utility Flashcards
card 1
utilitarians view of sexual ethics
sex leads to pleasure
greatest happiness for greatest number
if happiness is equated with hedonistic pleasure, rather than a wider sense of well-being and happiness, then utilitarianism could be used to legitimise a free, unregulated approach to sexual behaviour. this is because giving ppl license to have sex in and out of marriage and irrespective of sexual orientation can , arguably, maximise pleasure.
card 2
how can having sex led to unhappiness
utilitarian POV
free love can lead to unharness, particularly if it results in the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, shallow or unfulfilling relationships or unwanted pregnancies. pleasure could quickly begin to cause unhappiness to many people.
what did Jeremy Bentham want
what did he think were the befits of marriage rules
wanted greater well-being for everyone. thus, marriage rules protects the poor by restraining the sexual behaviour of the powerful towards those with no social power. for example women are protected by the public nature of marriage and the prohibitions against premarital and extramarital sex from me (who are generally more powerful in a patriarchal society) who might want to use them for personal pleasure.
weakness with using sex for pleasure
if the application of utilitarianism resulted in maximising pleasure, and everyone freely chose to use contraception and not have children, then society as a whole would suffer and happiness for the greatest number would not be achieved. utilitarian might, therefore, argue for ethical rules about sexual behaviour that facilitate reproduction.
utilitarians view on homosexual
more people identify themselves as heterosexual so utilitarianism might argue that homosexuality should be prohibited in the interests of the majority especially if the majority view it as harmful to society. John mill believed it was important to prevent mass social prejudice restricting the rights and happiness of individuals. his focus on qualitative measures of happiness, on measuring the worth of different pleasures and pains, would place the pleasure and happiness of the homosexual minority above the pain of those who oppose homosexuality and would prevent mob instincts governing the lives of those who are different.
