Utilitarianism

Question 1

What is utilitarianism in criminology? Beccaria 1764

Answer 1

Within criminology utilitarianism is a classical criminological theory based on ideas produced by beccaria 1764

Question 2

What is the argument of your essay?

Answer 2

That utilitarianism has developed into the 21st century, holds its place within classical criminology however the classical version has several misconceptions

Question 3

What literature are you relying on

Answer 3

Beccaria, Bentham, Marx, mill, and hate

Question 4

What was crime and punishment like prior to utilitarianism?

Answer 4

Crime and punishment prior to utilitarianism was brutal and ineffective according to beccaria 1764

Question 5

What is known from beccarias books and essays?

Answer 5

The goal of his work was to mak decisions on the basis it would maximise happiness and minimise punishment

Question 6

Who is thought to be the founder of if utilitarianism

Answer 6

Jeremy Bentham 1774 is thought of as the founder of utilitarianism

Question 7

Both beccaria and Bentham disapproved of what?

Answer 7

The death penalty

Question 8

What did beccaria and Bentham contribute to

Answer 8

Criminological policy and law

Question 9

What did beccaria and Bentham idealise?

Answer 9

Idealised harsher punishments in order to deter crime

Question 10

What did Bentham define utility as

Answer 10

He defined utility as the aggregate pleasure after deducting suffering. In relation to criminology ifs the pleasur exceeded the consequence then the crime is committed

Question 11

Who has rejected that pleasure has positive value? Popper 1945

Answer 11

Others have rejected that pleasure has positive value and have advocated negative utilitarianism - popper 1945

Question 12

As opposed to the hedonistic view of utilitarianism what do some people define utility with? Fieser 2012

Answer 12

As opposed to the hedonistic view, some define utility with preference satisfaction, while others believe that a range of values can be included in its definition- Fieser 2012

Question 13

What did Bentham introduce?

Answer 13

He introduced a method of calculating the value of pleasure and pain which is now known as the hedonic calculus

Question 14

Hudson 1726 - eventually removed what for calculating greatest happiness and why?

Answer 14

Hudson 1726 eventually removed Bentham algorithms for calculating greatest happiness as they appeared useless however this has been argued against

Question 15

What did Rosen 2003 warn about descriptions of utilitarianism and what it can be a crude version of?

Answer 15

Rosen 2003 warns that descriptions of act utilitarianism can bear little resemblance to utilitarians like Bentham and mill and can be a crude version of act utilitarianism

Question 16

What did cote 2002 state about what classical utilitarianism did and crime rates?

Answer 16

Cote 2002 stated that although classical theories of Bentham and beccaria shaped criminal policy they did little to affect the ever rising crime rates

Question 17

What does mill 1998 reject? What quote does he include? What does he argue about intellect and other pleasures?

Answer 17

Mill 1998 rejected purely quantitative measurements of utility by stating that no known theory of life does note assign pleasures of he mind as higher value than those of mere sensation. He also states that although intellect is more advantageous, some other pleasures are intrinsically better than others

Question 18

Moore 1912 rejected what? What did he argue about a range of values? What did he wish to show about measures of what is good?

Answer 18

Moore 1912 rejected purely hedonistic utilitarianism and argued that there is a range of values that may be maximised, he wished to show it is implausible that pleasure is the sole measure of what is good

Question 19

As of 21st century what several branches of utilitarianism have been suggested?

Answer 19

As of 21st century there have been several branches of utilitarianism suggested including act and rule, two level (hare 1972), preference and negative

Question 20

How was act and rule utilitarianism reasoned for? (Mill, 1998)

Answer 20

It was reasoned for as simply calculating the consequences of each action would result in choosing something less than the best course of action, without use of ruling (mill, 1998)

Question 21

What did hare 1981 illustrate about two level utilitarianism?

Answer 21

Hare 1981 illustrated 2 extremes named two level in which there are two sides to a person

Question 22

Why can critique be made for multiple reasons?

Answer 22

Utilitarianism is not now a single theory but a cluster of related theories therefore critique can be made for many reasons

Question 23

Rosen 2003 claims that act and classical are what?

Answer 23

Rosen 2003 claims that act and classical are not concerned about having rules is to set up a straw man

Question 24

What did hare 1981 state about act utilitarianism and its caricature?

Answer 24

Hare 1981 stated that the crude caricature depicted of act utilitarianism is the only version people seem to know

Question 25

Given what Bentham states about second order evils?

Answer 25

Given what Bentham state about second order evils, it would be a misinterpretation to state that act would punish an innocent person for the greater good

Question 26

Nevertheless of whether utilitarians agree or not, what do critics of it claim is entailed by the theory?

Answer 26

Nevertheless regardless of whether they agree or not, critics of utilitarianism claim that it is entailed by the theory that they would punish innocence for greater good

Question 27

However what does Bentham and beccarias “greater good for greatest people” suggest?

Answer 27

The statement suggests that it does not directly aim to punish the innocent in this way

Question 28

What does carritt 1950 address with the same statement?

Answer 28

Carritt 1950 addresses with the same statement that most utilitarians realise there is some injustice however wish to produce happiness for the greatest number, but not for all.

Question 29

What does Moore 1912 state about pinpointing one quality as definitive? What else does he argue about goodness?

Answer 29

Moore 1912 states that we should not pinpoint one quality as being definitive which is what Bentham and mill did by using pleasure. He also argues that it us impossible for us to constitute all qualities that make up goodness

Question 30

Who was Karl Marx and what did he criticise utilitarianism on?

Answer 30

Karl Marx was Forman of Marxism, and criticised utilitarianism on the following points; 1) utility is true by definition so does not really add much meaning 2) Bentham and other utilitarians Fail to account for people’s changing characters therefore their changing character for what is good 3) he argues hat human nature is a dynamic and diverse so the concept of a single utility for all is one dimensional and not helpful 4) he stated that it is conservatively used to reinforce institutions that were reactionary rather than deterrent to crime

Question 31

What did carritt 1950 criticise?

Answer 31

On an individual differences level, it would be hard to predict or deter people from crime as everyone holds pleasures on different levels (carritt, 1950)

Question 32

Fieser 2012 stated that mill acknowledged what? What does he state about these higher pleasures and crime?

Answer 32

Fieser 2012 stated that mill himself acknowledged that mere pleasure isn’t the only thing that counts, that’s higher pleasures can counter balance the pain and woes of criminality