utilitarianism Flashcards
what is utility
‘usefulness’ but equated with happiness in utilitarianism
what is hedonism
belief that humans naturally choose pleasure over pain
what is act utilitarianism
theory which states each individual action should be judged according to utilitarian principles
what is rule utilitarianism
general rules should be eestablished which allow greatest happiness for the greatest number of people
what is the principle of utility
benthams belief that pursuit of happiness is natural and threfore good actions should promote greatest happiness for greatest number of people
what is the hedonic calculus
a way of measureing quantity of pleasure using 7 criteria
what are the 7 criterias of the hedonic calculus
intensity
duration
certainty
remoteness
richness
purity
extent
what are higher pleasures
ones of the mind and related to the intellect
what are lower pleasures
ones of the body / senses
what is the harm principle
only reason to stop someone from doing what they want is to prevent harm to otherswh
what is weak rule utilitarianism
utilitarian rules should be followed unless it would create greater happiness to break them
what 2 things is utilitarianism applied to
nuclear deterrence
animal testing for medical research
who are the 2 main philosophers of utilitarianism
jeremy bentham
john stuart mill
what was jeremy benthams main idea
quantity of pleasure
- a good action is one that promotes the greatest happiness for the greatest number
ACT UTILITARIANISM
what was john stuart mills main idea
quality of pleasure is important
- higher pleasures are more moral then lower pleasures
WEAK RULE UTILITARIANISM
