Utilitarianism

Question 1

What is the principle of utility?

Answer 1

•It is the concept of judging whether an act is right/wrong based on the outcome

Question 2

What kind of theory is Utilitarianism?

Answer 2

•It is a teleological theory
- This means it is judged on the outcome or consequence of the act (telos)

Question 3

What kind of utilitarianist is Bentham?

Answer 3

•He is an act utilitarianist

Question 4

What do act utilitarianist believe?

Answer 4

•They believe that the right action is the one that produces the greatest pleasure for the greatest number of people

Question 5

What do act utilitarianist argue?

Answer 5

•They argue that pleasure is the only thing good in itself
- This means pleasure is the sole good while pain is the sole evil

Question 6

What did Bentham create to measure the quantity of pleasure?

Answer 6

•He created the hedonic calculus

Question 7

How does the Hedonic Calculus measure the quantity of pleasure?

Answer 7

•It measures the quantity through 7 factors:
1.Intensity
2.Duration
3.Certainty
4.Propinquity
5.Fecundity
6.Purity
7.Extent

Question 8

What type of utilitarianist is Mill?

Answer 8

•He is between an act and rule utilitarianist
- This means he accepts pleasure as the sole good and the principle of utility as the basis for morality

Question 9

What did Mill believe about Bentham’s views?

Answer 9

•He believes Bentham is wrong due to his view that all pleasures are equal and that we should seek the greatest quantity

Question 10

What does Mill call Bentham’s view?

Answer 10

•He calls it “pig philosophy”

Question 11

How does Mill believe we find true happiness?

Answer 11

•He believes it is found in the higher pleasures
- These are the pleasures that stimulate the mind

Question 12

What does Mill believe we should seek?

Answer 12

•He believes we should seek the greatest quality of pleasure

Question 13

What quote does Mill use to support that we should seek higher pleasures rather than lower pleasures?

Answer 13

•He argues “it is better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied”
- This is because higher pleasures will not always bring contentment but they are still better

Question 14

What does Mill emphasise the need for?

Answer 14

•He emphasises the need for general rules to reduce the risk of injustice
- These rules should be based on the principle of utility

Question 15

What did Mill accept about rules?

Answer 15

•He accepted rules could be broken if it would cause serious harm to obey them
- This places greater priority to the well-being of the individual as he believed Bentham’s emphasis on quantity could justify oppression and abuse

Question 16

What principle did Mill establish?

Answer 16

•He established the Liberty Principle
- This argues that the individual has rights to govern their own life, which needs to be respected, as long as their actions do not threaten to harm the community

Question 17

What quote does Mill use to support his Liberty Principle?

Answer 17

•He states “over himself, over his body and mind, the individual is sovereign”

Question 18

What does Act Utilitarianism argue about rules?

Answer 18

•It argues that the principle of utility should be applied to each situation
- This means general “rules of thumb” are used as a guide to maximise pleasure which means rules can be broken if they no longer bring the most happiness in a situation (individual situations always have priority over rules)

Question 19

What does Rule Utilitarianism argue about rules?

Answer 19

•It argues an act can only be performed if it would produce the greatest amount of happiness if it was universalised
- This means priority is given to the universal rule over the individual situation which means the rules should always be followed even if it does not lead to the greatest happiness (this places less extreme demands on the individual as the rules are followed be the whole community)

Question 20

What 2 types of Rule Utilitarianists are there?

Answer 20

1.Strong Rule - this means rules can never be broken (even if it is to prevent serious harm)
2.Weak Rule - this allows exceptions to the rule in certain situations (this is because the sole good is happiness which means it is illogical to follow a rule when it contradicts the principle of utility)

Question 21

What does Berkeley argue?

Answer 21

•He argues “we must be entirely guided by the public good of mankind” when creating rules
- This is because he is a strong rule utilitarian and believes rules can never be broken as our actions are guided by them

Question 22

What does Hooker argue?

Answer 22

•He argues that pleasure is not the only thing desirable in itself as pain is not the only thing that is undesirable and that our well-being should be promoted more than just our pleasure

Question 23

Why did Hooker argue rule utilitarianism is superior to act utilitarianism?

Answer 23

•He believes this due to “common conviction” as it supports that individual acts of evil can be wrong even if they produce more good than evil
- He also believes this due to rule utilitarianism not requiring the same amount of self-sacrifice as act utilitarianism as the rules are universalised

Question 24

What does Norman argue?

Answer 24

•He argues that Mill’ reasons for following rule utilitarianism are because of act utilitarianism reasons
- This is because Mill allows exceptions to the general rule if serious harm is caused (weak rule utilitarianism)
- However, Mill also argued we should ignore the consequences of an individual act and focus on whether it can be universalised
- Mill’s Liberty Principle also supports rules utilitarianism as there are many individual situations where the best results will not be produced
- Overall, Mill does not distinguish between act and rule utilitarianism

Question 25

What is preference utilitarianism?

Answer 25

•It judges an action by how it follows a person’s preference or desires

Question 26

Who established preference utilitarianism?

Answer 26

•Singer

Question 27

How does Singer believe the best possible consequences are achieved?

Answer 27

•He believes they are achieved by following the preferences of the greatest possible number of people

Question 28

What does Singer believe about preferences?

Answer 28

•He believes everyone’s preferences should be given equal consideration
•They are much broader than happiness and can be very different

Question 29

How does Singer believe we choose the best action?

Answer 29

•He believes we should take the view of an “impartial spectator”
- This means the preferences of everyone will be considered

Question 30

What do preferences allow for?

Answer 30

•They allow greater autonomy over our own lives as other people are not allowed to interfere unless an action is outweighed

Question 31

What quote does Singer use to support that the difficulty of predicting consequences is not an issue?

Answer 31

•He states that “the wrong is done when the preference is thwarted”

Question 32

Strengths and Weaknesses:

Answer 32