Utilitarianism Flashcards
What did John Stuart Mill follow his god-father into?
he followed his god-father into law and politics and continued his work on the development of Utilitarianism.
What was Mill concerned about in Bentham’s theory?
Mill was concerned that Bentham’s theory was limited to the law and the law makers and primarily concerned with promoting pleasure (which seems rather base to him), thus aimed to improved upon Bentham’s basic theory.
What was in ‘On Liberty’ in (1863)?
On Liberty (1863) he set about introducing a version of the theory of utility for the common man which also substituted ‘pleasure’ for ‘happiness’, and moved from mere quantitative measurements to invoking the quality of happiness.
What was Mill’s famous quote about satisfaction?
It is better to be a human dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied
What were the higher and lower pleasures?
Mill’s emphasis on quality as well as quantity caused him to distinguish between lower physical base pleasures, such as the satisfaction of hunger, thirst, sexual gratification; and higher mental or spiritual pleasures, such as theater, literature and art that involve the use of the intellect
What were the criticisms of Mill’s utilitarianism?
- How do we distinguish between higher and lower pleasures?
- Why should mental pleasure be understood as being better than sensual pleasure? Is this grounded in objective ‘truth’ or a subjective ‘whim’ of Mills?
- If we’re still aiming for the happiness of the majority, how does this tie in with Mill’s idea of bettering yourself and striving for Higher Order Pleasures.
Act Utilitarianism - Bentham
This is the most common understanding of Utilitarianism and uses the outcome of an action to assess whether the action is right or wrong. Thus, according to Act Utilitarian’s, there are no absolute moral principles, bar one – always seek the greatest happiness/pleasure for the greatest number.
This has the benefit of flexibility and being able to into account individual situations at any given moment.
Rule Utilitarianism – Mill
This holds that rules formed using utilitarian principles are for the benefit of society and should be followed. As a general, we can argue these are most rules held by all societies – e.g. do not murder.
Rule utilitarianism also feels the GG4GN should be confined within Societies rules…
Strong Rule vs. Weak Rule
Strong rule utilitarian’s state that all rules should be followed, regardless of the situation. So, the GG4GN within all of societies rules and norms, so will allow a white lie but not perjury.
Weak rule utilitarian’s by contrast will allow exceptions when the pleasure or pain of a situations may take precedence over the general rule. So, the GG4GN within major rules, so potentially would allow perjury if Greater Good were served by this.
Preference Utilitarianism
A Twentieth Century development in Utilitarainism in an attempt to avoid the tyranny of the majority and accept that the GG4GN may make some people very unhappy so as the name suggests, it concerns the preferences of the people involved.
Preference Utilitarianism - Singer
Peter Singer:- we should act as an impartial spectator – ‘our own preferences cannot count any more than the preferences of others’ and so in being moral, we need to take into account all the people that will be affected by our actions. So we must balance and weigh-up the best possible consequences for those affected.
The best possible consequences does not refer to the maximised happiness or pleasure but rather the best interests of those concerned.
Preference Utilitarianism - Brandt
Richard Brandt:- A Theory of the Right and the Good (1979) talks about the preferences you would have if you had gone through a process of cognitive psychotherapy and explored all the reasons for your preferences and rejected any you felt were not true to your real values.
He argues that the morality you would then accept would be a form of utilitarianism – with your preferences free from any psychological blocks and you in full possession of all the facts.
Strengths of Utilitarianism
Its straightforward, thus is attractive.
It can easily relate to real world situations (giving to charity increases the happiness of all concerned and is a good).
It is natural to weigh up consequences.
Universality is good for any ethical theory to stand the test of time.
We all have a concept of happiness, pleasure or general ‘well-being’ – the entire health service is based on such a notion.
Weaknesses of Utilitarianism
Previous for Mill and Bentham, plus…
Utilitarianism allows for injustices – allowing an innocent man being sent to jail to prevent a riot.
Why should we always maximise happiness, would not the average happiness of everyone be the best thing? [Car factory worker paycuts to avoid redundancies]
Returning to Bernard William’s example of Jim in the Jungle, he argues that we should always maintain our integrity even when faced with unwelcome and unpleasant consequences.
Utilitarianism offering a ‘common sense’
Yet, despite all of this, Utilitarianism offers a ‘common sense’ approach to making moral decisions. It seems normal that one should, in the main, seek to find ways to increase your pleasure rather than your pain.
