utilitarianism key terms

bentham, mill and singer

hedonistic act utilitarianism

•Actions are morally right or wrong depending on their consequences and nothing else. An act is right if it maximises what is good.

•The only thing that is good is happiness.

•No one’s happiness counts more than anyone else’s.

•So, an action is right if it leads to the greatest happiness of all those it affects.

Bentham’s principle of utility

‘that principle which approves or disapproves of every action whatsoever, according to the tendency which it appears to have to augment or diminish the happiness of the party whose interest is in question’.

utility

what is in your interests

happiness

pleasure and absence of pain

hedonism

happiness is pleasure and the absence of pain, and is the only good

felicific calculus

If a pleasure is more intense, will last longer, is more certain to occur, will happen sooner rather than later, or will produce in turn many other pleasures and few pains, it counts for more.

act utilitarianism

•right if consequences alone and maximises good

•only good is happiness.

•No one’s happiness counts more

•So, an act is right if it maximises happiness.

rule utilitarianism

Actions are right when they follow a rule that maximises happiness overall, if everybody followed them

Smart’s objection to rule utilitarianism

if breaking a rule will lead to greater happiness than following it, there is no reason to follow the rule.

advantages of rule utilitarianism

• no need to calculate consequences

• some unjust acts are ruled out eg child abuse

• allows partiality to family and friends

objections to rule utilitarianism

• happiness may not be the only good

• morality cannot be summed up by rules

issue of calculation

• it is mind-boggling to calculate every action

• it may be impossible to know an action

response to the issue of calculation

look at an action’s tendency

bentham on animal rights

• happiness is good, it doesnt matter whose

• not ‘can they reason/talk?’ but ‘can they suffer?’

singer on animal rights

• speciesism is immoral discrimination against animals just because they are not human

justice

fairness, liberty and rights

the principle that each person receives their due

mill on violations of justice

violating

• legal rights

• moral rights

• withholding what someone deserves

• breaking contracts/ promises

• failing to be impartial

• unequal treatment

perfect duties

duties of justice: we must fulfil them and we have no choice over when or how

imperfect duties

not owed to specific individuals so we have some choice over how to fulfil the obligation eg to help others

objection to rights

suppose violating the right will create more happiness- why respect the right?

Mill on rights and rules

Mill seems to recommend that we create rights, which are a kind of rule, and enforce them even when they conflict with happiness in certain situations

objection of partiality

utilitarianism is too idealistic in expecting impartiality towards friends and family, and misses the moral significance of relationships

2 replies to the objections of partiality

1 morality is demanding

2 partiality is central to happiness, so happiness is maximised

objection of moral integrity

utilitarianism doesn’t consider moral integrity, but requires we set it aside if it conflicts with maximising happiness
Williams: should George take a job in a chemical weapons lab when he rejects their use?
we shouldn’t treat our values and commitments as just preferences to be counted in the general happiness
demands that you abandon who you are and become a mere utility-calculator

objection of intention and Mill’s reply

utilitarianism doesn’t recognise the moral value of intentions

Mill replies that good intentions are part of a good person’s happiness

utilitarianism on simulated killing

could it lead to real harm eg increased violence

nozick’s experience machine

virtual reality machine, constant pleasure
most would not plug in- we value a connection with reality.
we cannot understand what is good with a psychological state eg pleasure

preference utilitarianism

non-hedonistic utilitarianism
argues that we should not maximise pleasure, but the satisfaction of people’s preferences (desires)

reply to nozick’s experience machine

pleasure utilitarianism
for a preference to be satisfied, it must be satisfied in reality

strength of preference utilitarianism

preference utilitarians can argue that they offer a more unified account of what is valuable than hedonist utilitarianism as it argues that a valuable pleasure is what someone prefers

smart on happiness

he understands happiness in terms of those pleasures we approve of

prefernce utilitarianism on Smart

simplifies smart’s theory by arguing that people preferring a pleasure is a reason to prioritise them: approval is irrelevant

smart on bad pleasure

no pleasure is intrinsically bad unless it causes real pain