utilitarianism

Question 1

what does utilitarianism argue

Answer 1

the good and the right thing to do is that which leads to the greatest good for the greatest number

Question 2

what type of theory is utilitarianism

Answer 2

relativist theory; right and wrong are not fixed concepts at all times and in all places.
Teleological theory of ethics, as decisions about right and wrong are based on the outcome.

Question 3

what is the ‘principle of utility’

Answer 3

Bentham says it’s a fact of nature that humans are being motivated by pleasure and pain. We are naturally more inclined to want to do things that bring us pleasure and avoid things that cause pain. Bentham suggests that this fact presents a simple moral rule to us: that we should do whatever leads to the greatest balance of good over evil.

Question 4

what is the hedonic calculus

Answer 4

having established the utility principle, Bentham suggests that there is almost a mathematical way of calculating the overall pleasure and pain involved

Question 5

what are the seven factors when evaluating a moral situation

Answer 5

intensity: how strong the pleasure is
duration: how long pleasure or pain will last
certainty: how sure that pleasure or pain will occur
propinquity: how soon will the pleasure occur
fecundity: how likely will pleasure lead to further pleasure
purity: how likely is that pain will result from original pleasure
extent: how many people will be affected

Question 6

what is the objection to utilitarianism coming from swine ethics

Answer 6

An ethic that treats us as if we were pigs. It assumes that we are creatures that value each pleasure identically. Bentham himself claimed that the game of push penny - a children’s games - was just as pleasurable as poetry, yet this does not seem right.

Question 7

how could gang rape be justified by utilitarianism

Answer 7

the pleasure of multiple rapists would outweigh the pain of the victim. While Bentham would not have intended to imply this, it seems difficult to see how the system avoid this.

Question 8

what was John Mill’s critique of Bentham

Answer 8

utilitarianism is quantitive and appears to suggest that we can coldly calculate the pleasure and pains involved in each situation. Mill is more interested in the quality of each pleasure.

Question 9

what are the two types of pleasure for Mill

Answer 9

higher and lower

Question 10

what are higher pleasures

Answer 10

these are intellectual and social pleasures that only human beings can enjoy, such as intellectual conversation or enjoyment of art.

Question 11

what are lower pleasures

Answer 11

these are pleasures of the body that both humans and other creatures enjoy, such as food, sex and sleep

Question 12

what is the ‘tyranny of the majority’

Answer 12

Mill recognises that the quantitive utilitarianism of bentham risks this. Where the pleasure of the majority can justify the ignoring of a minority

Question 13

what is Mill’s non-harm principle

Answer 13

in ‘on liberty’ mill believes that each individual should be free to live as they choose, so long as they do not cause harm to others. He argues the only reason a government should introduce a law is to prevent harm to others.

Question 14

utilitarianism is a helpful way of making moral decisions because

Answer 14

1. utilitarianism is relatively straightforward in the sense that the key idea is not difficult to apply
2. it is difficult to object to the basic principle that happiness is a good thing. We would not find many people, if any, who would sincerely argue that they do not want to be happy. This suggests that utilitarianism at least has a good aim.
3. Utilitarianism is as secular ethical theory and does not rely on God or other metaphysical ideas that cannot be proved in order to justify its decisions.
4. utilitarianism is democratic in that everyone counts equally regardless of whom they are; each persons potential pains or pleasures are to be considered. Additionally, the theory requires that we are impartial in our decision-making and do not count those nearer to us, such as our family as more significant than a stranger.

Question 15

utilitarianism is not a helpful way of making moral decisions because

Answer 15

1. although the idea of utilitarianism is straight forward, the application of the theory is anything but. there are so many factors and variables to consider. it is also difficult to know how far to take the consequences of an action. sometimes a simple decision may have repercussions that affect future generations.
2. similarly, utilitarianism requires that we are able to make a reasonable prediction as to the outcome of an action. However, it is not always obvious what the effects of telling the truth are vs telling a lie. we cannot predict the future.
3. while everyone is considered, the greatest good for the greatest number inevitably leads to poorer treatment of minority groups and may disregard rights to serve the greater good. Bentham himself refers to rights as ‘nonsense on stilts’
4. it is difficult to measure pain and pleasure

Question 16

what was Bernard Williams critique of utilitarianism as a way of making moral decisions

Answer 16

in his thought experiment ‘Jim and the indians’, he gives a situation where a utilitarian can save ten lives by killing one person themselves. he argues that even if this were the right thing to do, we would find It difficult. this is because we are moral agents who have to live with ourselves after the act.

Question 17

what is act utilitarianism

Answer 17

aims to produce the best balance of good over evil in each case. it takes situations on a case-by-case basis. Bentham’s hedonic calculus is a good example of such an approach. This means act utilitarian may well give a different answers to the same action, depending on the situation or context. for example, telling somewhere where the shop is vs telling a bully where someone is

Question 18

what is rule utilitarianism

Answer 18

also aims at the greatest balance of good over evil, but it has the common good of society rather than the individual as its starting point. It suggests that we do on the whole know the actions that typically lead to happiness and pleasure - we know stealing tends to cause more misery to the victims than pleasure to the thief, so we are able to make a utilitarian rule that ‘stealing is wrong’. the rules are not fixed and the basis of the rules is entirely utilitarian - the greater good or greater happiness - hence the rules can be changed with society.

