Utilitarianism

    Cards (57)

    • Ethics
      The study of morality – i.e. right and wrong, good and bad
    • Ethical theories covered in the syllabus
      • Utilitarianism
      • Kant's deontological ethics
      • Aristotle's virtue ethics
    • Utilitarianism
      Consequentialist ethical theories that say the consequences of an action make it either right or wrong
    • Consequences
      Pain and pleasure
    • Versions of utilitarianism
      • Act utilitarianism
      • Rule utilitarianism
      • Preference utilitarianism
    • Act utilitarianism
      We should act so as to maximise pleasure and minimise pain in each specific instance
    • Jeremy Bentham: '"The greatest happiness of the greatest number is the foundation of morals and legislation."'
    • Felicific calculus
      A way to calculate utility by considering factors like intensity, duration, certainty, propinquity, fecundity, purity, and extent
    • Act utilitarianism is sometimes called quantitative utilitarianism because it's about quantifying happiness
    • Problems with act utilitarianism
      • Difficult to calculate
      • Tyranny of the majority
      • Moral status of particular relationships
      • Ignores intentions
      • Higher and lower pleasures
      • Other values/preferences beyond happiness
    • Rule utilitarianism
      Focuses on the consequences of general rules rather than specific actions
    • John Stuart Mill: '"though the consequences in the particular case might be beneficial—it would be unworthy of an intelligent agent not to be consciously aware that the action is of a class which, if practiced generally, would be generally injurious, and that this is the ground of the obligation to abstain from it."'
    • Preference utilitarianism
      Says we should act to maximise people's preferences rather than just happiness
    • Preference utilitarianism is a non-hedonistic form of utilitarianism
    • Preference utilitarianism can explain Mill's distinction between higher and lower pleasures in terms of preferences
    • rld (even if living in the real world means less happiness). A related example would be carrying out the wishes of the dead. It can't increase the happiness of a deceased person to carry out their will (because they're dead). However, if a deceased person expressed a preference for their money to be donated to the local cat shelter, say, then it seems there is a moral obligation to honour this preference. Act utilitarianism, though, would say we should ignore the preferences of the deceased and just spend the money in whichever way maximises happiness – but this seems wrong. Preference utilitarianism can avoid this outcome and say we should respect the preferences of the dead.
    • Preference utilitarianism can also tie in with Mill's distinction between higher and lower pleasures. Mill claims that higher pleasures are just inherently more valuable than lower pleasures, but preference utilitarianism can explain this in terms of preference: We prefer higher pleasures over lower pleasures, and so should seek to maximise those.
    • Kant's deontological ethics
      The only thing that is good without qualification is good will. Good will means acting for the sake of duty. You have a duty to follow the moral law. Moral laws are universal. You can tell is a maxim is universal if it passes the categorical imperative. The categorical imperative is two tests: Contradiction in conception and Contradiction in will. Finally, do not treat people as means to an end (the humanity formula).
    • The good will
      Good will is one that acts for the sake of duty. This, according to Kant, is the source of moral worth.
    • Duty
      Deontology (as in Kant's deontological ethics) is the study of duty. Kant argues that we each have a duty to follow the moral law. The moral law, according to Kant, is summarised by the categorical imperative.
    • Categorical imperative
      "Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law without contradiction." - Kant, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals
    • Types of maxims (rules)
      • Categorical
      • Hypothetical
    • Contradiction in conception
      For a law to be universal, it must not result in a contradiction in conception. A contradiction in conception is something that is self-contradictory.
    • Contradiction in will
      Assuming the maxim does not result in a contradiction in conception, we must then ask whether the maxim results in a contradiction in will – i.e. whether we can rationally will a maxim or not.
    • Humanity formula
      "Act in such a way that you always treat humanity […] never simply as a means, but always at the same time as an end." - Kant, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals
    • Not all universal maxims are moral (and vice versa)
    • Kant ignores consequences
    • Kant ignores other valuable motivations
    • Conflicts between duties
    • Hypothetical imperatives
      Qualified by an 'if' statement
    • Categorical imperatives
      Not qualified by an 'if' statement, they apply universally
    • Philippa Foot argues that moral laws are not categorical in the way Kant thinks – there is no categorical reason to follow them. Instead, she argues, morality is a system of hypothetical imperatives.
    • Eudaimonia
      The good life for human beings
    • Virtues
      Character traits that enable us to act according to reason
    • Virtues are developed through
      Habit and training
    • Eudaimonia
      • Not just about following moral laws (e.g. Kant)
      • Not just about being happy (e.g. utilitarianism)
      • Not just about being successful
      • It's about all these things together and more
      • The good life in the moral sense as well as in the sense that it's the kind of desirable and enjoyable and valuable life you would want for yourself
    • Eudaimonia is a property of someone's life taken as a whole
    • Eudaimonia is a final end
    • Ergon
      Function/characteristic activity of a thing
    • Arête
      Property/virtue that enables a thing to achieve its ergon
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