Utilitarianism Flashcards
(17 cards)
Who created the first form of Utilitarianism?
- What was it?
- What was he one of the first of?
Jeremy Bentham invented the first form of Utilitarianism – Act utilitarianism. He was one of the first atheist philosophers and wanted to devise a morality that would reflect an atheistic understanding of what it meant to be human. Such an understanding involved no longer considering ourselves as a special part of creation, but as just a part of nature
Quote from Bentham
“Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure’”
What does the Bentham quote mean?
“Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure’”
This means that it is human nature to find pleasure good and pain bad, which Bentham goes on claim suggests that it is pleasure and pain which determine what we ought to do as well as what we will do. We can say that we value something other than pleasure, but Bentham claims we would just be pretending. It is the nature of the human animal to seek pleasure and avoid pain, so that’s all there is for morality to be about. From this, Bentham devised the principle of utility
What is utility?
An action is good if it leads to the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people
What type of ethical theory is utilitarianism?
- Relativist theory: ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ are not fixed concepts at all times and in all places
- Consequentialist ethical theory because it is what an action “leads to”, i.e. its consequences, that determines whether it is good.
- Teleological: decisions abour right and wrong are based on the outcome
What is the hedonic calculus?
It follows that a method for measuring pleasure is required. Bentham devised the hedonic calculus to do this. It is a list of seven criteria which each measure a different aspect of the pleasurable consequences of an action. In order to decide which action to do, you need to know in advance which action will result in the greater amount of pleasure.
What is the hedonic calculus criterea?
1) Intensity
2) Duration
3) Certianty
4) Propinquity: How far away in time the pleasure or pain will occur
5) fecundity: the likelihood that the pleasure will lead to further pleasure
6) Purity: the likelihood that pleasure will be followed by pain
7) Extent: How many people are affected
criticism of Act utilitarianism
The claim of Utilitarianism, that the morality of an action reduces entirely to how far it maximises pleasure, provoked many to criticise it for degrading morality and humanity; that it is a “doctrine worthy only of swine”. (The swine ethic objection)
Who and how combated the Swine objection?
Mill combated this objection by distinguishing between lower pleasures gained from bodily activity, such as food, sex and drugs, and higher pleasures gained from mental activity, such as poetry, reading, philosophy, music. Swine are not capable of experiencing higher pleasures, so to combat this objection Utilitarianism need only show that higher pleasures are superior to the lower.
What is a key difference between act and rule utilitarianism?
Act = quantative
Rule = qualitative
problem with mills higher pleasures
- If “higher pleasures” require certain intellectual or sensory capacities (such as reading literature, appreciating music, or engaging in complex intellectual discourse), then individuals with intellectual disabilities, blindness, deafness, or other impairments might be excluded from experiencing these pleasures on the same terms.
- Mill’s language about lower pleasures being “like swine’s pleasures” can be interpreted as implying that those who cannot access higher pleasures are living on a lower level of happiness or moral worth. This risks marginalising or demeaning people with disabilities by categorising their experiences as inferior or less valuable.
- Imposing a problematic hierarchy that devalues their happiness,
- Leading to social and moral exclusion
What is a key difference between the two types of utilitarianism?
In On Liberty, Mill writes about the non-harm principle. Mill believes that each individual should be fee to live as they choose, so long as they do not cause harm to others
What is rule utilitarianism split into?
This then typically splits into strong and weak rule Utilitarianism. Strong Utilitarianism is the view that the rules should be stuck to no matter the situation. Weak Utilitarianism is the view that the rules can be broken if it maximises happiness to do so.
What is strong rule utilitarianism criticised for?
For simply becoming deontological, for abandoning the principle of utility and its consequentialism and becoming an empty deontological theory that follows rules for no good reasons, having abandoned its own supposed meta-ethical grounding.
What is weak rule utilitarianism criticised for?
For in effect reducing into act utilitarianism, since they would judge every action the same. If following a rule such as telling the truth maximises happiness in a situation, then both Act and weak Rule would say to tell the truth. If breaking the rule and lying maximises happiness in a situation, then both act and weak rule would say to lie.
Preference utilitarianism
judges actions based on whether they best satisfy the preferences or interests of those affected, even if they don’t always produce the most pleasure. In doing this we have to imagine ourselves as ‘impartial observers’, free from our personal biases and considering what each individual would truly want.
Two strengths and one weakness of preference utilitarianism
(+)Avoids the tyranny of the majority
(+)retains flexibility of resolving different cases and issues differently as we are not tied to rule utilitarianism
(-)Difficult to withdraw our own biases
(-)problems with trying to satisfy everyones preferences, idealistic not realistic
