Utilitarianism

Question 1

Utilitarian intuitions

Answer 1

Believe that the right thing to do is that which maximizes the best possible outcomes for the most people

Question 2

Principle of Utility

Answer 2

according to Jeremy Bentham:
The Principle of Utility is one which approves or disapproves of every action whatsoever, according to the tendency which it appears to have to augment or diminish the happiness of the party whose interest is in question

-moral rightness in this way is tied to producing more happiness than pain in the world and the happiness produced is the only thing used to determine whether an action is morally right
- the PU becomes the basis of a more ethical theory Classical Utilitarianism also known as Hedonism

Question 3

Central tenets of Classical Utilitarianism

Answer 3

-consequentialist and teleological
-equality and impartiality

Question 4

consequentialist

Answer 4

it focuses on the outcomes of actions as the sole determinant of whether an action is morally right or wrong
an action is morally right if it brings about good consequences (the consequence of interest is happiness)

Question 5

teleological

Answer 5

ultimate goal or aim of an action that is considered morally good is maximizing happiness (best outcome)

Question 6

Classical Utilitarianism

Answer 6

Hedonistic because it focuses on the maximization of happiness which is equated to pleasure

Question 7

The Hedonistic argument

Answer 7

P1: Pleasure is intrinsically good and pain is intrinsically bad
P2: An action is morally right, if on balance it maximizes intrinsically good
C: So, an action is morally right if it maximizes pleasure

Question 8

Classical Utilitarianism

Answer 8

The morally right action is the one which produces the best balance of happiness over unhappiness for the people that the action impacts

Question 9

Equality

Answer 9

• identical amounts of pleasure count the same
• interested in the quantity of pleasure produced and no ones pleasure counts more than another persons pleasure if the pleasures are the same quantity

Question 10

Impartiality

Answer 10

• no ones happiness is more important than the happiness of another
• everyones happiness matters the same because Utilitarianism is ignorant of identity

Question 11

Overall key aspects of Classical Utilitarianism

Answer 11

1. Consequentialist- net pleasure as a consequence of an action
2. Overall Happiness- net pleasure is the sole determinant of the moral rightness of an action
3. Concerns only parties of interest affected by action
4. only interested in the quantity of pleasure produced
5. ignorant of identity

Question 12

Utilitarian Calculus

Answer 12

a standard (objective) procedure of determining the net pleasure produced by an action
-is used to determine whether an action on the whole maximizes happiness
- weighs 7 factors to determine the aggregate quantity of pleasure or happiness

Question 13

factors of Utilitarian Calculus

Answer 13

1. Intensity
2. Duration
3. Certainty or Uncertainty
4. Propinquity or Remoteness
5. Fecundity
6. Purity
7. Extent

Question 14

Intensity

Answer 14

asks how much pleasure or pain is generated (degree of happiness)
- high degree of pleasure is better
- high degree of pain is worse

Question 15

Duration

Answer 15

asks how long the pleasure or pain lasts
- longer lasting pleasure is better than shorter
- longer duration of pain is worse than shorter
eg. grief vs being kicked

Question 16

Certainty

Answer 16

asks how certain or likely is the act to generate pain or pleasure
- guaranteed pain of an action means we have strong moral reason not to do it
- guaranteed pleasure resulting from an action means we have strong moral reason to do it

Question 17

Propinquity

Answer 17

ask how distant or near (in the future to where the event will occur) is the pleasure or pain
- pleasure now better than pleasure later
- pain later is better than pain now
eg. giving someone their fix

Question 18

Fecundity

Answer 18

Asks how likely is the initial pleasure produced by by an action is likely to lead to further experience of the SAME kind
- an action that produces initial pleasure and leads to further pleasure is morally better
- an action that produces initial pain and leads to further pain is morally worse

Question 19

Purity

Answer 19

asks will the initial pleasure or pain lead to further sensations of the OPPOSITE kind
- initial pleasure lead to pain is morally worse
- initial pain lead to pleasure is morally better

Question 20

Extent

Answer 20

asks how many people will be impacted by the pleasure or pain
- more people feeling pleasure is morally better
- more people feeling pain is morally worse
eg. one person winning vs a team winning

Question 21

Hedonism critique

Answer 21

1. against the Equality of Pleasures
2. there are moral considerations more valuable than pleasure

Question 22

Critique against the Equality of Pleasures

Answer 22

The calculus doesn’t seem to distinguish between pleasures, it is only interested in the fact that net pleasures are produced by an action

Question 23

defense against the Equality of Pleasures objection

Answer 23

• John Stuart Mill suggested that we rank pleasures in terms of quality
• low pleasures such as eating or sex and high pleasures such as the pursuit of knowledge

Question 24

Response to defense

Answer 24

we can differ drastically on how we rank pleasures
- not all pleasures are morally relevant meaning they dont matter equally

Question 25

There are moral considerations more valuable than pleasure

Answer 25

-not all pleasures matter equally because something pleasurable can still be considered morally bad
- there are other reasons outside of pleasure which can account for why an action is morally right

Question 26

example used for critique 2

Answer 26

eg. Cheating Scenario
-Hedonism would assert that cheating is not morally wrong
- there are other considerations that are important to deliberating morality than pleasure like faithfulness, respect or sincerity
- thus pleasure produced does not entail moral goodness
- pain or pleasure cannot reliably be used as the determinant for whether an action is morally right or wrong

Question 27

critique 1 and 2 highlight what weakness in Classical Utilitarianism

Answer 27

shows that pleasure or pain may not be a good determinant of whether an action is morally right or wrong