Utilitarianism Flashcards
Which good or utility should be maximized according to Mills?
HAPPINESS = pleasure and the absence of pain
An act is morally right to the extent that it maximizes some good/utility for the greatest number of individuals
(act) utilitarianism
Whether an act is right or wrong depends on its consequences makes utilitarianism a ________ theory
consequentialist
Right act: actions done with good consequences, even if done for bad reasons
Wrong act: actions done with bad consequences, even if done for right reasons
Mill’s theory in contrast to Kant’s theory
What one in general should do does not depend on one’s particular situation in life.
No preferential treatment for one’s family, friends, personal goals
Agent-neutral aspect of utilitarianism
According to Mill’s, could a person be a good utilitarian and still act from bad motives and in a cold-hearted, calculating way?
Yes…but that should not be seen as a challenge to utilitarianism - what’s criticizable is not the action the person performs but the actor - the utilitarian can allow that the action is good, even if the actor is deficient in some way
Not capable of being compared
Incommensurable
Doing the best we can
Actions can be wrong because they have unfortunate, unforeseen consequences, but we cannot be morally blamed for them if we do the best we can to predict the outcomes of the actions
The ends justify the means
If it would result in a maximization of good, _____ allows for the violation of an individual’s rights
utilitarianism
An act is morally right to the extent that it accords with MORAL RULES the general acceptance of which leads to the maximization of good
rule utilitarianism
We have a moral obligation to do much more than we are currently doing to help ease suffering in the world
Wrote “Famine, Affluence, and Morality”
Peter Singer’s main point
If it is in our power to prevent something bad from happening, without thereby sacrificing anything of comparable moral importance, we ought, morally, to do it
Singer’s main principle
Whether the child dying is in the pond or halfway across the world does not make any moral difference, so we should do what we can to help the person halfway across the world as well as near us
The fact others could help the boy drowning doesn’t decrease obligation to rescue him
Singer’s irrelevance of proximity
Alleviating suffering is not obligatory if it would result in sacrificing something of _______ _______ _________ (according to Singer)
comparable moral significance
