the key features of Kantianism?

3

A
  • Deontology (Duty)
  • The Good Will (Summum Bonum)
  • Sovereignty of Reason (Inclinations)
33
Q

Kant Feature

What is deontology?

A

We must only look at the action itself and the motivation behind it when judging morality. Consequences don’t matter.

34
Q

Kant Feature

What is duty?

A

You cannot just act in a moral way, you also have to put the intention behind the act to make it truly morally good. Although this may go against what we want to do, we do it as it is the right thing to do.

35
Q

Kant Feature

What is the good will?

A

Kant believes goodness can’t be corrupted without changing its defintion - it is good within itself. If we follow our duty of following the good will, it will ‘shine through like a jewel’ and cannot be corrupted.

36
Q

Kant Feature

What is summum bonum?

A

The idea that good must be good in itself and the highest good. The highest good cannot be anything that depends on the consequences it produces. If you follow good will, you will reach summum bonum.

37
Q

Kant Feature

What is sovereignty of reason?

A

Kant believes that reason is better than emotions / experience when looking at what is moral. This is because all humans are rational, so can come to the same conclusions. This is what separates us from animals, as we do not act on instinct alone.

38
Q

Kant Feature

What is inclinations?

A

Characteristics such as bravery and honesty can be used for bad intentions. Even if we act out of instinct, we cannot control this so we cannot say it is a morally good act.

39
Q

What is a hypothetical imperative?

A

If - Then dilemmas that do not have moral worth as they are based on the consequences.

40
Q

What is the categorical imperative test?

A

The method that Kant uses to find out what to do in a moral dilemma. If it passes his test it becomes a moral rule we ought to follow at all times - a perfect duty.

41
Q

What is a maxim?

A

A general moral rule

42
Q

What are the steps of the categorical imperative test?

A
  1. Locate the maxim
  2. Universalise the maxim
  3. Contradiction in conception - is following the maxim at all times logically possible?
  4. Contradiction in will - would we want to live in a society where this maxim is followed at all times?
43
Q

What is a perfect duty?

A

If a maxim is logically impossible, we have a perfect duty to never follow it

44
Q

What is an imperfect duty?

A

If we would not want to live in a universe where we always follow a maxim, we have an imperfect duty to never follow it

45
Q

What are the weaknesses of Kantianism?

A
  • Ignoring consequences
  • Ignoring motives other than duty
  • Conflicting duties
46
Q

Weaknesses of Kant:

Ignoring Consequences

A

A Kantian believes that the moral worth is held in the action, so consequences aren’t important. However, as humans we automatically look at the expected consequences of a moral decision so it is not a realistic approach.

47
Q

Weaknesses of Kant:

Ignoring Motives

A

Kantianism ignores motives other than duty and says that they are not moral, but something like helping a homeless person out of compassion can be argued as morally praiseworthy

48
Q

Weaknesses of Kant:

Conflicting Duties

A

Kant says we must follow our duties when making moral decisions, but in some cases our duties can conflict. We may have a duty to keep a promise and a duty to tell the truth, but Kant does not tell us which is more important to follow

N5 Philosophy (3 decks)

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