Utilitarianism - Sheet1

Question 1

Briefly, what is Utilitarianism?

Answer 1

The greatest good, for the greatest number

Question 2

What does utility mean?

Answer 2

How useful something is

Question 3

The greatest good, for the greatest number originally started as a what instead of an academic analysis of morality?

Answer 3

A political theory

Question 4

Who created Utilitarianism?

Answer 4

Jeremy Bentham

Question 5

Why did Jeremy Bentham create Utilitarianism?

Answer 5

He was concerned that morality was being diversified because it rested on multiple foundations and was therefore too subjective.

Question 6

Bentham believed that there was no coherent way to make moral decisions, so what did he say Utilitarianism sorted out?

Answer 6

Our moral compasses

Question 7

What did Bentham say were humans sovereign masters?

Answer 7

He said that Nature placed humanity under the governance of two sovereign masters, Pleasure and Pain

Question 8

What should be minimized and maximized and for who?

Answer 8

Pleasure should be maximised and pain should be minimized for the majority of people

Question 9

What is Hedonic Utilitarianism?

Answer 9

Someone who seeks pleasure

Question 10

The rightness or wrongness of an action is determined by its utility or usefulness. What is usefulness in this case?

Answer 10

Usefulness refers to the amount of pleasure or hapiness caused by an action

Question 11

Name the 7 factors on the Hedonic calculus which measure how pleasurable something is?

Answer 11

Intensity, Duration, Certainty, Extent, Remoteness, Richness and Purity

Question 12

What is a contradiction of the sections in the Hedonic calculus?

Answer 12

Not every person completely understands all of its sections

Question 13

What is the Hedonic calculus based on?

Answer 13

A quantitative method of maximising pleasure and minimising pain

Question 14

What do we look into the future for in Utilitarianism?

Answer 14

Consequences

Question 15

What is a criticism about looking into consequences in Utilitarianism?

Answer 15

We do not know how far we should look into the future for the consequences

Question 16

What does the theory only work well on which is a criticism?

Answer 16

It only works well on a personal level

Question 17

What is a criticism of the hedonic calculus ?

Answer 17

It needs to be more applicable in its sections

Question 18

What can alter that is a criticism of Utilitarianism?

Answer 18

Conceptions of pleasure can change and alter?

Question 19

What is Utilitarianism too concerned about?

Answer 19

The ends

Question 20

Utilitarianism is consequentialist to the absurd, what does this mean?

Answer 20

It is too concerned with the ends that it takes no account of the motives. E.g. It is ok to kill a paedophile as the consequences are that there is 1 less paedophile in the world but this is wrong as killing is wrong, meaning that the ends may define an immoral act

Question 21

What can be hard to define?

Answer 21

Happiness and what counts as pleasure

Question 22

What is meant by the Hedonic calculus is predictive in nature?

Answer 22

It tries to foresee the future and it attempts to measure the immeaureable and things do not always continue as planned.

Question 23

What is the main criticism?

Answer 23

The tyranny of the majority. Taking the theory at face value means that it could allow racism and cultural ignorance to be strife in a country where its majority is white males. E.g a group of Muslims building a mosque in a white dominated city and it gets overturned

Question 24

Who was John Stuart Mill and what did he do?

Answer 24

He was the God Son of Bentham, he continued his work on Utilitarianism.

Question 25

What was mill concerned about with Benthams Utilitarianism?

Answer 25

He was concerned that Benthams law was too concerned with promoting pleasure. So in 1863 he created a new theory of utility replacing pleasure for happiness and moved from quantity to quality.

Question 26

What did Mills’ emphasis on quality distinguish between?

Answer 26

Lower physical base pleasures (hunger or first) and higher mental or spiritual pleasures (theatre or literature)

Question 27

What did Mill famously express about satisfaction?

Answer 27

It is better to be a Human dissatisfied than a pig satisfied.

Question 28

What does the common good mean to people?

Answer 28

Each person desires his own happiness
Therefore each person ought to aim at his happiness
Therefore everyone ought to aim at the happiness of everyone.

Question 29

What is Act Utilitarianism and who invented it?

Answer 29

It was created by Jeremy Bentham and it is the most common understanding of Utilitarianism and uses the outcome of an action to asses whether the action is right or wrong. No fixed moral rules.

Question 30

What is Rule Utilitarianism and who invented it?

Answer 30

John Stuart Mill invented it and it holds that rules formed using Utilitarian principles are for the benefit of society and should be followed. As a general, we can argue these are most rules held by all societies.

Question 31

What is the difference between weak and strong rule utilitarianism?

Answer 31

Strong rule states that all rules should be followed, regardless of the situation. Whereas Weak rule Utilitarianism will allow exceptions when the pleasure and pain of a situation may take procedure over the general rule.

Question 32

What is preference Utilitarianism?

Answer 32

A development in Utilitarianism to help avoid the tyranny of the majority and accept that the greatest good for the greatest number may make some people unhappy, so as the name suggests, its concerned with preferences.

Question 33

What did Peter Singer say about Preference Utilitarianism?

Answer 33

We should act as an impartial spectator, our preferences cannot count any more than than preferences of others.

Question 34

Name 3 strengths of Utilitarianism.

Answer 34

Any of the following:
Its straight forward
It can easily relate to real world situations
It is natural to weigh up consequences
Universality is good for any ethical theory to stand the test of time
We all have our own concepts of happiness to help keep us occupied.

Question 35

Name 3 weaknesses of Utilitarianism.

Answer 35

Any of the following:
It allows for injustices
Why should we always maximise happiness, would not the average happiness of everyone be the best thing?
The theory is too impersonal to determine what’s best for the greater good.
The majority are not always right.