Utilitarianism Lecture Notes

Utilitarianism Overview

• Definition: Ethical theory promoting actions that maximize happiness.

Trolley Problem

• Scenario: Trolley car out of control.

• Choices: Switch to save 1 child or leave for 20 people.

Hedonism

• Coarse Hedonism: Pursuit of pleasure without philosophical depth.

• Philosophical Hedonism: Pleasure/pain as core moral values.

• Ontology: Pleasure is good, pain is bad; these are real properties.

Moral Community

• Moral Consideration: Any sentient being affected by actions is included.

• Utility: Something useful leads to pleasure.

Principles of Utilitarianism

• Principle of Utility: Actions right if they promote happiness, wrong if they produce unhappiness.

• Greatest Happiness Principle: Act to achieve greatest happiness for the greatest number.

Utility Calculus

• Method to determine moral actions based on pleasure.

• Evaluate options quantitatively for best outcomes.

Mill’s Revisions on Quality of Pleasure

• Utility depends on qualitative comparison of pleasures.

• Judges of pleasure must have experience with both types of pleasures.

Hierarchy of Pleasures

• Higher Pleasures: Reason, peace, knowledge, and community.

• Lower Pleasures: Physical desires like food and sex.

Developed Agents

• Unhappiness Sources: Lack of mental cultivation and excessive selfishness.

• Higher faculties lead to greater pleasure but increased vulnerability to suffering.

Moral Judgement

• Moral Codes: Emerge from historical reflections and practices, forming a basis for rule-utilitarianism.

• Competent Judges: Must have develop faculties to assess pleasures accurately.