Bentham and Kant

Immanuel Kant

• 1724 to 1804.
• 'Groundwork of Metaphysics and Morals'.
• Disagreement with David Hume.
• Unorthodox, untraditional Christian, relied on rationalism not revelation.
• Banned from writing about religion 1792.
• We must determine our own values, not wait for them to be delivered by higher authority.

Kantian Ethics

• Absolutist and Deontological.
• Morality should be based on reason (pure reason) and logic rather than feelings, consequences and religion.
• Only reason is universal and part of morality.
• People should be treated as ends in themselves, rather than means to an end.
• Only motive which is morally correct is that the moral agent felt was the right thing to do, this is called Good Will.
• Good Will is duty for duty's sake and should be the only reason for doing anything.
• It is like reason: not subjective, can't be corrupted by selfishness or emotions.
• "Good will shines forth like a precious jewel."
• EG of the shopkeeper.
• Duty involves freely choosing the action, meaning we need free will: "autonomy of the will is the sole principle of all moral laws."
• We must choose to do good actions and avoid bad ones, and so Kant comes to the conclusion that lying is unacceptable.
• "By a lie a man… annihilates his dignity."

Summon Bonnum

• Kant believed in a universal moral law and that there would be justice in the afterlife, this is idea of summon bonnum, or the greatest good.
• The supreme good which we achieve through moral acts.
• Must not, however be motivation to do good acts: "morality must not lower herself."

Categorical Imperative

• Imperative is something essential, which has to be done.
• "Imperatives command either hypothetically or categorically…"
• Didn't like hypothetical imperatives, only liked categorical ones, which he said we should all follow.
• CI is an unconditional moral law that applies to all rational beings and is independent of personal motive or desire.
• Set of laws that everyone must obey and that are prescribed regardless of the result.
• EG -> do not murer, do not steal.
• You should only do actions which you would allow to be universal laws.
• Maxim is a general proposition or rule, and CI aims to provide maxims which would be absolute, universal, reason-based.
• Kant provided three formulations of the CI to test whether a maxim is a categorical imperative.

Hypothetical Imperative

• Something which is a moral command, conditional on emotion and desire.
• Informs of a factual relation between a goal and how we must achieve it.
• No obligation is attached to it.
• Always begin with 'if', EG -> If you want to lose weight, you must go on a diet.
• KANT DISLIKES: means you're acting on selfish reasons not because it is your duty.

1. Formula of Universalisation

• In order for a maxim to be a categorical imperative, it must be checked with formula of universalisation.
• This asks the question, would you want this maxim to become a universal law, for anyone and everyone to do?
• If the answer is yes, then the maxim can move on to the second formula.
• If the answer if no, then it cannot be a categorical imperative, as they must be applied not considering the consequences and must be the same and fixed.
• EG -> lying. If you would not want everyone in the world to be allowed to lie, then you should not do it and it cannot be a CI.
• Four ways to universalise a maxim: formulate the maxim, apply it as a universal law, would a world like this exist? would you rationally will it to happen? would you want to live in this world?

2. Formula of the End Itself

• Every maxim must be used as an end in itself, not as a means to an end. Humans should be treated the same.
• This means that, when using these maxims, you must do so out of your good will- because it is your duty, not for the purpose of reaching the summon bonnum.
• If you wouldn't want it done to you, you shouldn't do it to anyone else.

3. Formula of the Kingdom of Ends

• We must always act as if we are a legislating member of the Kingdom of Ends, a place where everyone is treated as an end in themselves rather than a means to an end.
• It is a society of free, autonomous individuals.

What are the Prima Facie Duties?

• Fidelity
• Reparation
• Gratitude
• Justice
• Benefice
• Self improvement
• Non maleficence

Strengths of Kantian Ethics

• Rational method for moral decisions.
• Is easy to follow due to the fixed rules.
• Promotes equality, everyone must follow same absolutist principles.
• Takes into account society as a whole through universality, not selfish.
• Encourages doing this purely because it is your duty, rather than promoting selfishness.
• Idea of duty seems to fit with general human experience.
• Based on reason so is universal and available to everyone.
• The CI respects all human life and values all life/

Weaknesses of Kantian Ethics

• Idea of absolutism being too fixed and rigid, unable to keep up with the times and adapt to situation.
• Kant's ban, for example, on lying causes problems, EG -> with axe murderer you are allowing the murder of your friend. How is this the right thing to do?
• WD Ross: said that Kant's theory of CIs is quite vague and needs a list as well as exceptions.
• These are prima facie, first glance, duties which can be outweighed by more compelling duty.
• EG -> 'never take a life' can be replaced with 'never take a life except in self defence'.
• Abstract, not always easy to apply to modern situations.
• Confusion: is it teleological or deontological?
• People rarely act purely out of duty, they usually have another motive.
• Kant depends on some idea of God, so atheists wouldn't accept.

