Utilitarianism Flashcards
Define Ethics
A branch of philosophy concerned with morality
Define morality
Whether actions are right or wrong
Three main ways of doing ethics
Normative approach
Descriptive approach
Metaethics
Define normative ethics
Deciding how people should act and what moral rules should be made
Define descriptive ethics
A form of anthropology that compares different ethical beliefs without making value judgements
Define metaethics
Exploring the meaning of moral language
Give an example of a normative ethical answer
Is sex before marriage right?
Give an example of a descriptive ethical question
What do the Christian and Muslim traditions teach about sex before marriage?
Give an example of a meta ethical question
What do we mean when we say that sex before marriage is good
What are the two main parts of normative ethics
Teleological and Deontological
What is Teleological ethics concerned with?
The ends or consequences of actions
What is Deontological ethics concerned with?
Not the consequence rather the action
What is intrinsically good?
A built in good meaning it doesn’t need to be questioned why it is good
What are the disadvantages of Teleological ethics?
We do not know what the result will be
Do all ends justify the means?- Can we justify rape?
In Teleological ethics is the action always intrinsically good?
No it isn’t because it is good by the virtue of the result
Name an advantage of Deontological ethics
Deontologists can take strong moral positions
Name a disadvantage of Deontological ethics
They can’t take a flexible stance to take into account special circumstances or culture groups with other religious perspectives
What does practical ethics focus on?
Debates about specific dilemmas, such as abortion or euthanasia
Define Utilitarianism
Focuses about the consequences or results of your actions, not the actions itself
Who was Jeremy Bentham?
A 18th and 19th Century academic who focused on the law system of the time but who is remembered for his theory
Who was John Stuart Mill?
A 19th Century academic who adapted the theory who felt the Bentham’s theory needed to be changed
What are the three components of Bentham’s theory of Utilitarianism?
His views on goodness, badness and what drove humans
The principle of utility
Hedonic Calculus
What was Mill’s main criticism?
He felt it should be qualitative rather than quantitative
How did Mill fix his criticism?
Added the concept of higher and lower pleasures
What was Bentham’s view on goodness, badness and what drives humans
Believed that human beings were driven by pleasure and pain and that humans would seek pleasure and avoid pain
What are the seven parts of the hedonic calculus?
Intensity Duration Certainty Propinquity Fecundity Purity Extent
What do the first four factors of the hedonic calculus focus on?
Pleasure and pain caused by the action
What is act utilitarianism?
The rightness or wrongness of an act is calculated by the amount of happiness resulting from each individual act
What determines what is is right in act utilitarianism?
Those that have the best consequences
What is the only thing that matters in Act Utilitarianism?
The amount of happiness or unhappiness caused
What are the criticisms of Act Utilitarianism?
Has the potential to justify almost any act, as long as it guarantees happiness
Impractical to suggest we should measure each and every moral choice if doesn’t fulfil hedonic calculus
Doesn’t consider special responsibility (e.g cancer specialist vs father)
What is rule utilitarianism?
The action line stealing can be seen as acceptable if it has positive consequences
What is a criticism of Act Utilitarianism?
Could be bad for certain minority groups if rule is not in their favour
Give three reasons why the end of pain and suffering is more important than the increase of pleasure
The outcome could be more pleasurable for this person
The increase of pleasure could be achieved by causing more pain
Duration of pleasure could be for a moment while suffering can be long term
Give three reasons why the increase of pleasure is more important than the end of pain and suffering
We need an element of suffering to appreciate pleasure
Sometimes achieve pleasure some have to suffer e.g war
If the pleasure is great for many
Who influenced preference utilitarianism?
Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill
What does Preference Utilitarianism disagree with Bentham and Mill over?
Says people have preferences over pleasure over pain
What does Preference Utilitarianism put an emphasis on?
People’s preference over happiness
Why does Preference Utilitarianism attract secular society?
No religion is needed
Who created Preference Utilitarianism?
Peter Singer
What is Preference Utilitarianism’s weaknesses?
Consequences are multiple
People disagree over which is the best consequence
Difficult to calculate
What is the positives of preference utilitarianism?
Sensitive to consequences so there should not be any disasters
Define Act Utilitarianism
Every act is judged on its consequences
Define Rule Utilitarianism
Actions are judged right and wrong by reference to rules made by e.g. society
Define Preference Utilitarianism
Referred to by Singer, we should take people’s preferences into account if we know or can guess what they are
What are the benefits of utilitarianism?
They consider the wide use of this theory in dealing with many issues that arise in daily life; e.g. government spending plan
What are the criticisms of Utilitarianism?
Calculating consequences
Problem of special responsibilities
Problem of justice
What is Utilitarianism’s view on the Ten Commandments?
It is against divine moral codes and so disagrees with the Ten Commandments
Why is Jesus’s execution compatible with the Utilitarianism?
Because he died to save all sin, a prime example of ‘the greatest good for the greatest number’
Is Utilitarianism deontological or teleological?
Deontological
Define Environmental Ethics
The moral rights and wrongs to do with the environment.
What does something have to be for Bentham to consider in his moral calculations?
All sentient beings, as long as they feel pain
Why is Bentham’s Hedonic Calculus useful for application to Environmental Ethics?
Because it is important for a balanced decision, for example, in the case of a dam balancing the needs of the humans and the animals
What do Bentham and Mill agree over environmental ethics?
That all those affected should be treated equally
What is the implication of the principle of equality in utilitarianism in regards to the environment?
That any issue in the long term should take into account the needs of the people of the future since it will affect them more
What do Bentham and Mill disagree over in regards to environmental ethics?
According to Mill not all sentient beings should be considered
What is the title of the essay Mill wrote on the environment?
Nature Mill
What does Mill say nature has?
Nature has powers which are “often towards man in the position in the form of enemies”
What does Mill say man must do in regards to nature?
He “must wrest, by force or ingenuity, what he can for his own use”
What does Mill say about man’s role in regards to nature?
He says we have a duty to consider what implications our actions may have upon the environment because man has a superior intelligence
What does Singer argue about Mill’s views on the environment?
That Mill is saying that man cannot ignore the interests of sentient animals because they can experience pain.
What implications does Singer’s argument about Mill have on the environment?
We must be careful with natural resources, for example, by maintaining biodiversity in rainforests
