Utilitarianism

Question 1

utilitarianism is the philosophical theory that analyses…

Answer 1

whether or not an action gives the greatest happiness to the largest amount of people

Question 2

teleological & consequentialist

Answer 2

Utilitarianism is a teleological theory, which means it is focused upon the end goal, the result, as opposed to the moral theory.

It is also a consequentialist theory and focuses on the outcomes of a moral judgement.

Question 3

jeremy bentham - ‘pleasure’

Answer 3

Jeremy Bentham was the leading philosopher in Utilitarianism and he promoted the utility principle as the best way to make a decision for the majority.

Bentham focused on the idea of ‘pleasure’ as opposed to happiness.

So, his theory, when applied to decision-making, was not about considering how happy the greatest amount of people were; it was about how much pleasure they would receive from an action.

Question 4

the utility principle

Answer 4

The utility principle argues that an action is correct if it promotes happiness and wrong if it creates pain.

The definition of utility is usefulness. So the utility principle analyses the usefulness of the actions.

The utility principle is applied to potential decisions and is used to decide whether this action will produce the largest amount of pleasure for the largest amount of people. If it does, it is the correct action to take. If it does not, then an alternative should be found.

Question 5

the hedonic calculus

Answer 5

The hedonic calculus is a method of applying the utility principle to potential decisions and working out which action will produce the most pleasure.

The hedonic calculus asks seven questions about the potential action. This then concludes how much pleasure and how much pain would result from this action.

Question 6

hedonic calculus: 7 questions

Answer 6

Purity: Will this pain lead to another pain?

Remoteness: Is the pleasure or pain in the near or distant future?

Richness: Will this pleasure lead to another pleasure?

Intensity: Is the pleasure or pain intense? How intense?

Certainty: How certain are you that the pleasure or pain will actually happen?

Extent: The number of people that would be affected by the pleasure or pain.

Duration: Will the pleasure or pain last for a long time? A short time?

Question 7

acronym for hedonic calculus questions

Answer 7

PRRICED

Purity
Remoteness
Richness
Intensity’
Certainty
Extent
Duration

Question 8

what does utilitarianism analyse

Answer 8

whether or not an action gives the greatest happiness to the largest amount of people

Question 9

What’s the name of the question-based method that can be applied to the utility principle to work out which action will produce the most pleasure in a situation?

Answer 9

hedonic calculus

Question 10

jeremy benthams act utilitarianism focuses on …

Answer 10

the consequences of an action, not the intention behind it or the moral obligation a human has to others and the world around them

Question 11

principles of act utilitarianism

Answer 11

Act utilitarianism avoids moral rules, such as the ten commandments, because it is based solely upon the consequences of actions. Moral rules do not apply in this version of utilitarianism.

If an action produces the greatest happiness for the largest amount of people, then a moral rule does not matter.

This means act utilitarianism is known for looking at each situation based on its individuality.

Question 12

happiness for largest majority

Answer 12

Act utilitarianism focuses on promoting happiness and pleasure over pain for the largest majority of people.

Question 13

criticisms: pleasure can be bad

Answer 13

Act utilitarianism has a few weaknesses which caused John Stuart Mill to devise rule utilitarianism.
> There are certain situations in which pleasure can actually be bad and pain can be a good thing.
> The hedonic calculus can be used in a bad way to simply achieve what people want rather than looking at what is actually good for the majority.

Question 14

criticism: family attachments

Answer 14

Bentham says we need to look past family attachments and this shouldn’t come into our decision process.

However, this is impossible as humans do have an obligation to their family and it would be very difficult to not take this into account when making a decision.

Question 15

act utilitarianism avoids moral rules, such as the ten commandments because …

Answer 15

it is based solely upon the consequence of actions

Question 16

who devises rule utilitarianism

Answer 16

john stuart mill

Question 17

rule utilitarianism focuses on …

Answer 17

the application of moral rules to decision-making and how these rules can produce the greatest happiness

Question 18

rejection of hedonic calculus

Answer 18

Mill rejected the hedonic calculus as he felt it took too long to use it and it could be misused.

Question 19

mill’s qualitative approach

Answer 19

Whilst Bentham used a quantitative approach to pleasure and happiness - the amount of pleasure - Mill applied a qualitative approach to his version of utilitarianism - some pleasures are better than others.

Question 20

higher and lower pleasures

Answer 20

Mill divided pleasures into sections: higher and lower pleasures.
> Things like philosophy are higher pleasures, whilst drinking alcohol and eating out in expensive restaurants are lower pleasures.

Mill believed humans should not be aiming for individual pleasures, but for the whole happiness of societies and communities.

Question 21

‘harm principle’

Answer 21

Additionally, Mill added a ‘harm principle’ on to his version of utilitarianism.

He stated that if an action involved harming another person, it was wrong.

Applying this harm principle to utilitarianism makes the hedonic calculus more ethical and prevents people from using it in a non-moral way.

Question 22

act vs rule utilitarianism

Answer 22

Bentham focussed on analysing each individual act and the amount of pleasure for the most amount of people.

Mill focussed on applying general rules to decisions and trying to produce the greatest amount of happiness for the whole of human society as opposed to pleasure for the majority.

Question 23

what principle did mill add onto rule utilitarianism

Answer 23

‘harm’ principle

Question 24

what is an advantage of applying the harm principle to utilitarianism

Answer 24

makes the hedonic calculus more ethical

Question 25

who devised rule utiliarianism

Answer 25

john stuart mill

Question 26

advantages of utilitarianism

Answer 26

A great number of people gain happiness and pleasure from the principle being applied.

As human beings, we naturally look at the consequences of an action before we make a decision. So the hedonic calculus is logical and easy for us to use.

Rule utilitarianism promotes happiness by applying societal rules that keep the hedonic calculus from being misused.

The principle as a whole is flexible and easily adaptable to different situations.

Question 27

disadvantages of utilitarianism

Answer 27

Sometimes, we cannot know the consequences of our actions.

It takes time to apply the hedonic calculus to every decision you make. So it isn’t logical to use it for every decision.

The hedonic calculus can be misused by some people and break ethical rules.

Some groups in society may be targeted using the hedonic calculus - meaning minority groups could be unfairly treated.

Question 28

universally applicable or not

Answer 28

The utility principle can be applied universally and can reduce harm, thus increasing happiness.

But you cannot know what is going to happen in the future, so the principle cannot be used effectively when we do not know whether the action will produce happiness or pain. This means it cannot always be applicable and can be difficult to apply

Question 29

can we measure ‘good’

Answer 29

You could argue that ‘good’ is immeasurable and you cannot put a value on pleasure.

We all have a different understanding of happiness and so we cannot measure or compare pleasure and happiness.

Question 30

unethical uses of utilitarianism

Answer 30

Although it can be logical to look at the consequences of an action, utilitarianism can be used in unethical ways to produce ‘pleasure’ for some and suffering for others.

This means it can be the action itself that makes the decision wrong, not necessarily just the consequences.

Finally, you cannot always trust people to use ‘good’ when making a moral decision. Some people may act for their own selfish reasons and justify the decision based on the greater good.

Question 31

in which situation is the utility principle difficult to apply

Answer 31

when we do not know the outcome of an action

Question 32

how can utilitarianism be applied unethically?

Answer 32

Can be used to produce ‘pleasure’ for some and suffering for others

People cannot be trusted to always do ‘good’ when making a moral decision

Question 33

what part of Bentham’s utilitarianism does rule utilitarianism prevent from being misused

Answer 33

hedonic calculus