Ch 5 Utilitarianism & John Stuart Mill
This question is not part of Utilitarian reasoning
"Who are the people involved, and what are my obligations to them?"
Mill's proof of utilitarianism
*Good is defined in terms of what people desire. *Happiness is the only thing desired for itself, so it is the only intrinsic good
The Trolley Problem
*Moral dilemmas *Research: sometimes there are conflicts in how we actually react and how we think we should react to morally fraught situations. *Concern: utilitarian calculation involves "coldness" that runs counter to empathy and other emotional responses
Consequentialism
*Normative theories that focus on the consequences of actions; *examples include egoism, altruism, utilitarianism (vs. non-consequentialism).
principle of utility(greatest happiness principle)
*basic moral principle of utilitarianism *The morally best alternative is that which produces the greatest net utility. *We ought to do that which produces the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people.
utilitarianism
*belief that each of us count equally, no one counts for more than others; *we ought to decide which or action or practice is best by considering the likely or actual consequences of each alternative; not an egoist theory; some call universalistic *consequentialist moral theory
Jeremy Bentham
*founding fathers of utilitarianism; extended his concern to all suffering being including non human beings *ought to consider the quantiy of happiness or pleasure of all who are affected by an action or practice that is to be considered
problems evaluating utilitarianism
*noone can consider all the variables in happiness *it is an affront to our personal integrity *the "ends justifies the means" does more harm than good
weaknesses of utilitarianism
could cause Tyranny of the majority, assigning numbers is subjective, calculations are complicated, could be dehumanizing, rule utilitarianism is absolute, equality could lead to problems
strengths of utilitarianism
everyone is equal, the majority is considered, tries to be objective
false
Utilitarianism is an egoistic moral theory.
Two Main Features of Utilitarianism
consequentialist hedonistic
Rule utilitarianism
consider the consequences of some practice or rule of behavior
hedonism (epicureanism)
bodily pleasure and mental delight and peace were the goods to be sought in life
true
According to Bentham, some pleasures may be more valuable than others but only in so far as they are of greater intensity or duration.
true
According to Mill, the only way to prove that something is desirable in itself (as an end) is to notice that people do desire it.
true
According to act utilitarianism, if it produces more net utility or pleasure to give money that I had promised to return to a friend to famine relief instead, then I ought to give it to the relief fund.
false
According to utilitarian moral theory, happiness is an instrumental good.
pleasure
According to utilitarianism which of the following is an intrinsic good?
the result
According to utilitarianism which of the following is useful for evaluating the morality of an action?
false
According to utilitarianism, an act that makes some people happy and others unhappy can never be morally right.
hedonic calculus
An algorithm for measuring pleasure and pain.
false
Both Bentham and Mill hold that some pleasures are better in kind than others.
Deontology
Certain features in the act itself have intrinsic value (i.e. would see something intrinsically wrong in the very act of lying). The center of value is the act.
It is difficult to assign dollar value life or happiness
Cost-benefit analysis is one popular version of utilitarianism. Which of the following is the main problem identified with cost-benefit analysis in the textbook? (trolley problem)
duration
How long will the pleasure last?
extent
How many will feel the effect?
remoteness
How soon the pleasure will occur
certainty
How sure is it that the pleasure will occur?
true
In his work, Utilitarianism, Mill's test or basis for distinguishing higher from lower pleasures is the preference of those who have experience of both.
true
In the reading from Utilitarianism Mill writes that we have learned by experience that murder and theft are wrong because they are generally injurious to human happiness.
Famous preference utilitarian
Peter Singer
Five elements to calculate the Greatest Amount of Happiness
Pleasure minus pain Intensity Duration Fruitfulness Likelihood
as a general practice
Rule Utilitarianism asks that we consider the consequences of each act
true
Something that has value because people can use it to get what they want has instrumental value.
purity
The degree to which a pleasure is not mixed with pain
intensity
The degree/ strength of the pleasure
true
The following is an example of the reasoning of a rule utilitarian: "If the practice of lying is bad, then one ought not to lie now, even if in this case to lie would actually bring about better consequences."
fecundity
The fruitfulness of an action in terms of future pleasures
Preference utilitarianism
The good is what is in the interest of those concerned
true
The reason that Mill believes that pleasure is the only intrinsic good is because he believes that it is the only thing that everyone desires for its own sake.
Strong rule utilitarianism
The view that we should form rules and follow them even if they do not serve pleasure in a particular set of circumstances
Weak rule utilitarianism
The view that we should form rules but set them aside if they do not serve pleasure in a particular set of circumstances
true
Utilitarianism is a moral theory that holds that we ought to promote utility (overall human happiness) and not just personal pleasure.
false
Utilitarianism is a relativistic moral theory, for it recognizes that what is good in some circumstances is not always good in others.
It cannot accurately identify preferences
Which of the following is NOT a criticism of preference utilitarianism?
stress
Which of the following is not included in calculating the amount of happiness?
To act as the majority wishes
Which of the following is not necessary to act morally according to utilitarianism?
Rene Descartes
Which of the following was not one of the founders of utilitarianism?
principle of utilitary explained by John Mill
actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness
procedure for utiliatarianism
add up the interests of everyone that is affected by an action without privileging the interests of anyone in particular
instrumental goods
fame, fortune, education, freedom are useful for attaining the goal of happiness and pleasure
utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism
focuses on consequence of actions; as is egoism, unlike egoism is focuses on consequences for all persons impacted
Act utilitarianism
focuses solely on the consequences of specific individual acts
intrinsic goods
happiness and pleasure, the only things good in themselves
utilitarian goal
maximize the greatest happiness for the greatest number;
Peter Singer
most influential contemporary defender of utilitarianism; that each persons interests ought to be given equal consideration
Classical utilitarianism
pleasure or happiness theory; it reduces all other goods to some form of pleasure or happiness
universalistic
the happiness or pleasure of all who are affected is to be considered; we don't just consider our own good(egoist), or the good of others (altruistic)
hedons
unit of pleasure
true
unlike egoism, utilitarianism focuses on the sum of individual pleasures and pain
John Stuart Mill
we should consider the range of types of pleasure in our attempts to decide what the best action is *the quality of the pleasure should count *intellectual pleasures are better than sensual ones *Suggested a distinction between higher and lower pleasures
Tyranny of the majority
you can do awful things to the minority if it benefits the majority