Utilitarianism the Greatest Happiness Principle

_____ are concerned only with the consequences of particular actions.

act-utilitarians

Utilitarian theory adopts a practical ________ approach

bottom-up

Utilitarian theory reminds people that tradition alone _______.

cannot serve as a foundation for morality

In the context of the utilitarian calculus, __________ refers to the probability that the pleasure or pain will occur.

certainty

Utilitarianism alienates people from their moral sentiments and conscience by expecting them to _________.

ignore feelings of moral repugnance toward certain actions

Which of the following considerations has the utilitarian concept of justice been criticized for failing to take into account?

individual integrity and personal responsibility

Utilitarian theory can be used to justify severe penalties for relatively minor crimes in order to ____________.

maximize the happiness of the community

Utilitarians fail to give sufficient attention to the integrity of the individual because they believe in ___________.

maximizing the happiness of the greatest number.

In the context of utilitarian calculus, purity entails that the lesser pain one causes in bringing about a pleasurable consequence, __________.

the better the action

In his essay "Utilitarianism," Mill held this up as embodying the "complete spirit of the ethics of utility."

the golden rule of Jesus of Nazareth

according to rule-utilitarians, people should follow the rule that brings greatest happiness for ________.

the greatest number

In the context of utilitarian calculus, the more beings that experience pleasure or the fewer that experience pain as a consequence of the action, __________.

the higher the utility of the action

According to utilitarian calculus, greater the _______, the greater the negative value we give it.

the intensity of the pain

Which of the following factors should be taken into consideration when performing Bentham's utilitarian calculus?

the intensity of the pleasure

Utilitarians do not believe in _________.

the intrinsic worth of life

Which principle was considered by John Mill as more important than the duty to directly maximize the overall happiness of the community.

the principle of nonmaleficence

Jeremy Bentham developed the utilitarian calculus, which is a method of determining which actions are morally preferable by:

weighing the costs and the benefits of each action.

Bentham was opposed to the concept of retributive justice because punishment involves harming people __________.

without any net increase in happiness

Who argued that it is wrong to count happiness of one's family and friends as more important?

Mo Tzu

Which of the following expressions would you most likely hear utilitarians use to justify their actions?

"The ends justify the means."

Identify the arguments against conscription. (check all that apply) 1) It leads to universal peace 2) It lowers the quality of military 3) It promotes egalitarian values 4) It violates people's liberty rights

- It lowers the quality of military - It violates people's liberty rights

identify the arguments in favor of "fat tax" (check all that apply) 1) fat tax would provide the state with funds to offset the medical expenses due to obesity 2) fat tax would lower health costs 3) fat tax would generate revenue from people enrolled in weight management programs 4) fat tax encourages people to reduce their consumption of fatty foods

- fat tax encourages people to reduce their consumption of fatty foods - fat tax would provide the state with funds to offset the medical expenses due to obesity - fat tax would lower health costs

Which of the following arguments might a utilitarian use to support or oppose capital punishment?

Capital punishment should not be legal because it is costly and has no deterrent effect on crime.

Which of the following two philosophers had the greatest influence on Bentham's formulation of his utilitarian theory?

David Hume and Epicurus

Identify a true statement about happiness with reference to utilitarians.

Happiness cannot be determined simply by majority vote

The utilitarian calculus is also known as the "calculus of pleasure" or the "________ ________"

Hedonic Calculus

British utilitarian _________ _________ referred to unreflective sympathy as the "principle of caprice"

Jeremy Bentham

Identify the person who said each of the following. "The interest of the community is one of the most general expressions that can occur in the phraseology of morals... The interest of the community then is, what?—the sum of the interests of the several members who compose it."

Jeremy Bentham

Identify the person who said each of the following. "It is quite compatible with the principle of utility to recognize the fact that some kinds of pleasure are more desirable and more valuable than others."

John Stuart Mill

Identify the person who said each of the following. "Sexists violate the principle of equality by favoring the interests of their own sex. Similarly, speciesists allow the interests of their own species to override the greater interests of members of other species. The pattern is identical in each case."

Peter Singer

The beings capable of feeling pain and pleasure are called __________ beings.

Sentient

John Stuart Mill agreed with Jeremy Bentham on which of the following points?

Tradition is one of the main causes of unhappiness.

According to John Stuart Mill, it is better to be:

an unhappy human than a happy pig

Utilitarian theory offers some important insights into the nature of morality and provides helpful guidelines for ________.

applied ethics

According to Mo Tzu, the principle of love:

applies universally and equally to all people.

