Utilitarianism - extra Flashcards
What did Sidgwick say about pleasure?
Claimed we should reflect on what is intrinsically good and that we can see pleasure is intrinsically good and pain is intrinsically bad.
What does Bernard Williams say about morality based on happiness?
Claims that morality based on happiness seems reasonable. People want to be happy.
What does Macintyre say about utilitarianism?
Can justify horrendous acts for the majority happiness whilst ignoring the interests of the minority whose interests are not protected.
What does Macintyre say about happiness?
People might share different ideas of what happiness is and so utilitarianism is difficult to work through.
Why is Macintyre suspicious of happiness?
Because he thinks that even when we are happy with a situation it doesn’t mean this is what the situation ought to be like - “Sometimes there is a great price that is being paid for happiness”
What does Bernard Williams say about the Hedonic Calculus?
This is a reasonable process on which people can agree to use reason rather than rely on belief in God which is not universally agreed on or esoteric religious ideas which can seem obscure to some people
How does Hare criticise rule utilitarianism?
Suppose that a maniac is chasing someone who hides in my shop. The maniac runs into the shop and asks me where the person is. Our gut feeling would be to lie. A rule utilitarian would state that I have to be honest, because I’m not allowed to break a rule even though, in this situation, the result isn’t the greatest good.
