Utilitarianism

Question 1

What is the problem that Utilitarianism looks to solve

Answer 1

The clash of two principles

Question 2

What example can be given for the clash of two principles

Answer 2

If your friend is going on a date and asks you whether they look good and upon observing their outfit they look bad you are now stuck between two principles. Do you tell the truth and save them the embarrassment later on but provide immediate sadness or do you lie and tell them they look good in order to prevent immediate sadness but then further embarrassment will ensue. You are stuck between the principle of always telling the truth but the principle of being kind to everyone

Question 3

How does utilitarianism solve the problem of a clash of principles

Answer 3

By sticking to one principle ‘the principle of utility’. Or the greatest balance of good over evil

Question 4

Who is Jeremy Bentham

Answer 4

Considered the father of modern utilitarianism even though his version was flawed in that he snuck in a second principle

Question 5

How did Bentham explain human nature

Answer 5

He believed human nature could be explained by the belief that we are psychological hedonists so that we always seek our own pleasure

Question 6

Based of Bentham’s logic what is the good for humans

Answer 6

It would be to maximise pleasure and minimising pain

Question 7

What did Bentham oppose

Answer 7

Slavery, death penalty, corporal punishments and mistreatment of animals

Question 8

What did Bentham support

Answer 8

Equal rights, the right to divorce and decriminalisation of homosexual acts. The separation of Church and state. As a liberal he supported freedom of expression and economic freedom from regulation

Question 9

What kind of theory is Utilitarianism

Answer 9

It is a strictly teleological theory in that it’s purpose is the moral good of persons although there is no agreement between utilitarianism what that good is

Question 10

What is meant by utility

Answer 10

The principle of utility seeks to achieve the good to the greatest possible extent

Question 11

Could you describe Utilitarianism as relativist

Answer 11

It would be wrong to describe it as relativist because utilitarianism in whatever form has two absolute requirements, to work to achieve the good and always to follow the principle of utility

Question 12

What quote from Bentham sums up utilitarianism

Answer 12

In his Advice to a Young Girl ‘create all the happiness you are able to create: remove all the misery you are able to remove’

Question 13

What did he write in his Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation

Answer 13

‘The principle of utility judges any action to be right by the tendency it appears to have’

Question 14

What type of person was Bentham

Answer 14

Hedonist

Question 15

What does it mean to be a Hedonist

Answer 15

To believe that happiness, and therefore the good, is pleasure. A hedonist is it saying pleasure is A good but rather it is THE good and nothing else is good. For them pleasure and good are interchangeable

Question 16

What problem faces a hedonist

Answer 16

That it seems from their view that it is impossible to have a bad pleasure. However what about people that take pleasure in hurting others, this is surely a bad pleasure. But if pleasure and good are interchangeable you can’t describe something as a bad good as that is contradictory but you can describe it as a bad pleasure. So the two aren’t interchangeable

Question 17

What is the Hedonic calculus

Answer 17

1) Intensity (how strong is the pleasure)
2) Duration (how long will the pleasure last)
3) Certainty (how likely is it that pleasure will truly happen)
4) Propinquity (how soon will the pleasure happen)
5) Fecundity (how probable is it that pleasant sensations will follow)
6) Purity (how unlikely is it that the action will lead to pain rather than pleasure)
7) Extent (how many people will be affected)

Question 18

What is the problem with the Hedonic calculus + example

Answer 18

There are too many variables. If someone who loves chocolate decided that eating one chocolate would equal one point of pleasure then by this logic eating 200 chocolates would equal 200 points of pleasure which is not the case because even the biggest chocolate fanatic will start to feel sick after a while. Then we have consider whether eating a chocolate for breakfast hold the same level pleasure as eating it for a dessert

Question 19

Is Hedonism essential to Utilitarianism

Answer 19

Utilitarianism need not be hedonist even though Bentham’s was because utilitarianism seeks the greatest balance of good over evil and the good may be something other than pleasure

Question 20

What did Mill refer to the good as

Answer 20

As happiness

Question 21

What is the problem for these different interpretations of what the good is

Answer 21

Surely the search for the good should be actually what good really is not what someone could interpret as preferable then something else or pleasure. The problem is the good is left open to interpretation which makes utilitarianism hazy

Question 22

What does G.E. Moore say about the good

Answer 22

In his Principal Ethica he says ‘ideal utilitarianism is that which seeks always the greatest balance of the IDEALLY good’

Question 23

What was the problem with how Bentham taught Utilitarianism

Answer 23

He taught it as the greatest good for the greatest number and this has interpreted to be the belief of utilitarianism as a whole

Question 24

What is the problem with the ‘greatest good for the greatest number’ idea

Answer 24

It introduces an aspect of justice with the words ‘for the greatest number’ so now there are two principles. Not only should you do good but distribute the good in this way. This means we now have two principles which is what Utilitarianism sought to solve

Question 25

Example of a problem leading from the ‘greatest good for the greatest number’ idea

