Utilitarianism Flashcards
What are the keywords?
teleological relative scientific egalitarian principle of utility hedonic calculus animals Peter Singer quantitive Mill Qualitative Tyranny of the Majority Christians to the lions "pushpin..." "Better to be Socrates..." "Better to be a human..." harm principle Sovereignty Rights protected by law Kidnap doctor Act Rule
What is Bentham’s Utilitarianism?
Utilitarianism is a teleological system of ethics as an action is good if its consequences are favourable. It is also relative as what is right or wrong depends on the situation. Bentham wanted a system of ethics based on scientific principles rather than the bible. He said everyone prefers pleasure over pain so an action is good if it produces pleasure - the principle of utility. It is also egalitarian as each is to count for one. It is quantitative as it is concerned with the amount of happiness produced. Bentham devised the hedonic calculus to measure the amount of pleasure an action produces. As animals also feel pleasure and pain they should be counted in the calculations too. Bentham is associated with Act Utilitarianism because we must apply the principle of utility to every situation.
What is Mill’s Utilitarianism?
Mill criticised Bentham for allowing a tyranny of the majority as his quantitative Utilitarianism justified throwing Christians to the lions for the Romans pleasure. Mill said the minority must be considered. Bentham said “pushpin is as good as poetry” but Mill thought there were higher pleasures saying “better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied; better to be a human dissatisfied than a pig satisfied”. Mill believed in an individual’s sovereignty (the right to chose your own decisions) and argued for the harm principle. Mill was considered a Soft Rule Utilitarian as he said our rights should be protected by law but it would be permissible to kidnap a doctor to save a life.
What is the difference between act and rule utilitarianism?
An Act Utilitarianism would argue that we must apply the principle of utility to every individual case to see what will generate the most pleasure. Whereas a Rule Utilitarian would argue that we should make rules about our actions based on the principle of utility. For example, lying mostly generates unhappiness so we should make the rule that lying is wrong.
What are the strengths of Utilitarianism?
+ Utilitarianism is impartial - Singer’s toddler in the pond
+ Utilitarianism is secular
+ It is progressive and allows society to move away from secular views
What are the weaknesses of Utilitarianism?
- Requires us to predict consequences which is difficult
- Happiness is hard to measure and the hedonic calculus is too difficult and lengthy
- Utilitarianism allows people to be used as a means to an end
- It is difficult to determine whether you have committed a good action and where to draw the line
- commits a naturalistic fallacy - Nozick’s thought experiment
