Utilitarianism Lecture Notes

These flashcards cover key concepts related to utilitarianism, including its principles, ethical dilemmas, and distinctions between types of desires and pleasures.

Utilitarianism

An ethical theory that evaluates the moral worth of actions based on their outcomes, specifically aiming to maximize happiness and reduce suffering.

The Trolley Car Scenario

A thought experiment illustrating a moral dilemma where one must choose between saving multiple people or a single individual.

Coarse Hedonism

A simplistic view of hedonism focused on immediate pleasure without deeper philosophical implications.

Philosophical Hedonism

A comprehensive philosophical approach that sees pleasure as the intrinsic good and the basis for moral decision-making.

Ontology

The philosophical study of being and existence, particularly concerning what is considered good and bad.

Moral Community (MC)

The concept of which beings are considered morally relevant in ethical deliberation.

The Principle of Utility

A principle stating that actions are right if they promote happiness and wrong if they produce the opposite.

The Greatest Happiness Principle

The guideline for ethical behavior in utilitarianism stating that one should act to produce the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.

Utility Calculus

The decision-making process in utilitarianism where the utility value of different actions is weighed and compared.

Bearers of Utility

Pleasurable sensations that are quantified and compared to determine moral actions in utilitarianism.

Higher Human Faculties

Complex mental capacities such as reason that elevate the quality of experiences and pleasures.

Petty Desires

Lower-order desires centered around power, fame, or wealth that do not enhance quality of life when compared to higher desires.

Trickle Down

The concept of higher qualities of pleasure influencing and enhancing the satisfaction derived from lower-order desires.

Selfishness

An excessive focus on one's own pleasure at the expense of recognizing and valuing the pleasure of others.

Developed Agents

Individuals who have cultivated their faculties and capacity for higher-quality pleasure, informed by wider experiences.

Double-edged Sword

The idea that the capacity for greater pleasure through higher faculties also makes a person more susceptible to suffering.

Rule Utilitarianism

A form of utilitarianism that establishes general rules that, when followed, lead to the greatest overall utility.