Utilitarianism and the Greatest Happiness Principle

Flashcards testing key vocabulary terms, foundational principles, quantitative measurements of utility, and major ethical critiques from Chapter 2 on Utilitarianism.

Utilitarianism

A system of secular morality designed for liberal and pluralistic societies, judging policies and actions based on their ability to maximize benefit and produce the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.

The Greatest Happiness Principle

The foundational guideline of utilitarianism asserting that the primary objective of any moral action or policy is to provide the greatest happiness for the largest number of people.

Jeremy Bentham

The philosopher who formulated utilitarianism as a secular, universalist, and consequentialist moral framework intended to reform society without relying on religious doctrine or natural law.

Consequentialism

An ethical theory holding that the moral worth of an act depends entirely on its results or outcomes, operating under the view that the ends justify the means.

Universalism (in Bentham's Utilitarianism)

The progressive and egalitarian principle that every individual's pleasure counts equally, drawing no distinctions between rich and poor or men and women.

Calculation of Utility

The process of reasoning about moral goodness by quantifying human impulses, where happiness is calculated as pleasure minus pain ($\text{Happiness} = \text{Pleasure} - \text{Pain}$).

Duration

One of Bentham's seven measurements for deriving units of pleasure and pain, defined as how long a pleasure will last.

Fecundity

One of Bentham's seven measurements for deriving units of pleasure and pain, defined as how likely a pleasure is to provide further pleasure.

Purity

One of Bentham's seven measurements for deriving units of pleasure and pain, defined as how likely the pleasure will not be followed by pain.

Propinquity

One of Bentham's seven measurements for deriving units of pleasure and pain, defined as how soon the pleasure will occur.

Intensity

One of Bentham's seven measurements for deriving units of pleasure and pain, defined as how strong the pleasure will be.

Certainty

One of Bentham's seven measurements for deriving units of pleasure and pain, defined as how likely the pleasure is to occur.

Extent

One of Bentham's seven measurements for deriving units of pleasure and pain, defined as how many people will be affected by the action or pleasure.

Sacrifice of Minority Rights Critique

A major criticism of utilitarianism pointing out that minority rights may be compromised or infringed upon if doing so increases the overall pleasure of the majority.

Mano Dura (Iron Hand) Policy

A policy implemented in El Salvador used as a case study to examine Act Utilitarian decision-making and weigh majority happiness against justice and fairness.

Quantitative vs. Qualitative Pleasure Critique

A critique targeting Bentham's system for reducing all policy and actions to a common currency without evaluating qualitative differences between higher intellectual pleasures and base activities.