Utilitarianism

Question 1

Utilitarianism idea

Answer 1

An action is right if it produces the greatest good for the greatest number. Whatever action benefits the most people is the right action.

Question 2

Utilitarianism: key thinkers

Answer 2

• Jeremy Bentham
• J.S. Mill
• Peter Singer

Question 3

How did Jeremy Bentham see human behaviour?

Answer 3

He saw it as hedonistic - as humans we are naturally motivated by pleasure and pain

Question 4

How is the rightness and wrongness of actions determined, according to utilitarianism?

Answer 4

The rightness and wrongness of actions is down to how much pain and pleasure the action causes and to how many people it causes it to.

Question 5

What type of Utilitarianism did Bentham develop?

Answer 5

Act Utilitarianism

Question 6

What is the Hedonic Calculus?

Answer 6

This weighs up the pleasure and pain of an action by focusing on 7 things

Question 7

Categories of the Hedonic Calculus

Answer 7

• its intensity
• its duration
• its certainty
• its propinquity
• its fecundity
• its purity
• its extent

Question 8

The Hedonic Calculus: intensity

Answer 8

How strong it is

Question 9

The Hedonic Calculus: duration

Answer 9

How long it is

Question 10

The Hedonic Calculus: certainty

Answer 10

How likely it could be

Question 11

The Hedonic Calculus: propinquity

Answer 11

When it could arrive

Question 12

The Hedonic Calculus: fecundity

Answer 12

If it will cause further pleasure

Question 13

The Hedonic Calculus: purity

Answer 13

How free from pain it is

Question 14

The Hedonic Calculus: extent

Answer 14

How many people are affected

Question 15

Give an example where it can be argued that act utilitarianism works well

Answer 15

You are on a boat and see 2 people drowning in one area of the sea and 1 person drowning in another. You don’t have time to reach both places. The utilitarian principle would say to save the 2 people over the 1, because it promotes the greatest good for the greatest number.

Question 16

Give some problems with Act Utilitarianism

Answer 16

• it can allow for any action to take place, as long as it generates the greatest good for the greatest number - so even the most evil actions can be acceptable if they generate the most good.
• it does nothing for the minorities and only focuses on the majority, so justice is irrelevant as it only focuses on pleasure
• it is not very practical when faced with quick moral choices. This is because you don’t have time to weigh up all the pleasure, pain and people involved and use the Hedonic Calculus.
• we can’t ever truly know if an action will serve the greatest good for the greatest number. This is because it is something that is so hard to predict.

Question 17

Problem with Act Utilitarianism: it can allow even the most evil actions to happen

Answer 17

If 10 sadists are torturing and innocent person, act utilitarianism would suggest that this is acceptable, because it is generating the greatest good for the greatest number.

Question 18

Problem with Act Utilitarianism: we can’t ever truly know if an action will serve the greatest good for the greatest number

Answer 18

For example, in a case of 2 people drowning in the sea in one area and 1 in another, act utilitarianism would say to save the 2 (because it seems to cause the greatest good for the greatest number), but, what if the one person has the cure for cancer and will save millions of other people from dying? Surely saving him would result in the greatest good?

Question 19

Who was rule utilitarianism put forward by?

Answer 19

J.S. Mill

Question 20

Rule Utilitarianism

Answer 20

This advocates the same idea as act utilitarianism in that we should try to produce the greatest good for the greatest number, however, this suggests that there should be some basic rules in place.

Question 21

What did Mill agree with Bentham with?

Answer 21

That we should try and achieve the greatest happiness by our actions promoting pleasure

Question 22

What did Mill disagree with Bentham with?

Answer 22

He said that we need to have higher and lower pleasures

Question 23

What are lower pleasures?

Answer 23

These are bodily pleasures

Question 24

What are higher pleasures?

Answer 24

These are pleasures of the mind

Question 25

What type of pleasure does happiness need more?

Answer 25

Happiness needs mental pleasures a lot more than bodily pleasures.

Question 26

Quote by Mill

Answer 26

'It is better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied.'

Question 27

Why might rule utilitarianism be seen as better than act utilitarianism?

Answer 27

Because it doesn't allow really evil, inhumane acts to take place. For example, if we were to adopt rule utilitarianism, it would save the problem with the sadistic torturers, as their lower pleasures would not outweigh the pain of the victim.

Question 28

What did Mill say is the most important thing in life?

Answer 28

He said that promoting happiness is the most important thing, but there should be rules in place in order for people to achieve this.

Question 29

Give some Rule Utilitarianism problems

Answer 29

- one of the ideas in rule utilitarianism is that the rules must be obeyed no matter what, which can be problematic. - even if we take a soft rule utilitarianism approach, isn't this just act utilitarianism?

Question 30

Rule Utilitarianism problem: the rules must be obeyed no matter what

Answer 30

This can be very problematic. For example, if a rule was created 'you should never lie', and an innocent person was inside your house with a murderer coming in a couple of minutes later to ask if they're inside to kill them, rule utilitarianism would say you should say yes and let them kill the innocent person. Is it right in this situation to tell the truth? If it isn't, then rule utilitarianism can't work all the time.

Question 31

Soft rule utilitarianism approach

Answer 31

We generally keep to the rules, but break them when it's necessary.

Question 32

Problem with soft rule utilitarianism

Answer 32

This is basically act utilitarianism, as you are judging by each action.

Question 33

Preference utilitarianism

Answer 33

This claims that we should not be concerned with trying to maximise pleasure, as both act and rule utilitarianism suggested, but instead, utilitarianism should take into account the preference of all individuals. We look at what is in people's best interests, so our moral decisions should be based on maximising the chance that everyone's preferences are satisfied.

Question 34

Problems with preference utilitarianism

Answer 34

- this is still too difficult to calculate in all moral situations, especially in situations that need you to think quickly - also, how are you measuring what is in someone's preference or interests, because, usually, people's preferences are based on pleasure and pain and then you run into the same issues as act and rule utilitarianism.

Question 35

Is the focus on results or intent in Utilitarianism?

Answer 35

Results

Question 36

Jeremy Bentham

Answer 36

1748 - 1832

Question 37

J.S. Mill

Answer 37

1806 - 1873

Question 38

Peter Singer

Answer 38

1946 - present

Question 39

Who criticised Mill's view of higher and lower pleasures?

Answer 39

Henry Sidgwick

Question 40

What did Henry Sidgwick say about Mill's idea of higher and lower pleasures?

Answer 40

He asked how do we distinguish, in practice, between higher and lower pleasures? How do we distinguish one higher pleasure from the other? Life is more complex than portrayed by Mill's theory.

Question 41

What type of situations is act utilitarianism based on?

Answer 41

Individual situations

Question 42

What type of situations is rule utilitarianism based on?

Answer 42

This applies to everything - it is rule-based situations

Question 43

Who has a more quantitative approach to utilitarianism?

Answer 43

Jeremy Bentham

Question 44

Who has a more qualitative approach to utilitarianism?

Answer 44

J.S. Mill

Question 45

What does Peter Singer argue for?

Answer 45

The 'best interests' of individuals

Question 46

What is Singer's approach based on?

Answer 46

Doing what is in the best interests of the greatest number - minimising suffering, rather than maximising pleasure. It is preferences, rather than human life, that we ought to value.