utilitarianism Flashcards
whats mill’s proof of utilitarianism
happiness is the only good thing and other things we desire e.g truth and freedom are apart of what happiness is to us
whats the argument mill provides for his proof
only proof that something is desirable is if people desire it
no proof can be given as to why general happiness is desirable other than that each person desires their own happiness
the fact happiness is desirable is ‘all the proof the case admits of’ that happiness is a good thing
all our other values consititute what makes us happy, only valuing them because it increases happiness
so not only is happiness good, its the only good
whats mills issue with benthams felicific calculus
purely quantitative approaches lead to a ‘doctrine of swine’, reducing the value of human life to the same simple pleasures felt by pigs and other animals and so mill argues theres qualitative differences between higher and lower pleasures
whats does mill say about higher and lower pleasures
people who experience both always prefer higher over lower because they value dignity and dignity is an important component of happiness
whats higher & lower pleasures
higher- thoughts, feeling and imaginations
lower- body and the senses
whats rule utilitarianism example
instances of stealing could lead greater happiness than not stealing, yet if people were always allowed to steal in such instances it would cause constant levels of anxiety that you might get stolen from. this anxiety would be ‘generally injurious’ resulting in less happiness overall, therefore we should follow the general rule ‘dont steal’
whats preference utilitarianism
non-hedonistic utilitarianism that believes we should maximise people’s preferences.
whats a problem for act util - difficult to calculate
how are we supposed to quantify each of the variables? hook up everyone to brain scanners to measure how intense their happiness is? if we could measure this, then how do we compare the other ones e.g deciding between long lasting dull pleasure or intense short-lived pleasure?
problem for act util - whats the moral status of particular relationships
family friends or certain ppl are more important to us than others, but act only concerned with greatest good for greatest number meaning theres no grounds to justify actions that maximise pleasure for the ppl u care about over ppl on the street
whats an example for moral status of particular relationships
if you spent money buying your friend a birthday present it wouldve made them happy, but it also wouldve made some other man in a different country happier. so buying ur friend a birthday gift was morally wrong as it didnt maximise happiness. therefore certain relationships have a unique moral status (e.g parents having moral duty to care for their child) but act util forces us to ignore these moral obligations
