Topic 4 - Utilitarianism Flashcards
classic utilitarianism?
greatest good for the greatest number in every situation
jeremy bentham
what was bentham’s principle of utility?
“principle of utility judges any action to be right by the tendency it appears to have to augment the happiness of the party whose interests are in question”
what is the hedonic calculus?
INTENSITY (how strong is pleasure)
DURATION (how long long will pleasure last)
CERTAINTY (how likely is the pleasure to happen)
PROPINQUITY (how soon will pleasure happen)
EXTENT (how many people affected)
what is act utilitarianism?
bentham
view that for each act we should determine which outcome leads to the greatest general good, on a case-by-case basis, (hence he uses the hedonic calculus)
what is rule utilitarianism?
J.S Mill
argues that we should always follow the rule that will lead to the greatest balance of good over evil. In the case of a parent he says teach not to lie and not to steal (universalise)
what is preference utilitarianism?
peter singer
no longer is the aim the maximisation of pleasure over pain, but rather the general satisfaction of preferences.
this is the idea of minimising suffering
ESSAY PLAN - UTILITARIANISM
“is utilitarianism a helpful method of moral decision making?”
POINT 1
act, hedonism and flexibility (bentham + foote)
- Bentham’s act utilitarianism focuses on a simple goal of maximising pleasure and minimising pain. Bentham, in ‘Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation’ makes a descriptive claim about humans being ruled by pain and pleasure, and “it is from them alone to point out what we ought to do”; from this he goes on to make his normative claim “It is the greatest happiness of the greatest number which is the measure of right and wrong”.
- The infamous ‘Trolley Problem’, posed by Philippa Foote in the late 1960s highlights that actions and their moral worth seem to depend on situations and outcomes. Some would agree that taking one life to save five would indeed be ethically sound. Act thus allows this flexibility.
ESSAY PLAN - UTILITARIANISM
“is utilitarianism a helpful method of moral decision making?”
POINT 1 - counter argument
swine ethic theory justifies immoral acts
- However its credit of flexibility morality can in fact be criticised, as if morality is always teleological and based on maximising pleasure and minimising pain for the greatest number, then the minority could be overlooked in favour of the majority – this issue has led Bentham’s act utilitarianism to be known as “swine ethic” which justifies “tyranny of the majority” For example, a paedophile ring may be justified as it would seem to be satisfying the greatest pleasures of the many through one victim’s pain.
- Bentham notoriously claimed that the idea of natural rights was “nonsense on stilts”; rights should only be considered in terms of the law, in order to maximise greatest good
ESSAY PLAN - UTILITARIANISM
“is utilitarianism a helpful method of moral decision making?”
POINT 1 - counter response
hedonic calculus
• Bentham offers a practical method of calculating quantitatively the right course of action to take in each individual situation. He listed seven factors that must be taken into account, which include ‘intensity’ (strength of the pleasure/pain) ‘duration’ (length), ‘fecundity’ (how likely one pleasure would lead to others) and ‘extent’ (how many would be affected).
ESSAY PLAN - UTILITARIANISM
“is utilitarianism a helpful method of moral decision making?”
POINT 1 - conclusive respons
impractical, susceptible to error (Rachels)
- Impossible to predict the future thus perhaps it is better to work off intentions than consequences. For example, in the case of the Trolley Problem, how can you be sure one of the five you save does not go on to murder five more people.
- Yet this seems like a pedantic criticism – of course utilitarians cannot predict the future, but decision are based on past experience and best guesses. James Rachels, in ‘The Elements of Moral Philosophy’ argues human predictive powers are essential to functional societies. We are also responsible for our acts as well as our omissions.
- Yet even so, Mill acknowledged the complexities of individual decision-making, favouring general rules based on previous experience…
ESSAY PLAN - UTILITARIANISM
“is utilitarianism a helpful method of moral decision making?”
POINT 2
rule, moral code to ensure greatest good for society
- Mill was the second great utilitarian and argued happiness was “much too complex and indefinite” to be calculated in every situation. Thus he thought rules should be developed (through trial and error) in order to ensure the common good for society over individuals. For example, lying generally causes unhappiness, thus society can develop the rule “do not lie” to be followed en masse, to ensure most happiness and least pain
- Rule utilitarianism ensures the creation of rules which will prevent people from having their rights violated – no coincidence that Mill’s most famous work ‘On Liberty’ was a defence of the liberal state
ESSAY PLAN - UTILITARIANISM
“is utilitarianism a helpful method of moral decision making?”
POINT 2 - counter argument
rule fetishism (j j c smart)
- Yet it seems that adhering to rules defies the teleological nature of the theory – if one abides by the rule “do not lie” in all circumstances, Rule Utilitarianism faces the same issues as that of Kantian ethics with “The Case of the Inquiring Murderer”
- Termed by one prominent critic as “superstitious rule worship” (J J C Smart ‘Extreme and Restricted Utilitarianism’)
ESSAY PLAN - UTILITARIANISM
“is utilitarianism a helpful method of moral decision making?”
POINT 2 - counter response
flexible and progressive
- Yet Mill’s Rule Utilitarianism was far more progressive and flexible than that. He claimed rules could be developed or adapting according to circumstances, and must ultimately be pragmatic – concerned with practical impacts and greatest good for society, not moral duties.
- By considering happiness of individuals over moral absolutes, society is able to progress morally both Mill and Bentham were supporters of gay rights
ESSAY PLAN - UTILITARIANISM
“is utilitarianism a helpful method of moral decision making?”
POINT 2 - conclusive response
collapses into act
• Yet arguably rule utilitarianism thus collapses into act utilitarianism. For example, the rule “do not lie” would arguably be adapted in the case of a young child asking if Father Christmas was real, to “do not lie unless it hurts people’s feelings” soon loses its rule-based ethic into a situational act based ethic…
ESSAY PLAN - UTILITARIANISM
“is utilitarianism a helpful method of moral decision making?”
POINT 3
intrinsic values of persons over preferences, asks too much of moral decisions (pojman)
- Whilst the Principle of Utility certainly seems to make logical sense at first, it may actually be harder to act by than one may first think
- According to the principle of utility, one seems to have to act from an objective moral stance, valuing everyone’s pleasures/ preferences as equal. Pojman calls this the ‘No-Rest Objection’ – requires us to disregard feelings towards family or friends and be ethical super-humans.