Question 19

what is the opinion of a strong utilitarian

Answer 19

would argue that once we have decided the rules that lead to the greatest good, these rules are fixed and cannot, under any circumstances, be broken.

Question 20

what is the opinion of a weak utilitarian

Answer 20

would make allowances for exceptions. while the rules do broadly lead to the greatest good and should generally be followed, there may be exceptional cases that require a rule to be broken.

Question 21

what type of utilitarian is mill

Answer 21

weak rule utilitarianism

Question 22

what type of utilitarianism is bentham

Answer 22

strong act utilitarianism

Question 23

Act utilitarianism is a better approach to moral decision making because

Answer 23

1. the case-by-case decision making of act is a strength as it allows flexibility, recognising that no two situations are the same. However, the other side of this coin is that compared to rule it takes considerable time to weigh up all the complex factors in each situation
2. it could be argued that rule is an incoherent position, particularly in weak rule as the theory ends up collapsing into act anyway as more and more accessions are allowed (jjc smart)

Question 24

rule utilitarianism is a better approach to moral decision making because

Answer 24

1. offers a quick approach to decision-making, recognising that case-by-case decision making is unnecessary and very time consuming. however, there can be situations where different utilitarian rules and principles clash and a different approach would be needed to decide between rules.
2. rule allows us to make rules that uphold justice and rights, two things that may be lost in individual cases for the act utilitarian. The McCloskey example, where a sheriff chooses to arrest an innocent man for the greater good, would be allowed by an act utilitarian but cannot be justified by a rule as persistent unjust acts would undermine the justice itself.

Question 25

what is Mills argument for measuring pleasure

Answer 25

he argues that if we want to know what is good and desirable, we should look at what what people actually desire. the fact is that people do seek pleasure and happiness; they pursue it as an end in itself and everything else in life that is desirable is desirable only because it contributes to the goal of happiness. So, this simple observation of reality does tell us that happiness is in fact a good thing and that it should be pursued.

Question 26

what Is mills analogy when measuring pleasure

Answer 26

if we want to know what is or isn't visible, the only way we can prove this is by asking what can actually be seen. in the same way, we can only resolve what is desirable by asking what people actually desire,

Question 27

what do other thinkers think about mills desire analogy

Answer 27

what people desire or aim towards can indeed be described, but this does not establish the normative claim that this ought to be desired. perhaps we can measure peoples happiness in the sense of what they desire but this does not necessarily mean those desires are good.

Question 28

what is the distribution problem.

Answer 28

Assuming that we can in some way measure pleasure, this raises the problem that we may create the same overall amount of happiness or pleasure, but this pleasure may be distributed quite differently. if we imagine that decision A would lead to person x being much happier (by 10 hedons) and person Y and Z being slightly happier (1hedon), then the decision generates 12 hedons of happiness. However, we could reach the same overall happiness by decision B which gives each person 4 herons of happiness. in theory the amount of happiness is the same overall, yet two different outcomes feel different.

Question 29

it can be argued that pleasure, happiness or goodness can be measured because

Answer 29

1. Mill's argument that happiness is desirable rests on the assumption that we can observe what people desire and thus presumably have some measure of whether they are achieving these desires. Hence, on a crude level we may be able to have some measure of pleasure or pain. 2. Preference versions of utilitarianism may avoid some of the difficulties of measuring pleasure as they would argue that overall utility/ happiness lies in preference satisfaction. We may be able through surveys and other empirical research to ascertain the relative happiness of people in terms achieving their life goals. 3. As neuroscience advances it may be possible to measure happiness or pleasure in terms of observing what is happening in the brain during key moments. while we are perhaps some way off having portable brain scanners permanently attached to us, the existence of such technology would make measurement of pleasure possible

Question 30

it can be argued that pleasure, happiness or goodness cannot be measured because

Answer 30

1. things that are measurable or quantifiable tend to have units of measurement. time has hours and minutes, there are no obvious units that could measure pleasure and pain. 2. Further difficulties in the measurement of pleasure and pain lie in the fact that pleasure and pain are often subjective to the individual. we enjoy different things and each of us may have a different pain threshold and be willing to suffer more pain for a greater good. this would suggest that if any version of utilitarianism is to succeed, it would have to be one such as preference utilitarianism that does not require such a measurement. 3. assuming pleasure and pain can be measured would require a very simple version of utilitarianism such as bantams where 'push penny is as good as poetry'. Yet mill seems right that there are higher and lower pleasures. How should the higher pleasures be weighted? 4. Nozicks experience machine and Moore's open question argument both raise the possibility that even if we actually could measure pleasure, we are not necessarily measuring the good.

Question 31

what is preference utilitarianism

Answer 31

recognises that different people have different views about what happiness is. we have different aims in life and different things that we consider important, preferences or interests. PU argues that people should be allowed to pursue their preferences as long as this does not interfere with anyone else's pursuit of happiness. hence the morally good thing to do is that which maximises the satisfaction of the preferences and interests of the most people. in doing this we have to imagine ourselves as 'impartial observers', free from our personal biases and considering what each individual would truly want.