Utilitarianism Flashcards
normative ethical theories
Hume
-not a utilitarian
-first to suggest that ethics should be based on utility – usefulness
-meant that what humans found most useful was a guide to what is ‘right’
Bentham (1748-1832)
-used Hume’s ideas adding that the most useful thing is happiness because everything searches for happiness
-utility = usefulness – most useful thing is happiness
-wanted to create a system of right and wrong which would benefit all society
-believed answer could be found in happiness which leads people to make right ethical decisions
-Bentham used “the greatest happiness for the greatest number” from Francis Hutcheson (not a utilitarian
principle of utility
-maximise pleasure and minimise pain
-“nature has places mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pleasure and pain” - Bentham
-concerned with outcomes = teleological argument
-hedonistic = pleasure focused
utilitarianism
-sees moral acts as those which produce the maximum happiness and minimum pain for the maximum number of people
-example, voting systems
pleasure or pain?
-according to Bentham, that which is morally good is that which equals the greatest sum of pleasure and the least sum of pain
-act is right = more pleasure than pain or prevents pain
-act is wrong = more pain than pleasure or prevents pleasure
happiness and pleasure
-happiness is the state of being happy, however, pleasure is a feeling of happy satisfaction and enjoyment sexually and non-sexually
-therefore happiness and pleasure are similar but not the same
-causes of happiness = hormones, relationships, goals, acts of kindness etc.
-causes of pleasure = sex, food, music, art etc.
-not all pleasures are morally good, example, someone may get pleasure from hitting someone
-pain isn’t always morally bad, it provides life experiences
hedonic calculus
-pleasure seeker (designed to satisfy the individual
-way of calculating the benefit or harm of an act through its consequences
-seven parts to work out maximum happiness
1. intensity
2. duration
3. certainty of pleasure
4. fecundity - productive
5. propinquity - how near to pleasure
6.purity - is it all pleasure or some pain
7. extent - the more people that experience it the better
strengths/ weaknesses
-hedonic calculus attempts to quantify happiness, is this possible? hard to apply wen faced with an immediate ethical dilemma (-)
-Bentham’s utilitarian argument is teleological so relies on you to accurately predict the consequences of an action, not always possible (-)
-what counts as pleasure? one’s person’s pleasure is another’s pain, subjective (-)
John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)
-Mill had problems with Bentham’s utilitarian arguments:
1. Bentham doesn’t distinguish between different sorts of pleasures of give them a rank order
2. what about minorities?
3. the emphasis on pleasure Mill saw little more than animal instincts (sex, food, drink etc.)
-created his own utilitarianism
-“it is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied”
higher/lower pleasures
-lower pleasures = shared with animals (pigs)
-highest pleasures = stimulate mind, only be experienced by humans
-recognised that in reality people don’t always opt for the higher pleasure
-due to ignorance
-a competent judge is someone who has experienced both the higher and lower pleasures
-role is to help to define the amount of pain/pleasure the action causes since they have experience of both
Altruism
-Altruism = unselfishness/ love for others
-important to Mill
-produced his Principle of Utility:
1. happiness is desirable
2. happiness only thing desirable as an end in itself
3. general happiness of all is desirable, increase happiness of others increases your own
-link to Jesus’ golden rule (“love thy neighbour”): “To do as one would be done by, and to love one’s neighbour as oneself, constitutes the ideal perfection of utilitarian morality” - Mill
philosophical criticisms of Mill
-W.D Ross – ‘a single factor’ they don’t account for complex lives and moral decisions - family takes over precedence over reason, Trolley problem
-Sidgwick – how can we distinguish higher and lower pleasures from each other… which higher pleasure takes priority in moral decisions?
Bentham: Act utilitarianism
-looks at the consequences of every situation/act
-every individual circumstance must be looked at differently
-apply hedonic calculus to each of these situations - absolute
-strong utilitarian
Mill: rule utilitarianism
-general rules that can be applied universally across societies to promote happiness, UK society
-creates a balance of good over evil or pleasure over pain
-these rules shouldn’t be broken as they are the basis of morality
-weak utilitarian, believed that the rules sometimes needs to change for extreme situations
strengths and weaknesses: Act
-objectively applies hedonic calculus to situations, providing clear guidelines (+)
-subjective – takes into account individual acts (+)
-same applies to everyone so is equal (+)
-impractical applying the hedonic calculus to every situation (-)
-hedonic calculus can be misused and make bad actions ethical, rape, hitler (-)
strengths and weaknesses: Rule
-fair – same rules apply to everyone (+)
-interested in maximising happiness for society (+)
-based on natural human morality which is universal (+)
-how do you know if your situation is extreme or not? (-)
