Utilitarianism

Question 1

Two famous quotes about Utilitarianism

Answer 1

“the greatest good for the greatest number.”

“nature has placed humanity under the governance of two sovereign masters, pleasure and pain.”

Question 2

What theory does it follow?

Answer 2

theory of utility - how useful things are

Question 3

Joseph Priestley

Answer 3

• coined phrase GG4GN
• said in essay of the first principals of government
• so stated Utilitarianism as a political theory not academic

Question 4

Concerned with….

Answer 4

consequences rather than actions

Question 5

Jeremy Benthams background

Answer 5

*Studies law - wrote pieces like “Fragments of Government”(1776) to attack english law, calling it a mess as it had no logical scientific foundation.

Question 6

What was Benthams concern?

Answer 6

That morality was being diversified because it rested on a multiplicity of foundations (bible, conscience, church…) and was therefore too subjective (relative)
so he had political theories

Question 7

Important thing about Bentham?

Answer 7

He began by defining human nature as something which is motivated by pleasure and pain.
In this he was viewed as a hedonist (someone who seeks pleasure)

Question 8

What did Bentham believe?

Answer 8

• that from observing the world it could be reasoned that humans naturally seek pleasure and avoid pain
• He said “nature has placed humanity under the governance of two sovereign masters, pleasure and pain.”
• Therefore laws (the good) should be grounded in the objective truth of maximising pleasure and minimising pain for majority of people.

Question 9

How and what did Bentham develop?

Answer 9

• from the basic premise that pain and pleasure are important qualities for determining whats moral, Bentham developed the ‘utility principle’
• rightness and wrongness of an action is determined by its usefulness - amount of please from action.

Question 10

What is the Hedonic Calculus?

Answer 10

Way to decide whether an action is moral

Intensity 
Duration (how long)
Certainty (definite)
Purity (unique, unadulterated)
Extent (how much)
Remoteness (rare)
Richness (multi-sensory)

Question 11

Criticisms of Hedonic Calculus

Answer 11

• Main criticism - Tyranny of the Majority - taking theory at face value, it could allow racism & cultural ignorance in a country where the majority of people are white.
• tramples over rights/desires of individual in pursuit of GG4GN
• its consequentialist to the absurd - too concerned with ends and takes no account of motives
  e. g. for Bentham its acceptable to commit act for the wrong reasons, even if its immoral, if it produces long term pleasure for greatest number.
• can we really define happiness and what counts as pleasure?
• Predictive in nature (tries to foresee the future) - attempts to measure the immeasurable.
• Were measuring future events - motives can’t be measured only consequences. The future events arent guaranteed - won’t know consequences until they happen.

Question 12

Mill and his background

Answer 12

John stuart Mill

• godson of Bentham
• child prodigy but pressure was too much and had a break down in teens
• recovered and went into law/politics and continued to develop utilitarianism

Question 13

Mills views on utilitarianism

Answer 13

• thought Bentham’s theory was limited to law - law makers concerned with promoting pleasure, thus aimed to improve Benthams basic theory
• So introduced ‘On Liberty’ 1863 a version of theory of utility for the common man which also sustained ‘pleasure’ for ‘happiness’ and wanted to evoke the quality not quantity of happiness.

Question 14

Famous quote by Mill

Answer 14

“it is better to be a human dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied”

Question 15

What did Mill introduce?

Answer 15

his emphasis on quality as well as quantity cased h to distinguish between lower physical pleasures (satisfaction of hunger, thirst) and higher mental pleasure (theatre, literature…) to evoke intellect.

Question 16

Criticism of Mills utilitarianism

Answer 16

• how do we distinguish between higher and lower pleasures
• why should mental pleasure be understood as being better than sensual? Is this grounded in objective ‘truth’ or a subjective ‘whim’ of Mills?

Question 17

Whats Rule Utilitarianism?

Answer 17

Mill

• this holds that rules formed using Utilitarian principals are for the benefits of society and should be followed. As a general, we can argue these are most rules held by all societies e.g, don’t murder.
• feels GG4GN should be confined within societies rules.

Question 18

Strong Rule vs Weak Rule

Answer 18

STRONG
-startes that all rules should be followed, regardless of the situation. So GG4GN within all societies rules and norms, so will allow a while lie but not perjury.

WEAK
- Will allow exceptions when the pleasure or pain of a situation may take precedence over the general rule. So, GG4GN with major rules, so potentially would allow perjury if greatest good served this.

Question 19

What is preference utilitarianism?

Answer 19

• 20th century development in Utilitarianism in an attempt to avoid the tyranny of the majority and accept that the GG4GN may make some people very unhappy so it considers peoples preferences involved.

Question 20

R.M.Hare - what did he say?

Answer 20

We need to consider our preferences but also those of others: “equal preferences count equally, whatever their content.”
- preferences may clash so we need to “stand in someone else’s shoes” and try to be impartial and strive for universality

Question 21

What did Peter Singer say?

Answer 21

We should act as an impartial spectator - “our own preferences cannot count any more than the preferences of others” and so in being moral, we need to take into account everyone affected by our actions. Must weigh up best possible consequences for those effected.

Question 22

Strengths of Utilitarianism

Answer 22

• considers effects
• accesible to all - not limited to religion
• common sense
• happiness is what we want
• easy to relate to moral dilemmas
• considers all and includes all
• classical utilitarianism helped improve justice system
• mills focus on bettering ourselves is good.

Question 23

Weaknesses of Utilitarianism

Answer 23

• ignores minority
• danger of relativism and subjectivism
• conflict of GG4GN rules especially in strong rule utilitarianism doesn’t allow expectations
• P, Singer - difference of being impartial
• H. Calculus - involved predicting future - very hard
• try to measure immeasurable
• pleasure is always good/moral