Utilitarianism Flashcards
The Hedonic Caculus includes:
Intensity, Duration, Certainty, Nearness, Fecundity, Purity, Extent
Fecundity is?
How likely it is that the pleasure from an action will be followed by similar pleasures
Nearness measures?
How close the pleasure is in time and space.
Who believes in Rule Utilitarianism and what is it?
John Mill - higher and lower pleasures It’s qualitative.
Is utilitarianism teleological or deontological?
Teleological
Who believes in Act Utilitarianism and what is it?
Jeremy Bentham - Hedonic Calculus, quantitative
Criticisms of Act Utilitarianism
Time and resource consuming. Justifies any action. Can be biased. Not possible to assess every situation. Difficult to take into account the effect on others/ in the long run.
Criticisms of Rule Utilitarianism
Rules might be pointless or immoral.
Minorities aren’t accounted for.
Hedonism
Bentham believes humans are motivated by pleasure
Positives of Act Utilitarianism
Flexible - takes into account individual situations.
A good action is one that leads to the greatest good in that situation.
Positives of Rule Utilitarianism
Leads to greatest result in the community.
Not as time consuming.
Still has absolute right and wrongs.
Examples of higher pleasures
Pleasures that stimulate the mind: learning, art, literature, opera.
Higher pleasures bring happiness?
In the long run
Mill believed Bentham’s utilitarianism does what?
It reduces humans - he thinks we have more than basic animal instincts.
Utilitarianism and religion both
Aim to maximise happiness and welfare for everyone.
Both aim to bring the ‘greatest’ happiness.
Utilitarianism is different to religion
It has no rules.
It has no moral absolutes.
It’s teleological (Christianity is denteological)
Main goals are happiness and pleasure.
People have to be autonomous agents (eg. not a baby or a person in a coma)
What is the utility principle created by Bentham?
The rightness or wrongness of an action is determined by it’s usefulness (the amount of happiness/pleasure caused by it) which he came up with when he realised that pleasure and pain were important for finding what is moral
Who said ‘an action is right if it produces the greatest good for the greatest number’
Jeremy Bentham
What principle do Act utilitarians use?
The principle of utility should be directly applied to every individual situation where possible
Who said ‘human beings have faculties more elevated than animal appetites’
John Stuart Mill
Who says ‘it is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied’ and what does it mean
John Stuart Mill: it means that a higher pleasure is better than a lower, even if it might cause some dissatisfaction
Who came up with preference utilitarianism?
The ethicist Peter Singer
What is preference utilitarianism?
The best consequences means what furthers the best interests/preferences of those involved.
How did philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre criticise utilitarianism?
He said that it could justify horrendous acts for the pleasure of many: eg. the persecution/extermination of Jews could be considered ‘good’ if the greater population found it pleasurable
When can pain by considered good?
When training hard to excel in sport etc
What did philosopher Henry Sidgwick reject Bentham’s view that people pursued their own pleasure for?
For ethical hedonism: people should seek general happiness
Who said that it is quite compatible with the principle of utility that some kinds of pleasure are more desirable and valuable than others
John Stuart Mill
Difficulties with Utilitarianism
- It relies on knowledge of consequences.
- Some pain is good for us and pleasure bad.
- problem of justice: how is pleasure distributed.
Who said ‘nature has placed mankind under the governance of pain and pleasure’
Jeremy Bentham
Who said that pleasure and pain ‘point out what we ought to do as well as determine what we shall do’
Jeremy Betham
Why is Mill’s utilitarianism similar to rule
He believed in universalisability.
We all desire happiness.
It is the only desirable thing as an end.
Therefore everyone has to aim for the happiness of everyone.
Why is Mill’s utilitarianism qualitative
It is focused on the value and nature of the pleasure
When does Mill allow rules to be broken
In exceptional circumstances
What is strong rule
Rules should never be disobeyed, it’s the individual’s duty to obey.
Absolute rules are considered good for the happiness of the community.
What is weak rule
There should be generally accepted rules/guidelines but they shouldn’t be obeyed indefinitely
How did Bentham show his utilitarianism is quantitative quote
‘The quantity of pleasure being equal, push-pin is as good as poetry’
What is the example of sadistic guards
They torture someone innocent, causing one person’s pain and the pleasure for many.
What is the one intrinsic good
Happiness/utility
