LECTURE 6.1: MILL Flashcards
(33 cards)
The beneficiary or recipient of the act is the moral agent himself; Any action that maximizes the good for oneself is right
Egoism
Reciprocity version of egoism because when you are enjoined to do an act that will benefit another since you expect the person to do the same to you (e.g. The Golden Rule)
Enlightened Egoism
Concerned with one’s own self-interest with his own happiness and pleasure; Other people’s interest is important only if it will contribute to the enhancement of one’s own self-interest.
Egoistic Hedonism
Example of Egoistic Hedonism: You are enticed to maximize the pleasures of the moment, anticipation of future pleasures has no bearing on the present.
Cyrenaics of ancient Greece
“Eat, drink and be ______, for tomorrow you might _____.”
merry ; die
Thus, _______ is the supreme and only good in life. ______ is the only evil.
pleasure ; pain
Absence of pain in both mind and body - highest pleasure
Epicurus
“The ideal is a life of __________ and __________ spent in the company of friends speculating about nature and the cosmos.”
bodily health ; mental calm
Freedom from fear/anxiety
Ataraxia
Absence of bodily pain
Aponia
Embraces a pluralistic definition of good (e.g. beauty, wisdom, knowledge, temperance, pleasure) and all of these must be maximized for everyone.
Non-hedonistic Utilitarianism
Construed as the maximization of pleasure and the avoidance of pain in order to promote happiness or the good for greatest number.
Utilitarianism
Happiness, becomes the ___________ __________ or the ultimate goal for utilitarian morality.
summum bonum
Two types of Beneficiary of Utilitarianism
Limited and Universal Utilitarianism
The act will benefit only a sector of the
population, an interest group or a class (this process may make other sectors worse)
Limited Utilitarianism
The good must be maximized for all of humankind without discrimination.
Universal Utilitarianism
Two Schools of Thought of Utilitarianism
Act and Rule Utilitarianism
An act is right and wrong solely on the basis of the act alone.
- “Which action has the greatest potential for maximizing the good and minimizing pain?”
Act Utilitarianism
Applies the principle of utility to general rules and not to specific acts.
- “What rules, if followed by everyone all the time, will maximize the good in the world?”
Rule Utilitarianism
Lead to the maximum amount of happiness and utility for a maximum number of people, but once decided upon, the rules should apply without exception.
Moral Rules
Instead of allowing people to make the decisions for themselves in each individual case due to:
- Human Fraility
- Poor Decision Making
Teleologist/Consequentialist (the end of an action and its purpose should be based on its consequences)
John Stuart Mill
Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness; wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness (Greatest Happiness Principle). By happiness is intended _____ and the absence of _____.”
pleasure ; pain
What is good in any situation can be demonstrated and quantified in terms of the amount of pleasure that it could bring about
Hedonism
