Lecture 3: Utilitarianism Cont'd

Question 1

Critiques/Problems with Utilitarianism (5)

Answer 1

• impossible to apply
• threat to close friends and family
• too demanding
• too expensive
• equity or distributive justice

Question 2

Impossible to Apply

Answer 2

• how to measure all the consequences of our actions
• if in your mind you can’t associate numbers with pleasure
• if i change the word impossible it is not a problem for the framework
• the problems are only practical or technical
• framework might be difficult to do certain tasks but this doesn’t make the framework bad

Question 3

Threat to Close Friends & Family

Answer 3

• should you trade your friends in for better ones
• sometimes we aha etc step back and see if friendships are morally sound
• require you to be precise

Question 4

Too Demanding

Answer 4

• only one right choice, all others are wrong
• strict framework but not unreasonable
• puts ridiculous demands on people and how can it be ethical to be so extreme like this

Question 5

Too Permissive

Answer 5

• only consequences matter for consequentialist frameworks

- act isn’t wrong or right its what happens after

Question 6

Equity or Distributive Justice

Answer 6

• most significant critique

- benefits not distributed equally

Question 7

The Question of Motive

Answer 7

-motives don’t matter