utilitarianism Flashcards
Bentham’s principle of utilitarianism.
Seek always the greatest balance of good over evil.
Bentham on utilitarianism.
“Create all the happiness you are able to create: remove all the misery you are able to remove.”
Hedonism.
Philosophical view that the good is pleasure and nothing else is the good.
Hedonic calculus.
- intensity.
- duration.
- certainty.
- propinquity.
- fecundity.
- purity.
- extent.
Issue with hedonism.
Please does not = good.
JS Mill on satisfaction.
“It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied.”
G.E. Moore’s ideal utilitarianism.
One should always seek the greatest balance of the ideally good.
Bentham’s utilitarianism forumulae.
“The greatest good for the greatest number.”
Issues with Bentham’s utilitarian formulae.
- Entails a principle of justice as well as good.
- Dangers of ignoring the minority.
Bentham on natural rights.
“Nonsense upon stilts.”
Why utilitarians reject natural rights.
Notion that people have an automatic right to life and liberty interferes with the principle of utility.
JS Mill on natural rights.
Believes that some have a right to liberty, but children or those of ‘backward’ nations do not.
Act utilitarianism.
We should always act in a way which will lead to the greatest balance of good over evil.
Issue with act utilitarianism.
We do not always have the time, capacity or information to make a hedonic/utilitarian calculation.
Rule utilitarianism.
We should follow the rule which leads to the greatest overall balance of good over evil.
Issues with rule utilitarianism.
- Places the preservation of the rule over individual need.
- Allows for multiple rules to be made which can then clash.
Preference utilitarianism.
We should seek the good we would rationally prefer as an outcome, even when it is not in our best interests.
Alturism.
Theories which put the needs of others before.
Speciesism.
Human tendency to prioritise humankind over other animals.
Objections to utilitarianism.
- includes evil.
- teleological.
- capacity.
Sir Bernard Williams on utilitarianism.
A utilitarian will always be on guard to prevent evil acts which will in turn proliferate more evil acts.
