Utilitarianism Flashcards
What is Utilitarianism?
It is a teleological theory which looks at the consequences rather than the action. It is also a consequential theory.
Who began with the theory of utilitarianism?
Jeremy Bentham
What was the words that he came across in Joseph Priestley’s An essay on the first principles of the government (1768)?
’ the greatest happiness of the greatest number’
What is the principle of utility?
The theory of usefulness- the greatest happiness for the greatest number. Pain vs pleasure (happiness= pleasure minus pain)
In the view of Bentham what is good defined as?
Pleasure or happiness
Is utilitarianism an hedonistic theory?
Yes
According to Bentham which are the most moral acts?
Those that maximise pleasure and minimise pain
What is the hedonic calculus?
Bentham’s method for measuring the good and bad effects of the action
What are the seven elements of the hedonic calculus?
- the intensity of the pleasure
- the duration of the pleasure
- the certainty of the pleasure
- the remoteness of the pleasure
- the chance of succession of the pleasure
- the purity of the pleasure
- the extent of the pleasure
What is Act Utilitarianism?
A teleological theory that uses the outcome of an action to determine whether it is good or bad
Who is John Stuart Mil?
He is a utilitarian who accepted that happiness is the greatest importance. However he rejected Bentham’s view on act utilitarianism.
What were the ideas of John Mill?
- Higher and lower pleasure
- Quality vs Quantity of pleasures
- Liberty and the harm principle
- Strong and weak utilitarians
What is the quote that Mill says for higher and lower pleasures?
It is better to be a human dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be a Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied
What are high pleasures for Mill?
Reading poetry or listening to music
What are lower pleasures for Mill?
Eating, drinking or having sex
What does Mill argue about happiness?
Happiness, he argues, is something that people desire for its own sake, but we need to look at human life as a whole - happiness is not just adding up the units of pleasure but rather the fulfilment of higher ideals
What is the means of quantity and quality of pleasure?
Mill says that the quality counts than the quantity
What does the harm principle state?
The harm principle states that the only reason to restrict the action of another individual is to prevent harm
What does Mill say about Liberty?
Liberty is good but too much liberty can have harm to oneself
What is strong rule utilitarianism?
Believe thatches derived rules should never be disobeyed e.g. telling the truth, keeping promises
What is weak rule utilitarianism?
Believe that some situations it’s better to disobey the rules because the better consequence might be achieved by disregarding the rule. Example when its better to tell a lie than the truth
What are the key features of act utilitarianism?
Eudaimonistic/ consequentialist/ measurable and quantitative
What are the key features of rule utilitarianism?
consequentialist/ universalistic/ qualitative
What are the key strengths on act utilitarianism?
- Rooted in empiricism; relates to actions which can be observed in the real world.
- Focuses on bringing the majority happy
- Utilitarianism’s acceptance of the universal principle is essential
- Practical- makes us think about the impact
- Its consequential is also a strength as when we act it is only natural to weigh up the consequences.
What are the key weaknesses on act utilitarianism?
- Not valuing the personal individual
- Difficult to predict the consequences
- Pleasure is subjective
- Pleasure is difficult to quantify or measure
- Can advocate injustice
- Ethical egoism; if i seek my own happiness is it possible for me to seek general happiness
What are the key strengths on rule utilitarianism?
- Relates to actions observed in the real world
- Natural to weigh up the consequences
- Better for the humanity
What are the key weaknesses on rule utilitarianism?
- Difficult to predict the consequences
- Difficult to define what constitutes happiness
- No defence for the minorities
- To invoke rules it becomes deontological not teleological
- Weak rule utilitarians can end up no different from Act Utilitarians
- Strict rule utilitarians can be irrational because sometimes wen disobeying the rule can give more happiness
What are natural rights?
Are rights we humans have deemed to be naturally or been given e.g. equality
How does Utilitarianism treats the question of rights?
Bentham and Mill reject natural rights because they are not self-evident and rights should only enshrined into laws as legal rights, only if the right leads to greatest happiness
What is preference Utilitarianism?
Moral actions are rights and wrong according to how they fit in with the preferences of those involved
Who is associated with preference utilitarianism?
R.M Hare, Peter Singer and Richard Brandt
What was R.M Hare approach on utilitarianism?
We need to consider our own preferences and those of others. Hare says ‘ stand in someone else’s shoes’ and try to imagine what someone else might prefer. We should treat everyone equal- argues for universalisability
What did Peter Singer say about preference Utilitarianism ?
Impartial spectator
What is Peter Singer approach?
He says that ‘our own preferences cannot count any more than the preferences of others’ and so, in acting morally, we should take account of all the people affected by our actions. These have to be weighed and balanced and then we choose the action which give the best consequences
What was Richard Brandt approach?
He was a Utilitarian philosophers who talked about the preferences you would have if you had gone through cognitive psychotherapy and explored all the reasons for your preferences and rejected any you felt were not true to your real values - in the book A theory of Right and the Good
What is the principle of universalisability?
Mill says ‘Each person’s happiness is a good to that person and therefore, is a good to the aggregate of all persons’.
Who is Henry Sidgwick?
An important utilitarian who’s argument is closer to Bentham than to Mill as he questions how is it possible to distinguish between higher and lower pleasure.
What was Henry Sidgwick approach?
- Concerned with justice in society
- He argued that justice is similar and injustice the dissimilar treatment of similar cases ‘ whatever action any of us judges to be right to himself, he implicitly judges to be right for all similar persons in similar situations’
- He argues against Mill universalisability
What are the key features of preference utilitarianism?
Eudaimonistic, consequential, universalistic
Key strengths of Utilitarianism
- Straightforward principle of maximising pleasure and minimising pain
- Relates to actions which can be observed in the real world
- Natural to weigh up the consequences
- Preference utilitarianism gives a valuable principle because it is important to think of others as long as we act justly
Key weaknesses of Utilitarianism
- Difficult to predict consequences
- Advocates injustice
- Denial of natural rights seem to permit actual harm for a person for sake of general good
- How much is the greatest number?
- Minority is not counted
What are the 2 sovereign masters?
pain and pleasure
Differences between Bentham and Mill?
Bentham
- ‘The greatest good of the greatest number’
- Focused on individual alone
- Quantitative
- Act utilitarianism
Mill
- ‘The greatest happiness of the greatest number’
- We should obtect the common good, universalistic
- Qualitative
- Rule utilitarianism
