Utilitarianism Flashcards
Who are the main scholars?
Jeremy Bentham
John Stuart Mill
Peter Singer
What is the hedonic calculus?
The system for calculating the amount of pain or pleasure generated
Utility principle?
The idea that we should do whatever is useful in terms of increasing overall good and decreasing evil
Consequentionalism
Ethical theories that see morality as driven by consequence, rather than actions or character of those concerned
The seven hedonic calculus factors?
Intensity
Duration
Certainty
Propinquity
Fecundity
Purity
Extent
Who was Jeremy Benthem?
- A lawyer who wrote and lived by utilitarian principles
- He argued against Slavery, supported votes for women and suggested homosexuality be decriminalised
-He saw utilitarianism as both a political and ethical theory
What is the ‘swine ethic’ objective?
Treats us as if we were pigs. Assumes that we are creatures that value each pleasure identically
What was Mill’s utilitarianism?
He is interested in the quality of each pleasure and suggested there were higher and lower pleasures
Higher pleasures?
These are intellectual and social pleasures that only human beings can enjoy, such as intellectual conversation or enjoyment of art
Lower pleasures?
These are pleasures of the body that both humans and other creatures enjoy, such as food, sleep and sex
What does Mill say about Benthems’ utilitarianism?
Risks allowing the ‘tyranny of the majority’, where the pleasure of the majority can justify ignoring the suffering of a minority
Rule utilitarianism
The idea that we should always follow the rule that generally leads to the greatest balance of good over evil for a society rather than the individual
Act utilitarianism
The idea that we should always perform the act that leads to the greatest balance of good over evil
How is utilitarianism a helpful way of making moral decisions?
- Utilitarianism has a good aim because it states that happiness is a good thing
-Utilitarianism is democratic in that everyone counts equally regardless of whom they are
How is utilitarianism not a helpful way of making moral decisions?
-The application of the theory is not straightforward
-Requires that we are able to make reasonable prediction as to the outcome of an action
-leads to poorer treatment of the minority groups
-Utilitarianism disregards moral agency
Mill’s key quote
‘It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied. And if the fool, or the pig, are of different opinion, it is because they know only their own side of the question
Strengths of utilitarianism
- Flexible and allows for changes in opinion
- Involves reason
- Based on outcomes which are relatively straightforward
- Every individual is considered
Weaknesses of utilitarianism
-Hedonic calculus can be time consuming
-Happiness is not a sufficient goal for ethics
-those who are in the minority lose out
-morality of an action should not be judged by its outcome but by its motivation
Strengths of act utilitarianism?
-Case-by-are decision-making allows flexibility
-rule utilitarian theories often collapse into act utilitarianism
Strengths of rule utilitarianism
-Offers a quicker approach to decision-making
-Allows us to make rules that uphold justices and rights
