2.1 Utilitarianism - scholars Flashcards
(26 cards)
precursors to util: John Gay’s ‘theological utilitarian’ argument
we have a duty to promote human happiness since God wants mankind’s happiness
precursors to util: John Gay’s theological defence of promotion of happiness
viewing happiness as good is part of God’s design, explaining why promoting human and personal happiness coincide. God wills humanity’s happiness, personal happiness depends on conformity to God’s will as it is only he who can in all cases make man happy or miserable
precursors to util: Shaftesbury - it is ‘the private interest and good of everyone to…
…work towards the greater good’
precursors to util: Shaftesbury’s ideas on how we determine a person morally virtuous / good
we consider their impact on the systems they are part of - a virtuous person contributes to the good of the whole
precursors to util: Shaftesbury’s idea of ‘moral sense’ theory
we possess a kind of ‘inner eye’ or intuition which allows us to make moral discriminations - we can attain the ‘science of what is morally good or ill’
precursors to util: Hutcheson ‘virtue is in a compound ratio of…
…the quantity of good, and the number of enjoyers … so that that action is best which procures the greatest happiness for the greatest numbers’
precursors to util: Hutcheson’s deontological constraint on his utilitarian principle of action choice
we have a duty to other in virtue of their personhood to accord them fundamental dignity regardless of the numbers of others whose happiness is to be affected by the action is consequence
Michael Sandel objection to Bentham’s util: fails to adequately respect individual rights
concerned with the greatest good for the greatest number, which may be at the expense to the individual
calls into question if there is a ‘categorical moral duty of respect for individual rights’
Michael Sandel objection to Bentham’s util: difficulty of translating all values into a single uniform measure of value
often results in loss - eg cost-benefit analysis idea of ‘placing a dollar on the human life’, which many are unhappy with
Michael Sandel: why Mill’s ‘higher pleasures’ are harder to attain than lower
they require education, cultivation, and appreciation
Michael Sandel: how Mill’s utilitarianism promotes respecting justice and individual rights
the long run interests of humankind are considered, these things mean society is better off in the long run
Rawles: bounded vs perfect rationality
bounded: unaware of full facts, so acting under veil of ignorance
perfect: acting in a situation where all facts are knows
Peter Singer: promise example to demonstrate weakness of act util
anything contractual such as keeping a promise is essentially meaningless because it could always be ignored in order to pursue greatest good for greatest number
To Kill a Mockingbird example of the problem of utilitarianism undermining justice
racist white jury is justified in finding an innocent black person guilty of a crime on the grounds that the majority of the jury would be happy with this outcome
example of the ‘too demanding’ objection to act util: Singer’s utilitarian argument surrounding topic of donation
people in affluent countries should keep donating to those in dire need without purchasing any luxury items for themselves until donating would cause more harm to themselves than good for the recipients
Rule util - division of labour arguments
hold that to maximise utility it is better for people to have special duties to smaller groups as this allows higher quality of the resource concerned for those groups than if everyone were given responsibility for everyone else (eg children having designated caretakers)
JJC Smart’s ‘rule worship’ objection to rule util
allows irrational deference to rules that have no utilitarian justification - risks prioritising following rules over maximising utility in certain situations
Rule util - Brad Hooker: parental duty example to explore difference between justifying and applying rules
justification of rules must be strictly impartial, but partiality can play a role in applying rules. a partialist moral rule that parents have special duty to their children does not forbit devoting resources to another’s children, but does allow and require more to be devoted to their own
Professor Harris’ survival lottery thought experiment
- patients Y and Z will die unless they receive organ transplants
- there is a lack of organ donors, so Y and Z propose a ‘National Survival Lottery’ where each week a person’s number will be pulled at random and they will be killed, their organs being donated thereby saving a greater number of lives
the Hippocratic oath
oath taken by doctors since time of ancient greece, outlining the medical duty to preserve innocent human life
overview of Public Opinion Polls in the UK on matter of legalising voluntary euthanasia
82% wanted to see it legalised in 2001, quality of life being considered more important than sanctity of life in an increasingly secular society
benefit of preference util: acknowledges people possess values beyond pleasure - Horner and Westacott Joan of Arc example
her campaign unlikely to have been motivated by pleasure - she was not experiencing pleasure while being burned at the stake but ‘pain for the sake of something she valued more highly than pleasure’
Professor Blackburn: how principle of utility may be said to undermine freedom
does not take seriously the separateness of persons - subordinates rights of the individual to solidarity with the general welfare
Huxley’s ‘Brave New World’ - argument against ethical goal of maximal well-being
explores utopian society where people are granted drug induced happiness at the cost of personal freedom - advocates the ‘right to be unhappy’, arguing a life of depth and meaning embraces and learns from such hardships
