Utilitarianism

Question 1

What is the objection of impartiality and what is Mills response? And then what are the 2 reasons why the response fails?

Answer 1

• The trolley problem. It doesn’t allow for personal connections/ feelings.
• Mill: Partiality is how we contribute to general happiness.
• Response: We can contribute to general happiness today, so Mill’s response is outdated.
• Stronger Response: If fails to understand the importance of partiality.

Question 2

What is the criticism of tyranny of the majority?

Answer 2

• John Stuart Mill presented this against Act. There are 2 types:
  - Democratic government (Dictatorship)
  - Social opinion (Peer pressure)

-If there is a majority then this could justify horrific things.

• Response: This is fine if we view situations realistically.
• This fails because how can we ever know ‘realistic situations’. We have to assume consequences.

Question 3

What is the criticism that it’s impossible to work out consequences? And the response to it

Answer 3

• The hedonic calculus is impossible to follow.
• How can we ever know we have achieved the most ‘general happiness’.

Response: Bentham argues the hedonic calculus is only a guideline, not a strict rule.

Responds to Bentham: still too demanding.

Question 4

What is the criticism that happiness isn’t the only thing we seek? And the responses.

Answer 4

-Nozik’s experience machine. We’d rather be in contact to reality because there is a deeper dimension to human happiness.

• Response: Maximisation of preferences. This can be countered by impossible to work out consequences.
• Mills proof-Act collapses into rule.

Question 5

What is the criticism that it justifies anything and the responses to this?

Answer 5

• Mill’s analysis on Justice.
• We need to take into account the act/intentions.

Response: Mills rule utilitarianism or what is wrong! What’s wrong about murder is that someone is dead not the intentions of the murderer.

Question 6

What is the criticism in reference to moral integrity?

Answer 6

-Utilitarianism requires us to sacrifice our own moral values. We don’t actually make a choice

Response: Following our moral integrity contributes to general happiness. Therefore Act Utilitarianism fails.

Question 7

What are Mills 2 parts of his proof of Utilitarianism?

Answer 7

• 1) Happiness is good. What is good is what we should aim at in our actions and lives.
• Good is an end, a purpose of action.
• Happiness is a purpose of action.
• No reason can be given why the general happiness is desirable, except that each person desires his own happiness.
• 2) Only happiness is good. People don’t only desire happiness.
• Happiness has many ‘ingredients’, such as truth and freedom, and each ingredient is desirable in itself.
• It is impossible to desire something that you don’t think is a pleasure.

Question 8

What are strengths/weaknesses of Utilitarianism?

Answer 8

• Strengths:
• It’s equal, everyone’s happiness is the same.
• It’s easy to understand and follow
• It’s intuitive, we normally do stuff anyway that makes us happy.
• Objections:
• Tyranny Of the majority
• Anything is justified
• Value of intention
• Deeper dimension (Noziks experience machine).
• Values If relationships

Question 9

What are the objections to Rule Utilitarianism?

Answer 9

• Rule fetishism. This is where you become obsessed with the rule and follow them all the time; even if not following will create more happiness.
• Life is too complicated; there will be way too many rules which are all too long.
• Morality can’t be summed up by rules.

Question 10

Outline Rule Utilitarianism and the positives of this.

Answer 10

• An action is right when it complies with those rules which, if everybody followed them, would lead to the greatest happiness.
• It isn’t the consequences of the individual act that matter, but the consequences of everyone following the rules that govern the actions.
• We don’t have to work out the consequences of each act in turn; we can create the rules once, together.
• Some types of acts are ruled out e.g. torturing children.
• A rule that allows us to be partial to family and friends rather than having to be impartial all the time.
• I am only required to act in a way that, if everyone acted like that, would promote the greatest happiness.

Question 11

Outline and explain Preference Utilitarianism.

Answer 11

• We should maximise not pleasure, but the satisfaction of preferences.
• We want to be in touch with reality.
• Many people prefer not to be harmed more than they want pleasure.
• People have preferences after their death.
• Preferences also explains Mill’s distinction between ‘higher’ and ‘lower’ pleasures.