Utilitarianism Flashcards
Higher and Lower Pleasures
John Stuart Mill added a qualitive measure to Bentham’s quantitive utilitarianism by dividing pleasures into high and lower orders. Higher pleasures are more intellectual and engage with the human desire for betterment. Lower pleasures are animalistic, based on sensation and appetites.
Straying from the Utilitarian Premise
No longer are de facto desires the sole basis for judging what is noble and what is base. Now the standard derives from an ideal of human dignity independent of our wants and desires. The higher pleasures are not higher cause we prefer them. We prefer them because we recognize them as higher.
The Case for Liberty
- Mill thinks we should maximize utility, not case by case, but in the long run. And over time, he argues, respecting individual liberty will lead to the greatest human happiness. Allowing the majority to silence dissenters or censor free thinkers might maximize utility today but it will make society worse off-less happy- in the long run.
A modern take on justice / morality
A system of a secular morality that was appropriate for liberal or pluralistic societies. Rather than judge policy or action on the basis of religious doctrine, natural law, or innate knowledge, decisions should be based on the benefit accrued to the majority.
Provide greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.
Universalist
It applies to everyone… my pleasure are just as important as yours. There is no one more important than the other.
Consequentalist
What matters is the consequences of an act or the results. the ends justify the means. All of the morel weight rests on the outcomes.
Relativist
It is a relativist in that context is a paramount and there is no universal rules or commandments that must be followed regardless of the outcomes generated.
Calculating Utility
We can reason about what is good and account for it through calculating utility.
Bentham believed humans are governed by two impulses, to embrace pleasure and avoid pain. Further, he posited that these two impulses could be quantified, with happiness being calculated as pleasure minus pain.
Units of Pleasure and Pain could be derived from seven measurements
Duration, Fecundity (how likely this will provide further pleasure), Purity (No pain after), Propinquity (how soon it will occur), Intensity, Certainty (how likely), extent (how many people affected)
The idea is to reduce variables to some common measurement like currency or welfare in order to make a decision. If the pros outweigh the cons, the actor should undertake the action or pursue the policy. If the cons outweigh the pros, then the action or policy should be abandoned.
Critic #1 of Utility
Possibility that minority rights may be sacrificed in order to satiate the pleasure of the majority.
Critic #2 of Utility
Problem of comparing forms of pleasure. Bentham does not judge between particular types of pleasure, only on the quantitative amount of pleasure attained.
J.S. Mill (1806 - 1873)
In an attempt to address these critics, John Mill introduces a qualitative dimension to Bentham’s quantitative utilitarianism by differentiating between forms of pleasure.
Liberty as a Means to Happiness
Protecting liberty contributes to individual’s achieving those higher pleasures needed for happiness. Liberty encourages individuals to better develop their intellect and moral reasoning.
Liberty as a Means Towards Progress
Mill believed liberty and the right to dissent was important to society. Without liberty, society may ossify, becoming beliefs that may be harmful. Liberty allows dissenting opinions to speak potential truth to power, leading to self reflection and social progress.
