Moral Philosophy:
Utilitarianism
Normative ethical theory outlined as the 'greatest good for the
greatest number of people'
Consequentialist
Act utilitarianism- bentham
Rule utilitarianim- mill
Preference utilitarianism- singer
established on the basis of psychological hedonism- a descriptive
theory that states that humans are purely motivated by the pursuit
of pleasure and the avoidance of pain.
Egalitarian- all pleasures are equal
Democratic- everyones pleasure is equal.
Strong intuitive appeal- we can logically recognise that we desire
happiness.
Act Utilitarianism:
Bentham's quantitative, consequentialist, normative ethical theory.
Only happiness is good and the right act is the act that maximises happiness
which Bentham understands as the balance of pleasure over pain.
Rule Utilitarianism:
The theory that only happiness is good and the right act is the one
that complies with those rules which, if everyone followed, would
lead to the greatest happiness.
RESPONSE: leads to rule fetishism- we just follow rules without
understanding the principles or justifications behind it.
RESPRESP: adopt weak rule utilitarianism. But this collapses into act
utilitarianism and faces the same issues.
Preference Utilitarianism:
A non-hedonistic theory claiming we should maximise happiness,
which is understood not in terms of the balance of pleasure over
pain, but in terms of the satisfaction of people's preference.
Solves the issue of Nozick's experience machine as one of our
preferences could be to 'live a meaningful life'
Singer argues we should take into account the preference of any
animal with the ability to make a preference.
RESPONSE: Issue of calculation is amplified
Principle of Utility:
, An action is morally right if it leads to the greatest happiness of all
those it affects.
utility= property of some object or action to produce pleasure, good
or happiness. Bentham defines happiness as the balance of pleasure
over pain.
Mill’s Proof of Utilitarianism:
p1. good, says Mill, is what we should aim at in our actions and lives
p2. What we should aim at is what is desirable
p3. People in general desire happiness
c1. Therefore, happiness is desirable (unless people in general
desire what what is not worth desiring)
c2. Therefore, our happiness is good.
c3. Therefore, the happiness of everyone is good for people in
general due to impartiality.
Issues:
Fallacy of equivocation- uses two senses of the word desirable.
Something which is capable of being desired.
vs
A more moral sense of something which ought to be desired.
Therefore, not everything desired is desirable.
In the past, slaves have been desired in the past but are not
desirable.
Fallacy of Composition:
We all want to win the lottery this week, but we don't want everyone
to win the lottery this week
Bentham’s Felicific/ hedonic calculus:
Quantitative method to measure total happiness of an action using 7 factors.
Possesses an intuitive appeal as everyone desires happiness.
Egalitarian: all pleasure are equal
Democratic: everyone’s pleasure is equal.
Mill’s qualitative utilitarianism:
Thought benthams act utilitarianism was a 'doctrine worthy of a
swine' due to its egalitarian nature.
Higher pleasures: Recognised by competent judges who have
experienced both forms of pleasure. Generally more intellectual
pleasures eg poetry.
Lower pleasure: Bodily pleasure eg food and sex.
, Response: Not all people who have experienced higher pleasures
will prefer them to lower ones as there are plenty of examples of
people falling into periodic temptations or falling into complete
addiction for lower pleasures.
RESPRESP: Mill argues that we can choose what we know to be less
good, due to weakness of will or laziness, but we still recognise that
what we chose was less valuable.
However, it can still be argued that Mill falls foul of cultural elitism
as only the 'elite' have the privilege to experience these higher
pleasures.
ISSUES FOR UTILITARIANISM:
Calculation- not possible to work out the consequences of human
actions.
Especially if we consider the happiness of animals (otherwise speciesism)
RESPONSE: Mill claims that we do not need to as through trial and error
we have worked out which actions tend to produce happiness.
Fairness, liberty and rights- Bentham- Justice is 'nonsense on stilts'.
Did not believe in the principles of human rights
TYRANNY OF THE MAJORITY
Act utilitarianism does not rule out any type of action as immoral. Suppose
a group of child abusers find and torture abandoned children. Only the
child suffers pain (no one else knows about their activities). But the
abusers derive a great deal of happiness. So more happiness is produced
by torturing the child than not. This doesn't make it morally right!
RESPONSE: Mill's harm principle: Individual rights are sovereign- we can
act however we want as long as it does not infringe on another person's
rights.
However, leads to rule utilitarianism.
Tyranny of the majority:
- In a democracy, policies that lead to the greatest happiness for the
majority could have a very negative effect on a minority.
- 1. A democratic gov could pass a law that forbidding people to
practice a certain religion if that was what the majority wanted and
this would be morally right according to act util.
- 2. Imagine a society where it is understood that a minority race
should serve the majority race. This overall would create increased
happiness and so how could a utilitarian condemn this practice.
Partiality:
- Many of the things we do to make people happy are aimed at
specific people- eg family and friends.
