Consequentialism Terms

What is Utilitarianism?

A moral theory that evaluates actions, laws, and policies based on their consequences.

What was Jeremy Bentham known for?

He made the hedonic calculus.

What was John Stewart Mill known for?

Created swine ethics.

What is Act Utilitarianism?

A moral theory that judges an action’s rightness or wrongness based on whether it results in the greatest overall well-being.

What is Rule Utilitarianism?

A moral theory that judges the rightness or wrongness of an action by whether it conforms to a rule that will produce the best outcome.

What is Bentham’s Principle of Utility?

Greatest good for the greatest number.

What is Intensity (HD)

How intense the pleasurable experience is.

What is Duration (HD)

How long the experience and the pleasure lasts

What is Purity (HD)

How far the experience is from pain and the probability it will lead to other pain.

What is Certainty (HD)

Is the pleasure pain certain to happen?

What is Remoteness (HD)

How far off the pleasure or pain is.

What is Richness (HD)

If the pleasure or pain will come with other related pleasures.

What is extent (HD)

How far the pleasure or pain will go.

What is the difference between duration and remoteness (HD)

Duration is how long the event goes for, remoteness is how close or far the the pleasure or pain is.

What is the difference between purity and richness?

Purity is how far the experience is from pain while richness is how likely the pleasure will generate other related pleasures.

What is the organ donor problem?

Would you kill one person to save 5 people?

What is the utility monster?

If a monster gets more pleasure than a human per one unit of happiness, then it would be more beneficial to give it all to the monster because then that will create the most total happiness.

What is swine ethics?

Categorizing pleasure into higher and lower categories.