utilitariniasm Flashcards
utilitarianism is a ….
teleological theory of ethics. An action is good if the consequences are favourable
utilitarianism is also…
relativist as what is right or wrong depends on the situation
background on Bentham
- concerned with social and legal reform
- he was writing at a time where the minority were the poor suffered great hardship
- he wanted a system of ethics that was based on scientific principles rather than the bible
what is the principle of utility
an action is right if it delivers more pleasure than pain
utilitarianism is then…
egalitarian as it treats everyone equally
why is Bethams system quantitative ? give an example to support this
- because it concerns itself with the number of people satisfied by the action
- e.g. a women considering an abortion may have to consider not only herself, but the husband, her other children etc
what is the hedonic calculus ?
- a way of measuring pain and pleasure
- intensity, duration, certainty, remoteness, likelihood, purity, extent
-a modern application of this is N.I.C.E who used it to work out which treatments should be available on the NHS. If a new drug is very expensive and only extends life by a few months it might be more cost effective to spend money elsewhere
explain what animals have to do with utilitarianism
-as animals experiences pleasure and pain they must also count in calculations
Bentham is associated with act utilitarianism. What is this?
- where the principle of utility is applied to each individual case.
- this means that sometimes lying is right and sometimes it is wrong depending on the circumstances and a calculation of whether the lie will bring about greater happiness or cause pain
why did mill criticise bethams approach
- it results in a ‘tyranny of the majority
- with benthams quantative utilitarianism one could justify the Roman practice of throwing Christians to the lions
- mill recognised that the minority must also be considered
mill believes in an individual’s sovereignty. Explain this
their right to make their own decisions
what is mills harm principle ?
that the actions of individuals should only be limited to prevent harm to other individuals.
explain benthams quote ‘pushpin is as good as poetry’
- certain pleasure have more worth than others
- mill disagreed seeing pleasures like a simple game as a base pleasure which can be superseded by higher pleasures such as poetry
what is rule utilitarianism
- argues that rules should be formed for the good of society based on the principle of utility
- a strong rule utilitarian would stick to this rule rigidly
- a weak rule utilitarian would recognise that in some circumstances one would need to be flexible
one obvious comparison between Bentham and mills utilitarianism
Benthams system seems to favour a community based happiness, whereas Mill’s is more about individual happiness
explain the strength that utilitarianism is impartial
- we cannot favour our own best interest, or favour people we know or like over everybody else
- we must simply decide what is in the best interest of everybody.
- singer gives the example of a toddler in the pond. If we see a small child who is about to drown we would sacrifice our expensive shoes to jump in and rescue them.
- surely then we should donate the cost of an expensive pair of shoes we are about to buy to a charity to save the life of a child dying of hunger.
- I’d each is to count for one then it doesn’t matter that they are living on the other side of the world and that we have never met them before
explain the weakness that utilitarianism requires us to predict the future in order to ascertain what the greater good will be
- but the future is not always clear.
- e.g. if a women decides on an abortion for the sake of her career, she might lose her job and feel guilty about her termination
explain the strength that utilitarianism is secular
-it doesn’t require a belief in God, or a fair universe - which is more appropriate in a secular society
explain the strength that utilitarianism is progressive
- it has enabled society to move away from traditional views
- e.g. homosexuals can now marry and adopt children as this is in the best interest of everybody; homosexuality harms no one and children can be brought up in a loving environment
explain the weakness that happiness and pleasure are hard to measure
- e.g. if I enjoy kicking you, but you don’t like being kicked, who’s pleasure/pain is greater?
- in the same way an innocent man might be hanged to prevent a riot- what matters more?
- the distress of the innocent man and his family or the many civilians who made be affect by his riot.
- however, Bentham did attempt to resolve this problem by creating the hedonic calculus, but there is little evidence that he used it in practice
explain the weakness that in any teleological theory it becomes very difficult to ascertain whether you have performed a good action
e.g. if I save a child from drowning, but he grows up to be a terrorist, then was my action good or bad?
Kant argues that we should instead base moral decisions on principles. Then you know that you have only ever done the right thing, regardless of consequences
why is happiness a good thing to make moral decisions on ?
because everyone wants to be happy and it is relatively easy to achieve. Everyone recognises happiness whereas people disagree over the obedience to the will of God for example (Bonhoeffer)
what is a problem of making moral decisions based on happiness ?
there is a difference between goodness and happiness - some things which make us happy aren’t necessarily good.
However, singer points out that we should assume that Bentham means good I.e. what will bring about the most good
