Utilitarianism - created from Mind Map

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Act Utilitarianism

Benthamite

Mill

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"

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

Bentham

Philanthropist (performs generous/benevolant actions)

Social reformer

Supported

Believed there is no such thing as natural justice - rights are only given to us by law

Founder of Utilitarianism

1748-1832

Believed in prison/legal reforms

Saw society as a collection of individuals

Decriminalisation of homosexuality

Seperation of church and state

Abolition of death penalty

Abolition of slavery

Did not believe in the good of the community being put above the good of the individual

Agreed with Utilitarianism's central tenets

Disagreed that all pleasures and pains are equal

1806-1873

Was extremely well educated

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

Rule Utilitarianism

An action is right if it conforms to the rule that has the greatest good

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

Established by Peter Singer

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

To fulfil this, you need to work out people's deisires and attempt to develop them

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

Condones abortion (particularly in the early stages)

Singer believes in vegetarianism, as preference utilitarianism is extended to all sentient beings

Weighs up mother's preference to foetus's pain - mother is rational and conscious so it outweighs

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

"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)

"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

Disadvantages

Rule util

Act Util

There are examples in which keeping to a rule can lead to more pain and less utility - contradiction?

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

"It is the greatest happiness for the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong" - Bentham

Only interested in utility/pain from action

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

"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

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Utilitarianism

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