Utilitarianism

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  • Created by: Samio
  • Created on: 12-01-16 22:28
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  • Utilitarianism
    • Jeremy Bentham - Act Utilitarianism
      • The Hedonic Calculus: Takes into account the purity, richness, remoteness, intensity, certainty, extent and duration of the pleasures
      • The Principle of Utility: Moral actions are those which create the 'greatest happiness for the greatest number'
      • No inherent justice: Doesn't rule out abhorrent acts and allows for 'tyranny of the majority'
      • Psychological Hedonism - The claim that humans seek pleasure and shun pain, fundamental to Utilitarianism
      • Founded in the UK in the 18th century
    • Karl Popper - Negative Utilitarianism
      • 'Reductio ad absurdum' - To destroy the world would effectively remove suffering
      • Prioritises minimising suffering over maximising happiness
      • Less 'trivial' approach to morality
    • Peter Singer - Preference Utilitarianism
      • Based on preference over happiness
      • Claims  we should take into account the preferences of all living beings
      • Claims that prioiritising a human without sentience over a healthy chimpanzee is 'speciesist'
    • John Stuart Mill - Rule Utilitarianism
      • Competent Judges: Those who have experienced both higher and lower pleasures and would naturally prefer higher pleasures.
      • Strong Rule (rules can't be broken) vs weak rule (rules can be broken) - Strong rule is somewhat deontological
      • Qualitative approach - Higher pleasures (e.g going to the opera) are more important than lower pleasures (e.g having sex)

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