UTILITARIANISM Flashcards
Who created act utilitarianism?
Bentham
What did Bentham believe about democracy?
That everyone within society counts equally and that all people have an equal right to happiness.
According to Bentham, how do we know if an action is right?
If it produces the greatest happiness for the greatest number.
What is the Principle of Utility?
The rightness or wrongness of a situation is determined by its usefulness or ‘utility’.
Is Bentham’s act utilitarianism qualitative or quantitative?
Quantitative.
What is the hedonic calculus? Why did Bentham create it?
Calculating the benefit or harm of an act through its consequences.
Bentham wanted to use reason to help determine right and wrong.
What are the 7 things does the hedonic calculus measures happiness by?
- Intensity
- Duration
- Certainty
- Remoteness
- To be followed
- Purity
- Extent
PREDICT
How can happiness be measured quantitatively?
If more people gain pleasure then pain through a certain act, then the act is permissible and ought to be pursued according to Bentham.
Who created rule utilitarianism?
John Stuart Mill.
What did Mill strongly advocate for?
Freedom/liberty. He strongly opposed legislation that restricted what an individual could or could not.
How did Mill measure pleasure?
Qualitatively.
What are higher and lower pleasures?
Higher = pleasures of the mind. Lower = pleasures of the body.
What did Mill believe we need rules for?
We need rules/principles that serve to maximise happiness and minimise unhappiness.
What is Mill’s principle of universalisability?
What is right or wrong for one person in a situation is right or wrong for all.
What is Mill’s harm principle?
When referring to the pressure which a majority can impose on a minority, he argued that this ought to be limited to prevent the harm of others.
Give a strength of utilitarianism generally.
It is straightforward and based on the single principle of maximising pleasure, goodness and happiness.
Give a strength of Bentham’s act utilitarianism.
Has the benefit of flexibility, being able to take into account individual situations.
Give a strength of Mill’s rule utilitarianism.
Being qualitative means it is not merely about the amount of pleasure and pain.
Give a weakness of utilitarianism generally.
It is impossible to seek your own happiness and do what you ought to do.
Give a weakness of Bentham’s act utilitarianism.
Bentham’s act Utilitarianism has the potential to virtually justify any act, if in that particular case, the result generates the most happiness.
Give a weakness of Mill’s rule utilitarianism.
What about when some of these rules need to be broken?
Strengths of using utility principle as a measure of good, bad, right or wrong… (give two)
- A practical approach with observable/measurable outcomes.
- It allows rules to be set aside so that you can carry out correct action.
Problems with using utility principle as a measure of good, bad, right or wrong… (give two)
- Minority may be treated unjustly - they have rights.
- Impersonal - goes against personal integrity and our moral sense. Too subjective.
What did Bentham write about the principle of utility?
“Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure.”
How does Bentham come to his conclusion for the utility principle?
Through observations of human life. We respond to our basic needs, this is the essence of hedonism.
What does Bentham state about the principle of utility?
“The business of government is to promote the happiness of society.”
How can utilitarianism be seen as democratic?
It is a democratic kind of relativism because it wants to maximise the balance of good over evil.
What does Mill state about what the utility principle is needed to do?
To distinguish between quantities of sensual goods and happiness.
What does Mill state about people of higher principles?
“A being of higher faculties requires more to make him happy.”
What does Mill state about utilitarian morality?
Does recognise in human beings the possibility that we can act for the good of others.
What are act utilitarians driven by? What are rule utilitarians driven by?
ACT: driven by the utility in each individual.
RULE: establish rules for what to do based on the ‘calculation’ of utility.
How can act utilitarians appear hedonistic?
An act utilitarian might find it better to lie in some situations.
What is the power of act utilitarianism?
It always seeks to maximise the greatest utility in ever situation. The greatest utility will be created over all.
What are rule utilitarians more focused on establishing?
The common good.
What is the general end of an action for rule utilitarians?
It is repeated in different circumstances.
What do rule utilitarians provide?
A guide for people to know what to do. They do not need to calculate every individual situation.
