Utilitarianism - Bentham, Mill, Singer Flashcards
what is utilitarianism
- focus on the consequence of actions
- good consequence due to good action
- happiness is prioritised, as pleasure is prioritised
- based in intuitive desire to avoid pain and pursue pleasure
- TELEOLOGICAL
what is the principle of utility
- greatest good for the greatest number
- maximise good for all people, even if it means sacrificing your own happiness
- no bias of interests: you are not special
Rule Utilitarianism
live by rules that are likely to lead to greatest good for greatest number –> refrain from acts that maximise utility in the short run only
- weak: majority of the time you should follow a rule based on U until it should be broken
- strong: rules should always be followed
Act Utilitarianism
- using u and the Hedonic C for making a moral decision
what is happiness in benthams util
maximises pleasure and minimises pain
background on bentham
- wealthy fam, allowed him to set up as a writer
- oxford, studied law but didnt practice
- disillusioned by legal system –> the majority (poor workers) had little rights in society while minority (wealthy) had needs always met: he did not like this
- thought the utility of joseph priestly should be applied in laws
- looked at french revolution and thought that everyone should have a say
benthams ideas on human motivation
- humans are motivated by pleasure and avoid pain
- hedonist utilitarianism
- pursue pleasure is a good action
- avoiding pain is a bad action
criticisms on benthams ideas of human motivation
- not all pain can be avoided, as endurance of pain can lead to pleasure
- same peoples pleasure can cause others pain
- too much pleasure can lead to pain
bentham with principle of utility
- TELEOLOGICAL AND SECULAR
- usefulness
- good or bad action determines how useful
- good: greatest H for greatest N
- good actions increase pleasure and decrease pain
- democratic: what the people want, every individual counts equally
- clear measurements of good/bad consequences
hedonic calculus
- measuring good/bad consequences
- measuring what increases pleasure and decreases pain
I DONT CARE REMOTELY FOR PHILOSOPHY AND ETHICS
1. intensity
2. duration
3. certainty
4. remoteness, (geographically or emotionally close)
5. fecundity (same sensation for everyone)
6. purity: pleasure tainted by pain?
7. extent (number affected)
strengths of benthams util
- based on quantity, easy to judge due to hedonic calculus
- democratic, no one person is worth more than another, everyones opinion is counted equally
- practical application, QALYS, triage NHS
- secular, focuses on ethical decisions without God –> applicable to everyone
weaknesses of benthams util
- minority needs never met, mob rule
- based on quant, ignores qual (diff types)
- sanct of life : people sacrificed, trolley problem
- allows bad actions for teleologically good results
bentham util quotes
‘nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure’
‘it is the greatest good for the greatest number, which is the measure of right and wrong’
JS Mill background
- family friend of bentham, direct link
- intellectual, worked in government
- wrote feminist literature
- wanted to improve the human condition with utilitarianism, so people have a more steady life
mills theory of util
- happiness has the most importance as it makes all of our lives valuable
- we make decisions based on pleasure or future pleasure
- action goal is maximising pleasure, happiness of all (no happiness of any individual is prioritised)
mill on the morality of an action
- can use general rules as guides for judging morality to maximise happiness
- moral rules are not absolute as breaking them can promote greater happiness
- controlled by our need to please God and others –> in his time christianity was the main religion and people were devout
- prioritising the most happiness is more important than maintaining the rights of the individual –> TELEOLOGICAL
- motives: reflect the worth of the person committing the action
- morality is founded on utility
how is mills theory consequentialist
an action is determined as right/wrong based on the good/bad consequences it causes
how is mills theory different to bentham
- secular but notes the sacrifice of jesus and his teachings
- agreed with B but disagreed with how the greatest happiness disregards the minority
- accepted the principle of utility but questioned the measurement of pleasure (quant vs qual)
- mill developed a system of higher and lower pleasures –> higher = intellect and lower = bodily
- mills system is QUALITATIVE while Bentham’s is QUANTITATIVE
difference between rule and act utilitarianism
- rule: general rule is adopted and if it follows the POU, it should be followed
- act: acts reflect utility but can break rules to promote this
strengths of mill’s utilitarianism
- qual, appreciates the subjectivity of happiness
- emphasis on intelligence development
- motives and morality, can determine morality of a person
weaknesses of mills utilitarianism
- qual of pleasure is subjective
- tel: cannot predict future
- allows bad actions to take place in hopes of a good consequence
quotes on mills utilitarianism
‘it is better to be a human dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied’
- intellectual pleasure, more complex, increase qual of pleasure than physical ones
what is preference util
- only for special occasions, like when someone is trying to decide how to live their life
- taking into account the preferences of the individuals involved –> leads to the best consequences being achieved, fair and just distribution of resources
- consequence util
- everyone’s interests are equally considered
- satisfaction of an individual person’s interest or desires –? sacrificing an individual for the majority is problematic
- ‘judges actions…by the extent to which they accord with the preference of any beings affected’
strengths of preference utilitarianism
- reflect on minorities, individual considered
- practical: used for big ethical decisions
- autonomy: freedom in making decisions
- extends: non human animals, beings that has preferences/can suffer are taken into account –> SPECIESISM
weaknesses of PU
- problematic as not everyone gets what they want
- consequences are hard to calculate, unclear answer, not good for conduct
overall strengths of Utilitarianism
- promotes happiness with Principle of U, majority satisfied
- singer takes animals into account
- seek to improve society and human life –> motivation is empowerment, Bentham and concern for majority of poor in workhouses vs wealthy minority
- preference and other U allow for minority to be considered
- secular, accessible by all, dont need specialist knowledge
- telelogical, good action does not mean good result for maj, so consequence considered (consequentialist)
overall weaknesses of utilitarianism
- pleasure is subjective, not accessible
- minority is forgotten, can lead to discrimination
- singer changed to act U, is preference valid
- many different types, which is best?
- not compatible with religion, sacrifice vs the sanctity of life
- deontological consideration is important (links with religious objections) b
