UTILITARIANISM Flashcards
(24 cards)
What is the principle of utility?
“an action is right if it provides the greatest good for the greatest number of people”
principle of utility
an action is considered right if it creates the greatest good for the greatest number of people
What is act utilitarianism?
The idea that we should always perform the act that leads to the greatest balance of good over evil
- Jeremy Bentham
What is rule utilitarianism?
The idea that we should always follow the rule that generally leads to the greatest balance of good over evil
- John Stuart Mill
what does it mean if this theory is consequentialist?
the actions are judged to be good or bad using the consequences or outcomes of the actions
what is the hedonic calculus
- 7 factors that help calculate the balance of goodness in an action.
(remember as DR PRICE)
Duration
Remoteness
Purity
Richness
Intensity
Certainty
Extent
what do the 7 factors in the hedonic calculus mean?
- Duration - how long will the pain or pleasure last?
- Remoteness - How soon the pleasure or pain will happen, immediate or in the future
- Purity - How free the pleasure is from pain
- Richness - Whether it’s likely to lead to more pleasures afterwards
- Intensity- How strong the pleasure or pain is
- Certainty - How likely it is that the pleasure or pain will actually happen
- Extent- How many people it will affect
What are some strengths of act utilitarianism?
- It allows for flexibility and considers the specific context of each situation.
- clear and easy to use and follow
- always aims for greatest good for most people
What are some weaknesses of act utilitarianism?
- easy to manipulate harmful outcomes by justifying morally questionable actions.
- too time consuming
- too consequentialist- focused on outcomes that we cant control
- dismisses minority groups
What are strengths of rule utilitarianism?
- It provides a more stable and predictable moral framework by adhering to established rules.
- allows individual rights through the harm principle
- well structured and separated for an ordered society
What are some weaknesses of rule utilitarianism?
- It may uphold rules that lead to negative consequences in specific situations.
- too consequentialist
- difficult to measure quality of pleasure
what is the harm principle
- It is in rule utilitarianism by John Stuart Mill which was made to overcome the fact that act utilitarianism justifies minorities getting hurt for the pleasure of majority.
- It states that you can do whatever you want along as the action does not harm others.
what causes act utilitarianism to be time consuming and what is an analogy that will help this?
- the hedonic calculus because there are too many factors and it is hard to measure things such as richness and purity of an action.
- analogy: you got mugged and are now bleeding out on the street but Jeremy Bentham spots you and instead of helping you he gets out the hedonic calculus and slowly goes through the 7 factors to see how much pleasure your survival will bring. By the time this happens you may be dead.
what is strong rule utilitarianism by J.S MILL?
- the idea that you cant break any rules at any point if it brings the most pleasure for the most people.
- very strict
what is weak rule utilitarianism by J.S MILL?
- It is the idea you create rules but always go back to the primary rule when you need to
- more laid back and not strict
What is the difference between quantitative and qualitative utilitarianism?
- Quantitative utilitarianism focuses on the amount of pleasure (act utilitarianism)
- while qualitative utilitarianism considers the quality of pleasures. (rule utilitarianism)
What is ‘preference utilitarianism’ - Peter singer?
A form of utilitarianism that considers the satisfaction of individual preferences as the basis for moral evaluation.
What does good mean according to this theory?
good = maximisation of pleasure and minimisation of pain
what are the 2 sovereign masters?
pleasure and pain
What is a potential problem with measuring happiness?
Happiness is subjective and difficult to quantify accurately.
What is an example of a real-world application of utilitarianism?
Public policy decisions, such as healthcare resource allocation.
what did J.S.Mill say about the fact that act utilitarianism was too quantitative?
he said it was a ‘swinish philosophy’ and therefore created higher and lower pleasures to make the theory more qualitative
what is a higher pleasure and give examples
are pleasures of the mind, intellect, and moral feelings. These develop our abilities, culture, and understanding.
- example: studying, creating art, deep meaningful conversation etc
what are lower pleasures and give examples
are basic, physical, and bodily pleasures
- example: eating, drinking, sex, a hot bath etc
