ETHICS MIDTERMS

• Jeremy Bentham's argument for novel conception of morality


  Morality is about making the world as happy as possible
• Betham believed in what moral principle?

  • Principle of Utility- in all circumstances, to produce the most happiness and the the least unhappiness that we can
• The purpose of law for Benthan is?

  to promote the welfare of all citizens
• How will it serve the purpose of promoting the welfare of all citizens?

  • the law should restrict people's freedom as little as possible
  • no activity should be outlawed unless it is harmful or dangerous to others
• Justice requires us to treat people what?

  fairly
• Utilitarianism requires us what?

  • requires us to treat someone unfairly
• On utilitarianism, individual rights may always?

  always be trampled upon if enough people benefit from the trampling
• Utilitarianism is also called

  "tyranny of the majority"
• "Tyranny of the majority"

  If the majority of people would take pleasure in someone's rights being abused, then those rights should be abused, because the pleasure of the majority outweights the suffering of the one.
• Utilitarianism makes the past?

  irrelevant
• Supererogatory


  generosity went beyond the call of duty
• Utilitarianism requires us to give away most of our things
• Ethical Egoism


  each person ought to pursue his self-interest exclusively
• The morality of selfishness

  Ethical Egoism
• It holds that our only duty is to do what is best for ourselves

  Ethical Egoism
• Ethical Egoism


  Other people matter only insofar as they can benefit us
• Psychological Egoism


  each person does in fact pursue his self-interest exclusively
• Psychological Egoism


  makes a claim about human nature, or about the way things are
• Ethical Egoism


  makes a claim about morality, or about the way things should be
• Psychological Egoism is a theory of what


  human psychology
• Argument from Ayn Rand's Philosophy

  Asserts that altruism is self-defeating and that recognizing and pursuing one's own rational self-interest leads to a more just, prosperous, and moral society.
• Self-Reliance Argument


  if everyone looks after their own interests, everyone will be better off, promoting a form of indirect altruism
• Psychological Egoism says that


  we care only for ourselves
• The Argument That We Always Do What We Want to Do.

  "Every act you have ever performed since the day you were born was performed because you wanted something." So wrote Dale Carnegie, author of the first and best self-help book, How to Win Friends and Influence People (1936).
• There are things that we do, not because we want to, but because we feel that we ought to.
• What flaw is identified in the argument that actions based on one's strongest desires are inherently self-interested, and how does this relate to altruistic behavior?

  The passage highlights a critical flaw in the argument that acting on our strongest desires equates to self-interested behavior. It clarifies that the nature of one's desires determines whether an action is self-interested or altruistic
• The mere fact that you act on your own desires does not mean that you are looking out for yourself; it all depends on what you desire.
• If you care only about yourself and give no thought to others, then you are acting out of self-interest
• In assessing whether an action is self-interested, the issue is not whether the action is based on a desire; the issue is what kind of desire it is based on. If you want to help someone else, then your motive is altruistic, not self-interested.
• Altruism


  when we act to promote someone's welfare, even at a risk or cost to ourselves
• Egoism


  argued that the human mind is driven by the need to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. Egoism contends that deep down all our actions are motivated by what we perceive to be in our own self -interest
• Prisoner's dilemma


  is a decision-making thing illustrating that two rational individuals making decisions in their own self interest
• acting selfishly


  do whatever will benefit yourself
• Acting benevolently


  care about others, balancing their interests against your own, and sometimes forgoing your own interests for their sake
• Our desire to help others often comes first; the good feelings we may get are merely a by-product
• Ethical Egoism does not tell you to avoid helping others. Sometimes your interests will coincide with the well-being of others, so you'll help yourself by helping them
• Ethical Egoism


  The theory only insists that the benefits to others is not makes the act right, rather, the act is right because it benefits you
• Ethical Egoism does not imply pursuing your interests that offers the most short-term pleasure


  It says that a person ought to do what really is in his own best interest, over the long run
• Ethical Egoism


  endorses selfishness, not foolishness
• Argument of Altruism is Self-Defeating


  "looking our for others" is an offensive intrusion into other people's privacy

  Making other people the object of one's "charity" is degrading them: it robs them of their dignity and self-respect, and it says to them, in effect, that they are not competent to care for themselves