Utilitarianism Flashcards
Utilitarianism idea
An action is right if it produces the greatest good for the greatest number. Whatever action benefits the most people is the right action.
Utilitarianism: key thinkers
- Jeremy Bentham
- J.S. Mill
- Peter Singer
How did Jeremy Bentham see human behaviour?
He saw it as hedonistic - as humans we are naturally motivated by pleasure and pain
How is the rightness and wrongness of actions determined, according to utilitarianism?
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.
What type of Utilitarianism did Bentham develop?
Act Utilitarianism
What is the Hedonic Calculus?
This weighs up the pleasure and pain of an action by focusing on 7 things
Categories of the Hedonic Calculus
- its intensity
- its duration
- its certainty
- its propinquity
- its fecundity
- its purity
- its extent
The Hedonic Calculus: intensity
How strong it is
The Hedonic Calculus: duration
How long it is
The Hedonic Calculus: certainty
How likely it could be
The Hedonic Calculus: propinquity
When it could arrive
The Hedonic Calculus: fecundity
If it will cause further pleasure
The Hedonic Calculus: purity
How free from pain it is
The Hedonic Calculus: extent
How many people are affected
Give an example where it can be argued that act utilitarianism works well
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.
Give some problems with Act Utilitarianism
- 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.
Problem with Act Utilitarianism: it can allow even the most evil actions to happen
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.
Problem with Act Utilitarianism: we can’t ever truly know if an action will serve the greatest good for the greatest number
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?
Who was rule utilitarianism put forward by?
J.S. Mill
Rule Utilitarianism
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.
What did Mill agree with Bentham with?
That we should try and achieve the greatest happiness by our actions promoting pleasure
What did Mill disagree with Bentham with?
He said that we need to have higher and lower pleasures
What are lower pleasures?
These are bodily pleasures
What are higher pleasures?
These are pleasures of the mind
What type of pleasure does happiness need more?
Happiness needs mental pleasures a lot more than bodily pleasures.
Quote by Mill
‘It is better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied.’
Why might rule utilitarianism be seen as better than act utilitarianism?
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.
What did Mill say is the most important thing in life?
He said that promoting happiness is the most important thing, but there should be rules in place in order for people to achieve this.
Give some Rule Utilitarianism problems
- 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?
Rule Utilitarianism problem: the rules must be obeyed no matter what
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.
Soft rule utilitarianism approach
We generally keep to the rules, but break them when it’s necessary.
Problem with soft rule utilitarianism
This is basically act utilitarianism, as you are judging by each action.
Preference utilitarianism
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.
Problems with preference utilitarianism
- 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.
Is the focus on results or intent in Utilitarianism?
Results
Jeremy Bentham
1748 - 1832
J.S. Mill
1806 - 1873
Peter Singer
1946 - present
Who criticised Mill’s view of higher and lower pleasures?
Henry Sidgwick
What did Henry Sidgwick say about Mill’s idea of higher and lower pleasures?
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.
What type of situations is act utilitarianism based on?
Individual situations
What type of situations is rule utilitarianism based on?
This applies to everything - it is rule-based situations
Who has a more quantitative approach to utilitarianism?
Jeremy Bentham
Who has a more qualitative approach to utilitarianism?
J.S. Mill
What does Peter Singer argue for?
The ‘best interests’ of individuals
What is Singer’s approach based on?
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.