Answer 25

Let’s say I have £100 which I could share among 10 friends however I decide to give it all to one without telling others this means this one friend now has 100 points of pleasure and the others have no idea so the net pleasure is 100 points. However I can achieve the same result by giving all ten friends £10 because I should distribute for the ‘greatest number’. But then why not give 100 people £1 because I shouldn’t prioritise my friends. Here we can see how the addition of a second principle causes problems which Utilitarianism sought to solve

Question 26

For many what is the greatest difficulty with all forms of Utilitarianism

Answer 26

That there is a denial of any notion of natural rights because to assert natural rights would produce a second principle which could interfere with utility. To say that individual right to life is more important than the principle of utility would be denial of Utilitarianism

Question 27

What does Bentham say on Natural rights

Answer 27

‘Natural rights is simple nonsense’ in Anarchical Fallacies

Question 28

What does Stuart Mill add to Utilitarianism

Answer 28

He argues that in civilised societies people should have maximum personal Liberty (not applied to children or people in backwards nations). He is clear that he appeals to the greatest general good and accepts that maximum personal Liberty may permit one to harm themselves. One may harm themselves by drinking too much but for Mill this doesn’t justify stopping him though we can advise him to drink less because this interferes with his personal Liberty and according to him we would be worse off if we were to live in a state where people stopped from doing what they wanted

Question 29

What type of Utilitarianism do we associate with Bentham

Answer 29

Act Utilitarianism

Question 30

What is act Utilitarianism

Answer 30

The view that for each act we should determine which outcome leads to the greater general good on a case by case basis

Question 31

What problem is there with Act Utilitarianism

Answer 31

That people often don’t have the time or information to make the necessary calculation and some not have the intellectual capacity even if the information were available. To say to a child ‘before you out your hand in that socket calculate whether that would lead to the greatest pleasure’ is absurd

Question 32

What type of Utilitarianism did Mill follow

Answer 32

Rule Utilitarianism

Question 33

What is Rule Utilitarianism

Answer 33

We should always follow the rule that will lead to the greatest balance of good over evil. In the example of the child the parent should simply tell the child not to stick their finger in the socket as this will lead to the greater balance of good over evil

Question 34

What does Mill believe about his general principle of Liberty

Answer 34

That if always followed it will lead to the greatest general happiness even though some people will use their Liberty in a bad way he thinks the needs of the general good outweighs the individual issues of people abusing their Liberty.

Question 35

What is the first issue with Rule Utilitarianism

Answer 35

It seems to place preservation of the rule above the individuals need, in Mill’s case he is reluctant to prevent an individual from suicide in order to not break the rule of maximising Liberty. This can be argued as instrumentalism. This begs the question whether people exists for the sake of preserving rules or whether we should be treated as ends rather than means

Question 36

What is instrumentalism

Answer 36

The rule exists not for my good but rather my misused Liberty is an instrument as a means of preserving the rule

Question 37

What is the biggest problem with Rule Utilitarianism

Answer 37

It introduces the one thing it sought to solve. If there are two rules then there is a possibility I’d a rule clash which would re introduce problems Utilitarianism sought to solve and that point one could even consider it no longer Utilitarianism

Question 38

What is the most modern representation of Utilitarianism and by who

Answer 38

Peter Singer’s preference Utilitarianism - the position that we should use strictly rational utilitarianism and think through issues rationally with no appeal to emotion or sentimentality

Question 39

What quote can be used to show Singer’s view

Answer 39

In his Preface to Animal Liberation ‘this book makes no sentimental appeals for sympathy toward ‘cute’ animals

Question 40

What did Singer recognise

Answer 40

That it’s important to have a universal quality in order to weigh the needs and preferences of others as much as my own

Question 41

What did Singer reject

Answer 41

He rejects classical hedonistic accounts arguing that the aim is no longer the maximisation of pleasure over pain but the general satisfaction of preferences

Question 42

What does singer mean by general satisfaction of preferences

Answer 42

The idea that we may prefer outcomes in a rational way even though those outcomes do not directly lead to our own satisfaction for example I may prefer outcomes of altruism even though I am not personally satisfied as a result of my giving to others

Question 43

What is significant to Singer’s approach

Answer 43

The altruist principle is very significant to Singer’s approach and he argues we should do what on balance furthers the preferences of those affected

Question 44

What is central to Singer’s arguments

Answer 44

The minimisation of suffering

Question 45

What is Singer an advocate of and why

Answer 45

Speciesism because it seems animals of the higher species seem to have no less capacity for suffering and should therefore be equally considered

Question 46

Controversial example Singer uses in his Practical Ethics which he believes minimises suffering

Answer 46

The haemophilic infant: potentially fatal disease which means the blood cannot clot so the child is in constant danger of death. If the mother carries the gene there’s a 50% chance the male for stud gets it. Once the foetus is identified as male and the gene is also identified then abortion is given as an option. The disease can only be detected after birth. Singer argues you should kill the baby after birth because then there is only half the destruction because at least you are sure

Question 47

Objection to Utilitarianism

Answer 47

Evil permitted can be needlessly great. Suppose I have two possible options, option 1 causes 500 points of good and no harm but option 2 causes 501 points of good but 1000 points of harm then I should choose option 2 because it is a greater balance then 500 because it’s the greater good