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3d classical - act ultaliteranism - Coggle Diagram
3d classical - act ultaliteranism
Bentham
Bentham believed the established church was not doing enough to create a more equal society and in fact was actively supporting the status quo
Jeremy Bentham was born in London on 15th February 1748. He could read scholarly works at 3, played the violin at 5 and studies Latin and French at 6. At aged 12 he went to Oxford and trained as a lawyer. Bentham was the leader of the Philosophical Radicals who founded the Westminster Review
enlightenment - through his desire of reform
social philanthropy and charity due to inequality and his concern for others - saw lots of social, economical and political inequality
Good’ is defined in terms of pleasure or happiness - so an act is right or wrong according to the good or bad results from the act and the good act is the most pleasurable. Since it focuses on the greatest good for the greatest number, Bentham’s theory is quantitative.
rule of thumb- we can accept generalised rules some of the time - eg dont kill people
Bentham argued that we should be guided by the principle of utility and not by rules. However, it may be necessary to use rules of thumb based on past experience, especially if there is not time to work out the consequences.
principle of utility
an action is good if it produces the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest amount of people-
greatest overall happiness for the greatest number
Utility here means the usefulness of the results of actions
Priestlys essay 'on government'- greatest good for the greatest number - Bentham saw this and had a eureka moment
hedonism- epicurus acient greek writer - pleasure - happiness is pleasure minus pain
bentham says that his theory is universal ethical hedonism - everyone is equal and have an equal right to happiness
he illustrated this by using example of pish pin and poetry, gin and opera stating that if they bring happiness, they are the same
type of theory
teleological Teleological theories of ethics look at the end purpose or goal of an action- the telos is happyness for the most people
consequentialist looks at the consequences - results of an action - to decide whether it is right or wrong
reletivist -Relativist ethical theories have no universal moral norms or rules and that each and every situation has to be looked at independently because each situation is different.
hedonic calculus
Bentham created a formula of working out how much pleasure could be created by an action- written in his book ' introduction to the principles of morals and legislation
The intensity of the pleasure or pain – this means how strong the pleasure is
The duration of the pleasure or pain – this means the length of time the pleasure lasts
The certainty or uncertainty of the pleasure or pain – this means how confident or sure you are that the pleasure will occur
The remoteness (propinquity) of any pleasure or pain – this means how near the pleasure is to you
The chances of the same effects being repeated. (Fecundity/Richness) – this means will it lead to more pleasure?
The chances of the same effects not being repeated. (Purity) – this means the degree to which the pleasure is free from pain
The number of people who will be affected by any pleasure or pain arising because of the action(s) in question. (Extent)
EG VARDYS CAR CRASH EXAMPLE
act utilitarianism
utilitarian methods should first arrive at specific actions which are considered to be moral or immoral and from these general rules can be deduced