Mill was opposed to censorship because of the human tendency to censor opinions that are ___________.

at variance with those of the majority

Utilitarian theories are _____, which indicates that the outcome or consequences of one's actions are more important than one's intentions.

consequentialist

The argument that suicide thwarts humans' future aspirations does not make sense to a utilitarian because, according to utilitarianism, ___________.

death marks the end of sentient existence.

In the context of the utilitarian calculus, for people, deferred pleasures __________.

do not always come to fruition

In the context of utilitarian ethics, the act of painlessly bringing about the death of a person who is suffering from a terminal or incurable disease or condition is known as _____.

euthanasia

the utilitarians hope that the moral idea of equality would someday be _______.

extended to all sentient beings

Mill argued that justice as impartiality is good only is it _________.

first satisfies the needs of autonomy

According to utilitarians, actions that cause happiness are _______ and actions that promote pain are ______.

good; bad

Mo Tzu believed that ________ is the primary cause of pain in the world.

hate

According to Mill, ________ is morally good independent of the quantity of pleasure

human dignity or integrity

In the context of the utilitarian calculus, if a proposed policy has a higher positive than negative value, then it __________.

is a good policy

Utilitarian theory serves as a reminder that we should be ready to provide good reasons for our ___________.

moral decisions

John Mill argued that the purpose of utilitarian theory is the ___________.

multiplication of happiness

According to Bentham, the happiness of a tiger is ________ than the happiness of a deer

no more or less

Which of the following prima facie duties would a utilitarian accept as morally binding?

nonmaleficence

Jeremy Bentham regarded Christian virtues of submissiveness, humility, and self-sacrifice as __________.

obstacles against morality and social reform

The primary weakness of utilitarianism is its claim that ___________.

only consequences matter

In the context of utilitarian calculus, a _________ of short duration is preferable to one of long duration.

pain

Hume would support voluntary euthanasia especially in cases when ________ would outweigh the _______.

pain in life; pleasures of life

According to John Stuart Mill, a utilitarian theorist, which of the following are the only things worth desiring?

pleasure and freedom from pain

Jeremy Bentham argued that utility provides the only source of _________.

political obligation for the state

The primary role of education is to help men and women become more __________.

rational and autonomous

John Mill believed that the primary means of ensuring happiness is to ________.

respect the dignity and personal autonomy of others

According to utilitarianism, the desire for happiness in humans is __________.

self-evident

G. E. Moore claimed that goodness is _________.

self-evident

According to utilitarianism, the rightness or wrongness of an action is determined __________.

solely by its consequences

Peter Singer maintains that to not grant the same consideration to a nonhuman animal who has the same cognitive ability as a human is to engage in ___________.

speciesism

In the current debate over the morality of stem cell research, a utilitarian would most likely hold that:

stem cell research is moral since the potential benefits outweigh any harm to nonsentient embryos.

Rita, a high school student, has a math exam approaching. It would be more fecund for Rita to _______ on the night before the exam.

study math

According to John Mill, reading a book on science is a pleasure that is __________ to watching a movie.

superior

Mo Tzu was convinced that the ways of the people could be changed by leaders who ____________.

take delight in universal love and mutual benefit

John Rawls criticizes Bentham's utilitarian theory for its failure to ______.

take seriously the distinction between persons

Mo Tzu argued that any idea or principle that cannot be put into action is ________.

useless

The 1995 Maternal and Infant Health Care Law is a Chinese law that bans marriages between couples "with certain genetic diseases of a serious nature" unless they agree to sterilization or long-term contraception. The law also requires doctors to "advise" parents to abort if an abnormality is detected in the fetus. The state justifies this law as a measure to "shed some of the economic burden" of caring for disabled people. This justification is based on which metaethical theory?

utilitarianism

Which of the following theories gives moral consideration to cats, coyotes, and humans equally?

utilitarianism

________ is oriented towards a particular goal: the greatest net happiness for all.

utilitarianism

____ realize that people with good intentions and a virtuous character are more likely to act in ways that benefit others.

utilitarians

identify the arguments against "fat tax" (check all that apply) 1) fat tax punishes companies who produce products that are deemed unhealthy by the state 2) fat tax would pose an unnecessary burden on the taxpayers 3) fat tax is discriminatory towards obese people 4) fat tax unfairly penalizes poor people who have no means of buying expensive, less fattening food 5) fat tax allows government to control citizens food habits 6) fat tax would encourage people to inculcate healthy eating habits

~ fat tax is discriminatory towards obese people ~ fat tax punishes companies who produce products that are deemed unhealthy by the state ~ fat tax would pose an unnecessary burden on the taxpayers ~ fat tax unfairly penalizes poor people who have no means of buying expensive, less fattening food ~ fat tax allows government to control citizens food habits