Utilitarianism - background to Mill's utilitarianism

Question 1

The two major flaws Mill identified of Bentham’s utilitarianism

Answer 1

• could justify bad actions

- overly complex

Question 2

the issue of act utilitarianism justifying bad actions

Answer 2

• Bentham only concerned with maximising pleasure in general; he had little regard for the type of pleasure produced.
• it could justify the worst types of behaviour

Question 3

an example of flaw 1

Answer 3

if a group of sadistic prison guards was torturing one prisoner; the guards technically could be creating the biggest balance of pleasure over pain.

Question 4

the issue of act utilitarianism being overly complex

Answer 4

applying the hedonic calculus to moral dilemmas is overly complex and overly time consuming.