Utilitarianism Flashcards
Identification
Are British philosophers who had immense impact on British thought
- Jeremy Bentham
- John Stuart Mill
Identification
as the head of a group of reformers called “the philosophical radicals”
Jeremy Bentham
Identification
A group of reformers where members included James Mill and his son, John Stuart Mill
the philosophical radicals
Identification
are considered the main proponents of the moral theory called Utilitarianism
Bentham and John Mill
Identification
The most prominent moral philosophy in the last two centuries
Utilitarianism
Identification
Is known as consequentialist theory, a subclass of teleological moral theory
Utilitarianism
Identification
Judges the rightness of an act in terms of an external goal or purpose
Teleological Ethical System
Identification
Its basis in the determination of what one ought to do rests exclusively on the consequences of the act, not the nature of the act nor the traditional moral rules
Teleological Ethical System
Identification
Proposes that actions, rules, or policies should be ethically measured and evaluated by their consequences, not by the intentions or motives of the agent
Consequential Ethics
Identification
hold that some actions are intrinsically wrong and must never be done no matter what the results are
Absolutists
Identification
suppose that there is no kind of act which may not be justified by its effects
Consequentialists
Identification
believe in a natural law or in natural rights which render some acts – those which violate those rights or conflict with that law – as immoral, no matter what their outcomes are
Absolutists
Identification
believe that there is no class of actions which must be ruled out in advance independent of their consequences
Consequentialists
Identification
The most influential consequentialist theory
Utilitarianism
Identification
Latin word meaning useful
utilis
Identification
States that what is useful is good and that the
moral value of actions are determined by the
utility of its consequences
Utilitarianism
Identification
It explains that those actions that bring about
favorable effects are moral while those that
produce damaging results are immoral
Utilitarianism
Identification
Essentially opposed to ethical theories that consider God’s will or some inner sense or faculty, like the conscience, to be the final arbiter of morality
Utilitarianism
Identification
Argues that the right course of action is the one that maximizes overall happiness
Utilitarian Ethics
Identification
This ethical system that identifies happiness with pleasure
Hedonistic
Identification
An action is right if it amplifies pleasures and minimizes pain
Utilitarian Ethics
Identification
The principle of utility is applied directly to every alternative act in a situation of choice
Act Utilitarianism
Identification
Is defined as the one which brings about the best results, or, the least amount of bad results
Right Act
Identification
The principle of utility is used to decide the validity of rules of conduct (moral standards or principles)
Rule Utilitarianism
Identification
He founded the doctrine of utilitarianism
Jeremy Bentham
Identification
He later systematized and modified some of Bentham’s utilitarian principles
John Stuart Mill
Identification
He proposed the primary form of utilitarianism in his Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (1789)
Jeremy Bentham
Identification
He confessed that he took over the principle of utility from David Hume
Jeremy Bentham
Identification
He explains that ‘utility’ means that property in any object that tends to produce benefit, advantage, pleasure, good, or happiness, or to prevent the happening of mischief, pain, evil, or unhappiness
Bentham
Identification
states that an action is right insofar as it tends to produce the greatest happiness for the greatest number
Principle of utility
Enumeration
What are the two sovereign masters
- Pleasure
- Pain
Enumeration
What are the 4 sanctions or sources of pleasure?
- Physical
- Moral
- Religious
- Spiritual
Identification
Basis of all the other sanctions of pleasure
Physical
Enumeration
seven criteria that allow one to quantify the amount of pleasure or pain an action brings about
- Intensity
- Duration
- Certainty
- Propinquity (Remoteness)
- Fecundity (Fruitfulness)
- Purity
- Extent to which pleasure and pain are shared among the greatest number of people
Enumeration
seven criteria that allow one to quantify the amount of pleasure or pain an action brings about
- Intensity
- Duration
- Certainty
- Propinquity (Remoteness)
- Fecundity (Fruitfulness)
- Purity
- Extent to which pleasure and pain are shared among the greatest number of people
Identification
determines the moral value of an act by calculating the sum of pleasure it caused and the amount of pain it generated
Bentham’s Utilitarianism
Identification
is that which maximizes benefits and minimizes damages or costs
Moral Deed
True or False
Mill disapproves the retributive principle that requires that he who has done harm shall endure harm
False
Bentham disapproves the retributive principle that requires that he who has done harm shall endure harm
Identification
is the most famous proponent
of utilitarianism after Bentham
John Stuart Mill
Identification
he advocates ‘the greatest
happiness principle’ which states that it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is
the measure of right and wrong
John Stuart Mill
Identification
rejects the purely quantitative
treatment of the principle of utility
John Stuart Mill
Identification
he introduces the so-called ‘secondary principles’ which set the tone for a contemporary variant form of the theory
called rule utilitarianism
John Stuart Mill
Identification
distinguished between higher and lower pleasures
John Stuart Mill
Identification
He ites Epicurus who explain that while the
good or happy life is the life of pleasure, it does
not mean only sensual pleasure
John Stuart Mill
Identification
belong to lower pleasures or
those which animals can also experience (e.g., food, drink, sex)
Physical Pleasures
Identification
He declared, “It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pic satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied”
John Stuart Mill
Identification
refer to intellectual which
includes artistic, political, and spiritual pleasures
Higher Pleasures
Identification
more desirable and more valuable that are exclusive to humans (e.g., reading a good novel or poetry, listening to music, etc.)
Higher Pleasures
Identification
he wants qualitative distinctions among pleasures which is considered ____.
qualitative hedonist
True or False
For Mill, a happiness that is made up principally of higher pleasures is a higher, deeper, truer, and more valuable form of happiness
True
True or False
Mill states that ‘happiness’ and ‘unhappiness’ are the basis of good and evil
True
True or False
Pleasure and pain are only the basic minimum
True
Identification
He believes that past experiences teach us what
kinds of action promote happiness and which do
no
John Stuart Mill
Identification
He believes that past experiences teach us what
kinds of action promote happiness and which do
no
Mill’s secondary Principles
Identification
This does not mean that the actions are justified
by these practical rules – it’s the consequences
manifested in past experiences which validate
them
Mill’s Utilitarianism
True or False
Utilitarianism appears to be a direct negative reaction against Kantian ethics
True
Identification
has transcultural appeal as all
sentient being understand pain and pleasure; it
also inspires and encourages people to act
morally, even if one does not believe in afterlife,
for moral actions can be observed to improve life
on eart
Utilitarianism
Identification
allows for exceptions to the rule if justified by the consequence
Utilitarianism
True or False
utilitarianism indicates that an act is right even if it is done from an evil motive as long as it
brings about advantageous effects
True
Identification
perhaps the most broadly
understood and normally applied ethical theory in
business
Utilitarianism
Identification
teaches decision generates the greatest good for the greatest number of persons
Utilitarianism
Identification
is defined as the net
benefits that accrue to those parties affected by
choice
good
Identification
centers on the action that has
been taken, evaluating it along the lines of
whether the chosen action produces more good
than bad consequences
Act Utilitarianism
