Utilitarianism: Bentham and Mill

Flashcards reviewing central ideas, distinctions, and examples from the lecture on Bentham’s and Mill’s utilitarian ethics.

What ethical theory judges actions by their usefulness in producing the greatest happiness for the greatest number?

Utilitarianism.

According to Bentham and Mill, what two sovereign masters govern human behavior?

Pleasure and pain.

What is Bentham’s quantitative method for assessing pleasure and pain?

The felicific calculus.

List any three factors included in Bentham’s felicific calculus.

Intensity, duration, certainty/uncertainty, propinquity/remoteness, fecundity, purity, and extent.

How does Mill’s view of pleasure differ from Bentham’s?

Mill distinguishes pleasures qualitatively, holding that higher intellectual pleasures are superior to lower sensual ones, whereas Bentham measures pleasures only quantitatively.

In Mill’s utilitarianism, what ultimately justifies moral rights?

Their contribution to the greatest overall happiness (utility).

Under what extreme condition may individual moral rights be overridden, according to Mill?

When overriding them produces greater general happiness.

Which example in the notes illustrates sacrificing a moral right for the common good?

Wiretapping that infringes privacy to enhance public safety.

When moral and legal rights conflict, which takes precedence for Mill?

Moral rights take precedence over legal rights.

Complete Mill’s definition: A right is a valid claim on society to .

Protect an individual in the possession of something, by law or by education and opinion.

Which fundamental interest gives rights their emotional force, according to Mill?

Security—considered the most vital interest.

What label is given to utilitarianism because it focuses on outcomes rather than motives?

Consequentialism.

Fill in the blank: “Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote ; wrong as they tend to produce the reverse.”

Happiness.

Are motives morally relevant in utilitarian evaluations of actions?

No; only the consequences matter.

What counting principle do Bentham and Mill apply when tallying affected persons?

“Each counts as one and none as more than one.”

Why, for Mill, should humans not be satisfied with pleasures suitable for pigs?

Humans can experience higher intellectual pleasures and thus degrade themselves by seeking only base sensual ones.

Name a hypothetical duty Mill says may arise if it maximizes happiness, despite normally being unjust.

Stealing food/medicine or kidnapping a doctor to save a life.

What does “utility” mean in utilitarian ethics?

The usefulness of an action’s consequences in increasing happiness and reducing pain.

What penal design is associated with Bentham’s utilitarian social reforms?

The Panopticon.

Who are the two principal classical utilitarian philosophers covered in the notes?

Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill.

Which Philippine event is used to discuss utilitarian issues around wiretapping?

The Mamasapano (Oplan Exodus) incident and subsequent Senate investigations.

What utilitarian justification is offered for government intrusion into privacy rights?

It enhances public safety and thereby increases net happiness.

Does Mill accept the notion of “laudable injustice”?

No; what seems unjust in ordinary cases can be just when it maximizes overall happiness.

State Bentham’s principle of utility in simple terms.

An action is approved or disapproved according to its tendency to increase or decrease the happiness of those affected.