Utilitarianism

Question 1

What is the ethical characterization of utilitarianism?

Answer 1

Teleological, relativist and consequentialist.

Question 2

What is act utilitarianism?

Answer 2

The rightness of an action is based upon the act itself and its consequences in a given situation.

Question 3

What did Jeremy Bentham argue?

Answer 3

Pleasure and happiness are the sole goods and pain is the sole bad. The rightness of an action depends upon how much pleasure it creates, he was a hedonist.

Question 4

What is the principle of utility?

Answer 4

An action should be performed only if it brings about the greatest happiness for the greatest number.

Question 5

What are the seven criteria of the hedonic calculus?

Answer 5

1. Purity. 2. Remoteness. 3. Richness. 4. Intensity. 5. Certainty. 6. Extent. 7. Duration

Question 6

What is the purpose of the hedonic calculus?

Answer 6

To work out which action is the right one to take by measuring up the amounts of pleasure and pain created by it.

Question 7

Give three strengths of act utilitarianism

Answer 7

1. It is intuitive, we naturally consider what we want to be good. 2. It gives clear answers to some moral problems. 3. It takes into account the consequences of an action.

Question 8

Give three more strengths of act utilitarianism

Answer 8

1. It puts us in a position to take circumstances into account. 2. It is secular and can be used by all. 3. It allows for different societies having different moral codes.

Question 9

What are three problems with the hedonic calculus?

Answer 9

1. It does not consider the quality of pleasures and pains. 2. It is very impractical and hard to use. 3. Is pleasure really something we can measure?

Question 10

Give three major weaknesses of act utilitarianism

Answer 10

1. It asks us to look beyond family/relationships, but in practice this is hard to do. 2. It is impossible to consider all the consequences of an action as we can’t see the future. 3. It can be used to condone immoral actions such as gang rape- the pleasure of the rapists would outweigh the pain of the victim.

Question 11

Give a farther weakness of act utilitarianism

Answer 11

1. Making decisions based on the principle of utility could lead to a denial of individual rights and a tyranny of the majority.

Question 12

In what two ways did Mill adapt Bentham’s utilitarianism?

Answer 12

1. He assessed pleasure in a qualitative, not quantitive way. 2. He introduced a framework of moral rules.

Question 13

What are higher and lower pleasures?

Answer 13

Higher pleasures are pleasures of the mind such as reading, lower pleasures are less desirable pleasures of the flesh such as eating.

Question 14

How did Mill suggest we could distinguish between the types of pleasures?

Answer 14

Look to competent judges who have experienced both types of pleasure.

Question 15

What is the role of the moral framework in rule utilitarianism?

Answer 15

It provides a behavioral code whose rules will have favorable consequences if followed. To be adopted, the positive consequences of following a rule must outweigh its negatives.

Question 16

What are three positives of rule utilitarianism?

Answer 16

1. It avoids justifying immoral actions by putting in place a framework of moral rules and qualifying goods. 2. It respects liberty with its emphasis on the harm principle, that people are free to do as they please so long as they don’t harm others. 3. It avoids the complex hedonic calculus and puts in place flexible rules which can be adapted.

Question 17

Give two weaknesses of rule utilitarianism

Answer 17

1. Higher and lower pleasures are hard to define and separate. 2. Who is a competent judge? The idea that they can only be the educated makes the theory elitist.

Question 18

What two other issues are there with rule utilitarianism?

Answer 18

1. What happens if I break a rule because breaking it has more utility then following it? If there can be exceptions to rules, are the y really rules at all? 2. Consequentialism contradicts with the idea of following rules, if we end up following rules for rules’ sake then rule utilitarianism isn’t really utilitarianism.

Question 19

What is the experience machine?

Answer 19

Proposed by Robert nozick, this is a thought experiment to show that there are other values that matter to our well-being, not just happiness and pleasure. Nozick proposes a machine which can give you any pleasurable experience you want, do you plug in?

Question 20

What three reasons does Nozick give for not plugging into the experience machine?

Answer 20

1. It limits us to a man made reality. 2. We want to be a person, not a blob in a tank. 3. We want to actually do things, not just have experiences of doing them.

Question 21

Why does Singer oppose hedonistic utilitarianism?

Answer 21

It doesn’t take into account the different views on what pleasure is and fails to regard different people’s preferences.

Question 22

What is preference utilitarianism?

Answer 22

An action is good if it fulfills the maximum number of people’s preferences, as opposed to how much pleasure it creates. It is all about individual rights and best interests.

Question 23

Give four strengths of preference utilitarianism

Answer 23

1. It doesn’t try to calculate pleasure, instead it asks people what they prefer. 2. It avoids the need to give up one’s preferences for the sake of the majority. 3. It allows people to speak up and defend their rights. 4. It acknowledges that situations and preferences change.

Question 24

What are three problems with preference utilitarianism?

Answer 24

1. If a community had a preference for cruelty, this would technically be permitted. 2. We cannot predict the consequences of our actions. 3. What about someone (baby, coma patient) not in a position to voice their preferences?

Question 25

Give three more weaknesses of preference utilitarianism

Answer 25

1. Do I choose what I would prefer now, or in the long run? 2. It is incompatible with religion as many religions view suffering/unhappiness as meaningful as a test from god. 3. In a situation where a woman’s family want her to keep her baby, but she wants an abortion, her rights would be denied as their preferences outweigh hers.

Question 26

What is negative utilitarianism?

Answer 26

Proposed by Karl popper, this states that there is a lot more consensus on what constitutes pain then what constitutes pleasure. So, when making moral decisions we should look to minimize pain before we maximize pleasure.

Question 27

What is the problem with negative utilitarianism?

Answer 27

It could lead to mass euthanasia as the best way to avoid suffering and minimize pain is to simply end life.

Question 28

What is ideal utilitarianism?

Answer 28

Proposed by G.E.Moore this is the idea that there is more to good then just pleasure and happiness, good can be found in other things, such as beauty and art.

Question 29

Why does ideal utilitarianism deny that hedonism should be the sole object of moral concern?

Answer 29

There can be things which may seem bad/painful, such as chemotherapy, which are actually good in the long run and things which may seem good/pleasurable, but are actually bad in the long run, such as smoking.

Question 30

What is hedonism?

Answer 30

The idea that pleasure is the sole good and pain is the sole evil.