Utilitarianism - Mill's rule utilitarianism Flashcards
What did mill realise could help in moral decision making
previous moral experiences, believed that moral agents become aware as they interact with other people that certain actions always bring about happiness
what did mill believe society could follow
- universal deontological rules that society could follow which would bring about the maximum outcome of happiness.
what did mill argue would improve our individual happiness
promoting society’s well being.
why do not all actions need to be morally assessed
some actions are right if they conform to a historical rule that has demonstrated that it fulfils the principle of utility
what would rule utilitarianism judge good/right as
following a deontological rule that creates the telos of maximising the balance of pleasure over pain
what would rule utilitarianism judge bad/wrong as
breaking a deontological rule that creates the telos of maximising the balance of pain over pleasure.
what rules have been set historically
historically there are rules that have been established that will always lead to happiness regardless of the situation.
what is the benefit of rule utilitarianism
moral agents no longer need to use the slow and inefficient hedonic calculus.
the difference between act and rule utilitarianism
- act = follows the teleological principle of utility in each moral dilemma
- rule = follows a set of deontological rules that are known to create the greater balance between pleasure and pain
strong rule utilitarianism
following the rules that was known to produce the greatest balance of pleasure over pain, all the time with no exceptions.
weak rule utilitarianism (Mill’s favoured)
moral agents follow the deontological rule, that is known to create the biggest gap between pleasure and pain, most of the time. This rule may be broken at certain times, to switch to act utilitarianism.
