Utilitarianism Flashcards
who devised act util ?
jeremy bentham
who devised rule util ?
john stuart mill
what is a hedonist ?
someones who is pleasure seeking and avoids pain
what is a sadist ?
someone who gets pleasure from inflicting pain
what is utilitarianism according to Bentham ?
the greatest good(pleasure) for the greatest number of people
what did Bentham name his utilitarianism idea?
principle of utility
what is the hedonic calculus ?
a way of measuring the effect of a an action
disadvantages of hedonic calculus
• Hedonic calculus can be manipulated to achieve what people want not what’s good
• Hedonic calculus takes too long
• Humans kant ignore their feelings
advantages of act util
It is secular, it doesn’t require beliefs in God to be used
Aims to achieve the greatest happiness
People will naturally and instinctively use utilitarianism in everyday life
Its democratic since it allows decisions to be made by what most think is right, like a vote
it is altruistic
disadvantages of act util
Tyranny of the majority - It can be used to make immoral decisions since the majority’s pleasure may harm a minority. For example, a gang gaining pleasure from bullying one person.
Hedonic calculus can be manipulated to achieve what people want not what’s good
Hedonic calculus takes too long
Bentham says we should ignore our family and other relationships when using the hedonic calculus but Humans can’t ignore their feelings its in our nature
Confuses what is popular for what is right
contentment varies person to person
since its teleological it suggests the ends justify the means e.g. I kill one person to donate their organs to 5 people
can justify sadism
give the questions from hedonic calculus
Is pain likely to be mixed with the pleasure ?
How continuous is the pleasure?
will the pleasure lead to other pleasures?
how intense is the pleasure?
how is certain is it that pleasure will occur?
how many people will be affected by the pleasure?
how long will the pleasure last?
what did mill say about pleasures ?
there are higher pleasure of the mind and lower pleasures of the body
example of higher pleasures
philosophy , poetry, classical music , knowledge
example of lower pleasures
sex , alcohol , sleeping and eating
what is the harm principle ?
Mill said that if a pleasure causes ant harm it shouldn’t be done. This attempted to make Bentham’s hedonic calculus more ethical and prevent people using it in an immoral way
what did mill say about benthams util ?
people can manipulate it to achieve what they want not whats best
what is the difference between rule and act util ?
rule is made by one person for a lot of people - Society should make general rules using utilitarian reasoning because it is more practical e.g., tell the truth as it does the greatest good
act - Looks at each situation based on its individuality, if an action produces the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number, then moral rule doesn’t matter.
disadvantages of rule ?
Mill doesn’t specify who should make the rules using utilitarianism in the first place or how we should decide who makes rules.
Even though it includes the harm principle, evil is relative and one person’s perception of wrong may be different to a second persons.
It’s difficult, if not impossible to predict all harmful outcomes of a decision. So, is the harm principle useful?
Happiness is subjective and it’s almost impossible to give different pleasures values
advantages of rule ?
Considers the minority
If there are general rules for people to follow (e.g., tell the truth because it does the greatest good) it prevents chaos and allows society to progress
It is secular, it doesn’t require beliefs in God to be used
Aims to achieve the greatest happiness
People will naturally and instinctively use utilitarianism in everyday life
how did johns util differ from Bentham?
John believed that we should do the greatest good but for the greatest number, but we should have rules in place to ensure that it happens. He also believed there are higher and lower pleasures. The lower pleasures should not be the main motivation for morality.
what is preference util?
we shouldn’t be aiming to maximise pleasure/happiness but fulfilling the preferences if everyone as best we can.
who postulated preference util?
Peter Singer
is util teleological or deontological?
teleological
why is util teleological?
because it focuses on the end result of an action to decide whether it is right or wrong.
