Bentham believes all pleasure &
pain equal - some pleasures are not
"superior"
Bentham used the Hedonic Calculus
to decide whether or not an action is
"right"
Annotations:
HEDONIC CALCULUS:
- INTENSITY
- DURATION
- CERTAINTY
- PROPINQUITY (how soon will the pleasure occur?)
- FECUNDITY (probability that the action will be followed by sensations of a similar kind)
- PURITY
- EXTENT
Believed Utilitarianism
should be the guide
legislator of laws/rules
Believed Utilitarianism was not
a "new" system - this is the way
that humans have always
operated
Did not believe in the good of the
community being put above the
good of the individual
Believed there is no such thing as
natural justice - rights are only
given to us by law
Founder of Utilitarianism
1748-1832
Mill
Agreed with Utilitarianism's central tenets
Disagreed that all
pleasures and pains are
equal
A response to Utilitarinism being
called a "philosophy for pigs"
"It is quite compatible with the principle of
utility to recognise the fact that some kinds of
pleasure are more desirable and more
valuable than others" - Mill
Why
Intellectual
pleasures are just
intrinsically better
They have a "greater permanency,
safety, uncostliness etc"
PURER pleasure,
more FECUNDITY
1806-1873
Was extremely well educated
Rule Utilitarianism
An action is right if it
conforms to the rule that
has the greatest good
Annotations:
"The rightness or wrongness of a particular action is a function of the correctness of the rule of which it is an instance" - Garner and Rosen
Rule utilitarians argue that acting for
the immediate good isn't always for
the greatest good
Eg. executing the innocent man to avoid a riot may be
for the immediate greatest good but would it be right
in the long run as it would result in a world in which
people have no rights
Preference Utilitarianism
Goal: a "satisfaction of desires"
instead of decrease pain/increase
utility
We should act on the preference of the individual
unless it is outweighed by the preference of
someone else
This preference could be
avoid pain, experience utility
However, can be more complex than this eg a human may have
a preference to establish and maintain a healthy relationship,
whilst a pig may have a preference to roll in mud
To fulfil this, you need to work out people's deisires
and attempt to develop them
Established by Peter Singer
Condones abortion (particularly in the early stages)
Weighs up mother's preference to foetus's
pain - mother is rational and conscious so it
outweighs
Singer believes in vegetarianism, as preference
utilitarianism is extended to all sentient beings
Still sees humans as "higher" than animals - if one
had to eat meat to survive, this would be permissible in
preference utilitarianism.
Singer believes that an animal's preference to not get eaten
outweighs a human's preference to eat meat
Negative Utilitarianism
Karl Popper
Focus on
minimisation of
suffering, not
maximisation of
happiness
People tend to think
we should end
human suffering
More realistic (?) -
people mostly try to
avoid pain more
Advantages
Comes from a time when there were great
social divides and treats all individuals as
equal
"each is to count for one, none to count for more than one"
Could extend (arguably) to all sentient beings
"the question is not, can they reason? nor can they talk? but can they
suffer?" - Bentham
Peter Singer
"The good" and "the bad" are metaphysical concepts
- Utilitarianism says that these are physical concepts
eg pain and utility
Avoids conflict of duties - eg keep a
promise or tell a lie, utilitarianism tells us to
do the one that will result in the most utility,
least pain etc
Takes consequences into account and allows
for complex scenarios (unlike deontological)
Disadvantages
Rule util
There are examples in which
keeping to a rule can lead to more
pain and less utility - contradiction?
Act Util
Theoretically, any leisure activities
are morally wrong, as this time
could be spent doing charity work
Can disregard rights of
individuals
Central Tenets
Consequencialist system- not
interested in the actions as long as the
outcome itself is "right
Only interested in utility/pain from action
"It is the greatest happiness for the
greatest number that is the measure
of right and wrong" - Bentham