UTILITARIANISM hedonic calculus - AGAINST

Question 1

Intro

Answer 1

Intro:
* Utilitarianism – theory focused on “greatest good for greatest number of people”
* Hedonic calculator (define) – bad because too time consuming, can’t measure pleasure, assumes pleasure is always good.

Question 2

P1

Answer 2

P1
P – Too time consuming / impractical
A – Not helpful in emergencies
→ Noel Stewart – analogy of dying on street
C – Use moral intuition – Bentham
E – Defeats point of having Hedonic calculator in the first place

Question 3

P2

Answer 3

P2
P – Can’t measure pleasure
A – It’s a concept, not quantifiable or numerical → subjective, leads to miscalculations
C – You can make reasonable predictions but difficult
E – Predictions are based on assumptions as we are predicting future – impossible

Question 4

P3

Answer 4

P3
P – Assumes pleasure is always good.
A – People gain pleasure harming others
→ Gang rape → “Swinish philosophy”
C – Mill – higher and lower pleasures
E – Still relying on subjective judgements about what fits into “higher” or “lower” pleasures (e.g. listening to music?)
L – Pleasure is an insufficient basis to determine moral goods.

Question 5

Conclusion

Answer 5

restate all the things you have argued and re- argue clear thesis specific to the question