Jeremy Bentham

• Utilitarian, wrote 'Principles of Morals and Legislation' in 1789.
• "Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two masters: pain and pleasure."
• Equated happiness with pleasure and the absence of pain.
• We should treat happiness as a mathematical formula.
• Act utilitarian, focused on our acts, and how they promote the greatest happiness.

Utilitarianism

• An action is good if it promotes the greatest amount of good.
• This means utilitarianism is relativist - doesn't give strict rules on what is and is not allowed.
• Anything promoting goodness, happiness, etc is allowed.

Hedonism

• Philosophical position stating that the only good thing we should aim for in life is producing happiness and pleasure.
• Avoid anything causing pain and unhappiness.
• This makes people selfish, however, because you should do what makes you the most happy and nothing else.

Principle of Utility

• Mostly known as 'greatest good for the greatest number'.
• In every situation moral agent must do the thing which will create the most amount of happiness or pleasure, and avoid what will bring about suffering.
• Bentham: can be calculated through a mathematical formula to see what would produce the most pleasure and therefore what to do.

John Stuart Mill

• Godson of Bentham, agreed that human wellbeing should be the most important but disagreed about the principle standard of pleasure.
• He said that pleasure is too quantitive and that happiness should be assessed instead.
• Therefore, Mill said that there should be the greatest happiness for the greatest number.
• Developed the idea of higher intellectual pleasures (of the mind, EG progress in career) and lower pleasures (of the body, like food and sex).
• Animals have lower pleasures too, but intellectual higher pleasures are far more important, so should be priority.
• "It is better to be a human dissatisfied than a pig satisfied, better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied."
• Idea that humans can have greater amounts of happiness due to the fact we can develop higher pleasures that other beings cannot.
• Therefore, pleasures of mind produce more happiness so are more important than pleasures of the body.
• Eudaemonistic utilitarianism, rather than Bentham's hedonistic utilitarianism.

Act Utilitarianism

• Ideas of Bentham that utilitarianism should focus on the act rather than consequences or emotions.
• When applying utilitarianism, each action should be looked at individually, and in isolation to the community.
• Each act should then be judged on its own, without reference to anything else and independently of anything else.
• Allows the theory to change and adapt to the person or their circumstance.
• Should use the hedonic calculus in every situation to work out what to do.

Hedonic Calculus

• Seven things to measure the amount of pleasure / pain involved in an action. Remember as PRRICED.
• Purity -> how much pleasure will be produced?
• Remoteness -> how close is the pleasure?
• Richness -> will it lead to other pleasures?
• Intensity -> how intense is the pain / pleasure?
• Certainty -> how likely that pleasure will happen?
• Extent -> will it affect anyone else?
• Duration -> how long will the pain / pleasure last?

Weaknesses of Hedonic Calculus

• Reduces morality to mere mathematical formula, not considering consequences or emotions.
• Too unreliable, can change every time it is used, down to a matter of opinion.
• It is time-consuming. There isn't always time in every single moral decision to consider and apply the hedonic calculus.

Strengths of Bentham's Utilitarianism

• Puts human happiness and well being as the highest priority in every situation.
• Adapts and changes according to the act and the person and their circumstances, well equipped for every society and situation.
• Easy to understand: do what produces most pleasure, avoid what causes pain.
• Happiness and pleasure are human instincts and part of our nature, so require no extra effort to produce.

Weaknesses of Bentham's Utilitarianism

• Hedonic calculus takes too long, unreliable and reduces morality to a mathematical formula.
• Puts too much emphasis on the action itself and doesn't consider the consequences.
• Causes minority views to be ignored and this can sometimes lead to things that we recognise as wrong being allowed.
• EG the gang rape of a woman by seven men, through the hedonic calculus, would be allowed because the pleasure of the men outweigh the woman 7 to 1.
• This causes the HC to allow immoral and intrinsically evil actions.