Utilitarianism
Normative ethical theory outlined as the 'greatest good for the
greatest number of people'
Consequentialist
Act utilitarianism- bentham
Rule utilitarianim- mill
Preference utilitarianism- singer
established on the basis of psychological hedonism- a descriptive
theory that states that humans are purely motivated by the pursuit
of pleasure and the avoidance of pain.
Egalitarian- all pleasures are equal
Democratic- everyones pleasure is equal.
Strong intuitive appeal- we can logically recognise that we desire
happiness.
Act Utilitarianism:
Bentham's quantitative, consequentialist, normative ethical theory.
Only happiness is good and the right act is the act that maximises happiness
which Bentham understands as the balance of pleasure over pain.
Rule Utilitarianism:
The theory that only happiness is good and the right act is the one
that complies with those rules which, if everyone followed, would
lead to the greatest happiness.
RESPONSE: leads to rule fetishism- we just follow rules without
understanding the principles or justifications behind it.
RESPRESP: adopt weak rule utilitarianism. But this collapses into act
utilitarianism and faces the same issues.
Preference Utilitarianism:
A non-hedonistic theory claiming we should maximise happiness,
which is understood not in terms of the balance of pleasure over
pain, but in terms of the satisfaction of people's preference.
Solves the issue of Nozick's experience machine as one of our
preferences could be to 'live a meaningful life'
Singer argues we should take into account the preference of any
animal with the ability to make a preference.
RESPONSE: Issue of calculation is amplified
Principle of Utility:
, An action is morally right if it leads to the greatest happiness of all
those it affects.
utility= property of some object or action to produce pleasure, good
or happiness. Bentham defines happiness as the balance of pleasure
over pain.
Mill’s Proof of Utilitarianism:
p1. good, says Mill, is what we should aim at in our actions and lives
p2. What we should aim at is what is desirable
p3. People in general desire happiness
c1. Therefore, happiness is desirable (unless people in general
desire what what is not worth desiring)
c2. Therefore, our happiness is good.
c3. Therefore, the happiness of everyone is good for people in
general due to impartiality.
Issues:
Fallacy of equivocation- uses two senses of the word desirable.
Something which is capable of being desired.
vs
A more moral sense of something which ought to be desired.
Therefore, not everything desired is desirable.
In the past, slaves have been desired in the past but are not
desirable.
Fallacy of Composition:
We all want to win the lottery this week, but we don't want everyone
to win the lottery this week
Bentham’s Felicific/ hedonic calculus:
Quantitative method to measure total happiness of an action using 7 factors.
Possesses an intuitive appeal as everyone desires happiness.
Egalitarian: all pleasure are equal
Democratic: everyone’s pleasure is equal.
Mill’s qualitative utilitarianism:
Thought benthams act utilitarianism was a 'doctrine worthy of a
swine' due to its egalitarian nature.
Higher pleasures: Recognised by competent judges who have
experienced both forms of pleasure. Generally more intellectual
pleasures eg poetry.
Lower pleasure: Bodily pleasure eg food and sex.
, Response: Not all people who have experienced higher pleasures
will prefer them to lower ones as there are plenty of examples of
people falling into periodic temptations or falling into complete
addiction for lower pleasures.
RESPRESP: Mill argues that we can choose what we know to be less
good, due to weakness of will or laziness, but we still recognise that
what we chose was less valuable.
However, it can still be argued that Mill falls foul of cultural elitism
as only the 'elite' have the privilege to experience these higher
pleasures.
ISSUES FOR UTILITARIANISM:
Calculation- not possible to work out the consequences of human
actions.
Especially if we consider the happiness of animals (otherwise speciesism)
RESPONSE: Mill claims that we do not need to as through trial and error
we have worked out which actions tend to produce happiness.
Fairness, liberty and rights- Bentham- Justice is 'nonsense on stilts'.
Did not believe in the principles of human rights
TYRANNY OF THE MAJORITY
Act utilitarianism does not rule out any type of action as immoral. Suppose
a group of child abusers find and torture abandoned children. Only the
child suffers pain (no one else knows about their activities). But the
abusers derive a great deal of happiness. So more happiness is produced
by torturing the child than not. This doesn't make it morally right!
RESPONSE: Mill's harm principle: Individual rights are sovereign- we can
act however we want as long as it does not infringe on another person's
rights.
However, leads to rule utilitarianism.
Tyranny of the majority:
- In a democracy, policies that lead to the greatest happiness for the
majority could have a very negative effect on a minority.
- 1. A democratic gov could pass a law that forbidding people to
practice a certain religion if that was what the majority wanted and
this would be morally right according to act util.
- 2. Imagine a society where it is understood that a minority race
should serve the majority race. This overall would create increased
happiness and so how could a utilitarian condemn this practice.
Partiality:
- Many of the things we do to make people happy are aimed at
specific people- eg family and friends.
