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PHI 208 Ch 3 Uilitarianism - Coggle Diagram
PHI 208 Ch 3 Uilitarianism
act utilitarianism
The branch of utilitarianism that holds that the morally right action is the one that produces the greatest overall utility in each particular circumstance.
rule utilitarianism
The branch of utilitarianism that holds that the morally right action is the one that would lead to the greatest happiness for the greatest number when followed as a general rule.
utilitarianism
A
consequentialist
ethical theory that holds that morally right actions, laws, or policies are those whose consequences contain the greatest positive value and least negative value compared to the consequences of available alternatives.
for the utilitarian,
what is most fundamental and essential to morality are the consequences of our actions and, in particular, whether the overall positive consequences outweigh the negative ones
Utilitarianism consequentialist approach to moral reasoning. .......... holds that actions are morally right if they result in the best consequences relative to other possible actions.......... If action results in worse consequences than another available action, then it is morally wrong. ........... best consequences as those with the greatest overall utility. ........
Utility: Happiness or Well-Being utility
----- some measure of well-being..... usually happiness, which is often also
defined in terms of pleasure and the absence of suffering.
STANDARD of measurement is
utility
--- A measure of well-being and the ultimate standard of value in utilitarianism. This is often defined as happiness, pleasure, and the absence of suffering, or the satisfaction of preferences. .......uses most utility when compared to other alternatives
the utilitarian maintains that we should act in ways that result in the most utility compared to the alternatives.
Utilitarianism: The Greatest Happiness for the Greatest Number Right actions:
actions that result in the greatest overall happiness when compared with the results of alternative actions. Wrong actions: actions that are performed when another action would have resulted in a greater overall balance of happiness and unhappiness.
Measureable...more/less of good-------reduce to good/bad......have in common..........
intrinsic value
- ------ value something has in itself..........
instrumental value
--------value something has because brings good/prevents bad.........common feature must be intrinsic for comparison
Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) British Philo/founder....
hedonism
----hedonism The view that pleasure is the most basic positive value, and pain is the most basic negative value...give basis to distg good from bad conseq.....pleasure/pain serve as common value.........pleasure/pain ---instrically good/bad respectively......can be measured...+/- good/pain calculate = value from available choices.....called
hedonistic utilitarianism
CORE IDEA
Determine how much pleasure (or other positive value) minus pain (or other negative value) will result from the available actions spread across all the people affected by the actions and do that which produces the greatest overall good.
Quantity isn't everything
Remember cow/poem....more of x,y,z. .....more doesn't mean good.....common standard to determine quanity needs to be something else.......
**Mill's utilitarianism --- John Stuart Mill 19th century Englishman...1861 wrote utilitarianism.....comm and defended Benthem's ideas....creed accepts foundation of morals "utility" or "greatest happiness prinicple.".....holds actions right in proportion as promote happiness/wrong as produce reverse happiness.....happiness pleasure and absence of pain; by unhappiness, pain and privation of pleasure....why should this be the standard? .....prime justifction is "pleasure/freedom from pain are the only things desirable as ends; and all desirable things are desirable either for pleasure inherent in themselves or as means to the promotion of pleasure and the prevention of pain (Mill, 1861/2001, p. 7). ...What we value/desire/aim at we find pleasurable/pleasurable to prevent pain in itself........................
Gaining pleasure and preventing pain:.....ultimate purpose of all we do......Why do you do that?...........gain pleasure/avoid pain.........+pleasure/-pain = happier we are......do we all have this in common? ...
3 Aspects of Human Action
The nature and character of the person performing the action.
The nature of the action itself.
The consequences of the action.
The three aspects of human action are:
The three moral theories can be distinguished in this way:
Virtue ethics
focuses on the nature and character of the person performing the action.
Deontological
ethics focuses on the action itself.
Consequentialist
ethics focuses on the consequences of the action.
Consequentialism
Considering Policies/Right or Wrong
Cosq, results, outcomes
Pos/Neg conseq, outcomes, results
which conseq most important in morality