utilitarianism (2) Flashcards
who defined utilitarianism as:
“the greatest happiness for the greatest number”
Francis Hutcheson
who said:
”ethics should be based in what is useful”
David Hume
what are the 7 ways of the hedonic calculus (pleasure seeker)
- intensity
- duration- how long it lasts
- certainty of pleasure
- fecundity- ‘productive’ if it leads to other pleasures
- propinquity- how near to pleasure
- purity
- extent- more people that experience it the better
3 weaknesses of the hedonic calculus
- Teleological- relies on accurately predicted consequences of an action
- pleasure and pain is subjective
- HC is hard to apply to immediate ethical dilemas (quantifier)
“it’s better to be a human being ______ than a pig satisfied, it’s better to be _____ dissatisfied than a fool satisfied”
- John stuart mill
“it’s better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied, it’s better to be socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied”
Quantifiers: Higher and lower pleasure
define and give examples
Lower: being gratification but if we overendulge can be painful e.g. drinking, sex, eating
Higher: stimulate the brain and experienced by humans e.g. art, intellectual conversations
what does mill acknowledge about Higher and lower pleasures
people don’t always opt for the higher pleasure out of ignorance
define competent judge
a person that’s experienced higher and lower pleasures
what are the three parts of mills principle of utility
- happiness is desirable
- happiness if the only thing desirable as an end to itself
- general happiness is all is desirable, increase happiness of others increases your own
define aitruism
the usefulness and love for others
philosophical critics of mill
W.D Ross
Mills POU is a ‘single factor’ that’s doesn’t account for complex lives or moral decisions
philosophical critics of mill
Henry sidwick
“how can we distinguish higher and lower pleasures from eachother… which higher pleasure takes priority in moral decisions”
3 strengths of benthams act utilitarianism
- Subjective- takes into account individaul acts
- Equality- HC is applied to all in every situation
3- HC provides clear guidelines on how to make moral decisions
2 weaknesses of benthams act utilitarianism
1.can be misused to make bad decisions
2.HC is impractical to apply to every situation
2 strengths of mills rule utilitarianism
1.interested in maximising happiness
2. univeral- based in natural human morality
2 weaknesses of mills rule utilitarianism
- you don’t know what situation is extreme enough to break rules
- in forcing his own values onto people
what is relative utilitarianism based on
personal/ traditional cultural views
Looks at the situation and devised a which action will bring the most happiness/ well- being over pain
kantian approaches to utilitarianism
moral law= maxims
what are maxims
fixed rules that must always apply
kantian approaches to utilitarianism
Kant is a deontological ethical thinker, what does this mean?
the rightness and wrongness is determined by the actions in themselves
kantian approaches to utilitarianism
if morality is driven by ____ for _____, we are ___ to animal instinct
if morality is driven by desire for pleasur, we ate slaves to animal instincts
kantian approaches to utilitarianism
what is summum bonum
supreme good where we do good it brings happiness to all
think is what it mean for those around before we act
“Nature has placed man kind under the governance of two sovereign masters pain and pleasure. it is them alone that point out what we bough to do”
who said this?
Jeremy bentham
