UTILITARIANISM Flashcards
Define Utility
Usefulness
Define teleological
Judges morality by end result
Define consequentialist
Concerned with consequences
What is helpful about Bentham’s consequentialism?
Actually focuses on how actions affect people and situations- personal and loving
What is unhelpful about Bentham’s consequentialism?
How can you accurately predict outcomes?
Define relativist
Flexible
Define a posteriori knowledge
Knowledge derived from the senses
Name and date Jeremy Bentham’s two key texts
- The Principles of Morals and Legislation (1789)
- A Fragment on Government (1776)
What did Bentham aim to do with his Utilitarianism?
Hoped to create a rational and secular approach (more accessible n a world of competing religious systems because it doesnt require religious belief)
What is Bentham’s ‘one moral principle’?
Actions should be carried out if they produce ‘benefit, advantage, pleasure, good or happiness’
Define Hedonism
Pleasure is the highest good and what people most desire in life
Quote that supports Bentham’s hedonism
“Pain and Pleasure. It is for them alone to point out what we ought to do”
What is helpful about Bentham’s hedonism?
Clear and natural way for right and wrong- evident people do seek pleasure and avoid pain
What is unhelpful about Bentham’s hedonism?
Subjective and weak (all pleasures are equal is a weak argument)
What is the principle of utility?
An action is right if it brings about** maximal happiness/pleasure for most people **
Quote to support Bentham’s principle of utility
“The greatest happiness for the greatest number is the measure of right and wrong.”
What is helpful about Bentham’s principle of utility?
Enables large scale decision making- benefits the majority and is democratic
What is unhelpful about Bentham’s principle of utility?
Theoretically justifies appallingly sadistic acts like gang rape
Favours majority at expense of minority
John Rawl’s criticism of the Principle of Utility
It’s impersonal- does no considering of the rights of the individuals in an attempt to look for the greater good
What is the Hedonic Calculus
Form of calculation, designed to work out how great is the pleasure or pain resulting from a certain action
What are the 7 criteria for the Hedonic Calculus?
- Intensity- intense pleasure best
- Duration- pleasure which lasts
- Certainty- pleasure which will defo happen
- Propinquity- pleasure which is close at hand
- Fecundity- pleasure which promotes further pleasure
- Purity- pleasure not mixed with pain
- Extent- pleasure which affects many people
What is helpful about the Hedonic Calculus?
Provides a clear mathematical method of decision making
What is unhelpful about the Hedonic Calculus?
Pleasure is subjective and hard to predict
Name and date J.S Mill’s two key texts?
- Utilitarianism (1863)
- On Liberty (1859)
Why is Mill’s approach often called Rule Utilitarianism?
He believed we should consider consequences that follow from types of actions and make general social principles accordingly
How do Mill and Bentham’s ideas differ?
Bentham: Quantitative view of pleasure
Mill: Qualitative
How do Act and Rule Utilitarianism differ?
- Act: Principle of Utility applied to a particular action in a particular circumstance
- Rule: Principle of Utility applied to rules which are in turn used to determine what to do in particular circumstances
What is helpful about the notion of Rule Utilitarianism?
- Wouldn’t allow crimes against minorities which benefit the majority
- Avoids problem of predicting outcomes for every indivdual act
What is unhelpful about the notion of Rule Utilitarianism?
- Might disapprove of SENSIBLE rule breaking- not as flexible
- What happens when duties/rules conflict?
- Future benefits are still unpredictable
Define higher pleasures and provide examples
Pleasures of the Mind (art and poetry)
Define lower pleasures and provide examples
Pleasures of the body (food and sex)
Quote on Mill’s view on pleasure
“Better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied.”
Mill’s answer to knowing how to distinguish between pleasures
Competent judges- people who have experienced many types of pleasures and so are able to discriminate (thought himself a competent judge #elitistsnob)
What is helpful about higher and lower pleasures?
Quality matters- we can see there is more value in some actions compared to others
What is unhelpful about higher and lower pleasures?
Very subjective and just Mill’s opinion that is arguably elitist
What is the harm principle
- From On Liberty
- Basically says we should be allowed to do what we want unless it will cause harm to others
Quote to support Harm Principle
“only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilised society… is to prevent harm to others”
What is helpful about the Harm Principle?
Avoids problem of evil pleasures found with Bentham such as sadism
Define Liberty
Freedom
What is helpful about Mill’s idea of Liberty?
Less impersonal than Bentham’s theory as it values individual autonomy
What is unhelpful about Mill’s idea of Liberty?
Arguably too optimistic about human nature with his belief about individual autonomy- perhaps we are determined by our genes (Richard Dawkins)
Preference Utilitarianism
- Defines positive outcome in terms of preference satisfaction
- morally good thing is that which maximises satisfaction of the preferences of most people
- Focusses more on minimising suffering and harm than increasing pleasure
Who is a modern advocate for Preference Utilitarianism and what is his text
- Peter Singer
- The Life You Can Save (2009)
What is the distinction between Manifest and True Preferences and who came up with this idea?
John C. Harsanyi
- Manifest: What you prefer, based on immediate instinctual desires
- True: What you prefer, based on reflecting on all the info known and on the likely consequences
Strengths of Preference Utilitarianism
- Avoids problems associated with Hedonism
- Avoids problem of minorities suffering
- Considers suffering of all sentient beings, not just humans
- Benefits both individual and majority
Weaknesses of Preference Utilitarianism
- Paternalistic: asuumes preference of experts as true preferences whereas non-experts are manifest- WHO DECIDES
- Not poss to accept link between person’s preferences and general welfare
Which scholar is associated with Two-Rule Utilitarianism?
R M Hare
How does Two-Rule Utilitarianism bring together Bentham and Mill?
- Talks about morality for ‘archangels’ and ‘proles’
- Proles: for most situations, it is acceptable to adopt a morality based on rules and customs (Rule)
- Archangels: Occasionally, however, we will need to use highly relativist, consequentialist thinking in extraordinary situations
Evaluate Two-Rule Utilitarianism
- Combines strengths of MIll in sense that it avoids the problems of always having to predict consequences and criticially assess the Hedonic Calculus
- Allows for the sensible rule breaking and flexibility of Bentham’s relativist and truly consequentialist approach
Ideal Utilitarianism
- G.E. Moore
- Accepts Bentham’s consequentialist approach but rejects hedonism
- We should value ideals above pleasure + act in a way that these ideals are maximised in society
- Ideals: beauty, justice, peace, truth
