Essay
Essay Plan on Utilitarianism
- Course
- Institution
An essay plan which covers the highest scoring content within the topic. includes Premises and conclusions, which back and forth arguments highlighted in green and red
[Show more]
Seller
Follow
conradrobinson
Reviews received
Content preview
Utilitarianism“How convincing is utilitarianism as an account of what makes an action morally right”
Introduction This essay will be arguing that Bentham’s hedonistic forms of utilitarianism are insufficient accounts
of what makes an action morally right, I will instead take a preference utilitarianism as a more
convincing account.
I will be using arguments from tyranny of the majority and rule fetishism in order to show that
hedonistic forms of utilitarianism are overly simplistic and black and white accounts. My most crucial
argument to support preference utilitarianism is Nozick's pleasure machine, as this shows that
utilitarians presuppose hedonism.
Define act Act utilitarianism is a consequentialist normative theory which judges individual actions on their
utilitarianism ability to maximise utility (pleasure), quantitatively. This is hedonistic, hedonism being the
descriptive theory (states how the world is), claiming an individual's actions are motivated by
pleasure. Bentham uses this and posits that the only thing which is intrinsically good is happiness
Tyranny of the Act utilitarianism is very dangerous in practice and will lead to counter intuitive results, through
majority prescribing blatantly immoral maxims, with disregard for human semantics or individual rights,
which, as an ethical theory, is very unconvincing. 1 v. 10,000 (torture example)
Rules Rule utilitarians focus on the consequences of general rules rather than the consequences of a
utilitarianism specific action. In order to make a rule, we must conceive that rules affect the wellbeing of society,
weighing if it would be “generally injurious” (cause a constant level of anxiousness and uncertainty).
The rule ‘do not punish innocent people’ leads to greater happiness than not following it.
Rule fetishism Although rule utilitarianism overcomes tyranny of the majority, it is weak in virtue of rule fetishim, the
blindly sticking to rules, placing too much emphasis can lead to undesirable outcomes. Stringent
adherence to rules simply because they are rules leads to counter intuitive outcomes, such as not
“keeping off the grass” in order to save someone from drowning. This theory may seem plausible on
paper, however, in practice, is an unrealistic prescriptive theory which is hard to adhere to.
Preference Non hedonistic forms of utilitarianism overcome issues of hedonistic forms of utilitarianism,
utilitarianism is strengthening this using Nozick's experience machine- shows that utilitarianism presupposes
a better hedonism, other things are desirable over happiness, such as preferences.
account Preferences tend to be “avoidance of pain” rather than “pleasure seeking”, it is better to hel
suffering people than non suffering people happier. Thus making a more convincing account.
Bad Surely we shouldnt maximise bad preferences, such as punching strangers, morally objectionable
preferences preferences.
Limiting the Only accept preferences which only allow morally acceptable preferences
scope of
preferences
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller conradrobinson. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for CA$5.49. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
77764 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now