Utilitarianism Flashcards
Why are Bentham and Mill described as hedonists?
They both believed that pleasure has intrinsic moral value and that that a person ought to act so as to maximize happiness or pleasure and to minimize unhappiness or pain
Two main principles of Utilitarianism
The Principle of Utility The Greatest Happiness principle “we should act always so as to produce the greatest food for the greatest number” Happiness = all people’s ultimate end Good = Pleasant
What did Bentham come up with to measure the morality of an action?
The Felicific/ Hedonic Calculus
He believed that everything can be quantified and one can come up with a scientifically proven system to calculate how much pain and pleasure a person or multiple people get from a particular action.
What makes Utilitarianism unique to other moral theories, such as Kantian Deontology or Virtue Ethics?
It is a Consequentialist theory
This means the morality of an action is judged by its consequences and intentions are irrelevant, not just consequences for the individual but also for the entire society
Good consequences = Good actions
How is Utilitarianism not an Egoistic theory?
What is Egoism?
Egoism is that everyone must pursue their own good.
Utilitarianism is other-regarding and the Principle of Utility states that “we should act always so as to produce the greatest food for the greatest number” so in some cases we may have to sacrifice some of own pleasure to produce more pleasure/good overall. They believe that everyone’s pleasure is equal and a moral theory should be applied equally to everyone.
How do Utilitarians suggest we make our decisions?
They believe our pleasure/interests are equal to that of everyone else’s so suggest we make moral decisions from the position of a benevolent, disinterested spectator as this is more likely to result in a fair and unbiased judgement about what is best for the group.
What did Bentham measure pleasure in?
He measured the quantity of pleasure generated in units (of usefulness) named utiles.
what type of Utilitarian are Bentham and Mill?
They are both essentially Act Utilitarians. Some consider Mill to be partly a Rule Utilitarian, controversial.
How is Utilitarianism in line with 18th century Enlightenment thinking?
Bentham saw ethics as secular and as a science - Good could be scientifically and empirically proven. The Hedonic Calculus was a rational and scientific way to measure pleasure.
Bentham believed that goodness could be empirically measured and Mill continued this empiricism.
Bentham used the term “species” for kinds of pleasure.
What is meant when Bentham’s theory is described as Democratic and Egalitarian?
Democratic = Everybody is to count for one, and nobody for more than one. Egalitarian = No one person’s pleasure is greater than another’s.
