Video 1 Bus ethics

What is Bentham’s simple hedonism?

The good = net pleasure (pleasure minus pain), measured by intensity + duration.

What are the two main objections to Bentham’s theory?

1) It ignores rights (people can be sacrificed). 2) It reduces all values to a “common currency” of pleasure.

What did Bentham say about rights?

They are “nonsense upon stilts.”

Example of the rights objection?

Transplant surgeon: sacrificing one person to save five patients.

What is Mill’s Greatest Happiness Principle?

Actions are right if they promote happiness, wrong if they produce unhappiness.

How does Mill distinguish pleasures?

Higher vs. lower pleasures, judged by “competent judges.”

Examples of lower vs higher pleasures?

Lower = eating, sex, sports. Higher = reading, solving problems, art.

Famous Mill quote about quality of pleasures?

“Better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a pig satisfied.”

How does Mill address rights?

Through the Harm Principle: people should be free unless they harm others.

What is Mill’s problem with higher vs lower pleasures?

He cannot explain why they are “higher” if not intensity or duration.

What does Mill end up relying on?

Human nature as rational → closer to Aristotle’s view than Bentham’s hedonism.

What is hedonism?

The belief that pleasure is the sole good and pain the sole bad.

What thought experiment challenges hedonism?

Nozick’s Experience Machine.

Why does the Experience Machine challenge hedonism?

Shows we value reality, agency, and authenticity beyond just pleasure.

Why is utilitarianism “too simple”?

It ignores rights, fairness, dignity, and character.

Why is utilitarianism “too complex”?

Calculating all consequences is impossible (e.g., “It’s a Wonderful Life” problem).

What’s the overall takeaway?

Consequences matter for morality, but they aren’t the only thing that matters.