IB Philosophy of Ethics: Utilitarianism
A mindmap summary of the main points behind Mill and Bentham's arguement for Utilitarianism. The strengths and weaknesses of the argument are also included.
- Created by: Milly
- Created on: 10-04-13 17:37
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- Utilitarianism
- Jeremy Bentham
- Principle of Utility
- This can be considered democratic because everyone is equally valued and so it seems like a fair approach
- An action is right if it produces the greatest good for the greatest number
- Good is a maximization of pleasure and the minimization of pain
- The hedonic calculus
- Weighs up pain and pleasure generated by the available moral actions to find the best option
- Intensity
- Duration
- Certainty or uncertainty
- What is the probability that the pleasure or pain will occur?
- Propinquity or remoteness
- How far off in the future is the pleasure or pain?
- Fecundity
- What is the probability that pleasure will lead to other pleasures?
- Purity
- What is the probability that the pain will lead to other pains?
- Extent
- How many people will be affected by the pleasure?
- Each measured out of 10
- Humans instinctively pursue pleasure and avoid pain
- Focused on pleasure to be pursued as an end in its own right
- Focused on quality of pleasure
- Push pin (a simple child's game) is as good as poetry
- Assess each individual situation on its own merits with the aim of promoting the greatest happiness for those involved
- Principle of Utility
- Act Utilitarianism
- In each situation, the decision made must promote the most happiness
- Any laws can be broken as long as the outcome promotes happiness
- The consequences must outweigh the actions in terms of happiness
- Every choice must be decided with consequences in mind
- Rule Utilitarianism
- Focus on general rules that are designed in order to promote the most happiness
- These rules are absolute and should always be followed, even if the situation appears to want you to break it, because the long term effect will not promote happiness
- John Stuart Mill
- Concerned with sadistic guards
- Sadistic guards torture an innocent man
- The guards pleasure seems to outweigh the pain of the innocent man
- Focused on qualitative pleasures
- Some pleasures purer than others
- better to be a Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied
- Intellectual pleasures are of higher worth
- Physical/bestial pleasures are of lower worth
- Weak rule Utilitarianism
- Rule Utilitarianism
- Focus on general rules that are designed in order to promote the most happiness
- These rules are absolute and should always be followed, even if the situation appears to want you to break it, because the long term effect will not promote happiness
- General rules that everyone should follow to bring about the greatest good
- Rule Utilitarianism
- Greatest happiness principle
- The good is which will bring about the greatest sum of pleasure, or the least sum of pain, for the greatest number
- Focused on happiness as an indirect by product of other activities
- Key influences
- Aristotle and the Lake Poets
- Wilhelm Von Humboldt
- Classical liberalism
- Concerned with sadistic guards
- Weaknesses
- There are too many factors to equate pleasure
- Living by pleasure is very subjected and can promote action against the moral rules
- May result in society being selfish and expect pleasures
- It is difficult to determine what will produce pleasure or pain and in its greatest amount
- Pain and pleasure are subjective
- Lacks analogies
- Pleasure can never be pure
- Minority will always lack pleasure -majority may be corrupt
- Could contradict law
- Rule Utilitarianism very inflexible
- Lack of autonomy
- Less moral integrity
- Unable to have responsibility their own moral projects
- Ambiguous
- The theory become arbitrary as you start to just make it up
- What if there are two actions which will cause the same amount of pain.
- For example, if you had to choose between breaking a promise you made to friend A or the promise to friend B. How would you choose.?
- Strengths
- Pleasure can be equated so you can ensure that you live a pleasurable life
- Encourages society to be selfless
- Will encourage people to create and achieve goals to ensure happiness
- Pleasures or happiness are wanted to be achieved by the majority of people
- Works alongside situation ethics and laws
- Bentham takes into account many aspects of pleasure - future consequence
- Not religious ethic - widely applicable
- Usually conforms with instinctive moral and judicial law
- Promotes social harmony
- Jeremy Bentham
- Principle of Utility
- This can be considered democratic because everyone is equally valued and so it seems like a fair approach
- An action is right if it produces the greatest good for the greatest number
- Good is a maximization of pleasure and the minimization of pain
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