Lecture notes
Bentham's act utillitarianism
- Module
- Unit 3 - Religion and Ethics
- Institution
- WJEC
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Jeremy Bentham and Act UtilitarianismJeremy Bentham was a philosopher and social reformer, an Bentham’s theory was:
expert in law who was dedicated to a more just society Teleological: concerned
addressing issues of excessive and unnecessary pain. with the end results in
He viewed happiness as the sovereign good (supreme ethical terms of the telos of
value). bringing pleasure.
“…when happiness is present, we have everything. Consequentialist:
When it is absent, we do everything to possess it”- because it judges whether
Epicurus. actions are right or wrong
Bentham noticed that humans seek pleasure or happiness and based on the variety of
avoid pain. This was called the principle of utility’. The most consequences actions
useful ethical norm should be to seek pleasure and avoid pain. bring.
Most useful actions are the ones which produce the most Relativist: as it has not set
happiness for all. This was developed into the ‘greatest of moral rules only the
happiness principle’. We should be concerned for others principle of utility.
happiness because our happiness is bound to theirs. Negative act
“It is the greatest good for the greatest number of utilitarianism: when all
Purity-how free of pain is the
In order to act in such a way that increases general pleasure action.
there needs to be a way to measure happiness. Bentham Remoteness-nearness of the
therefore devised what is known as the ‘hedonic pleasure.
calculus’.it measures seven different elements each of Richness-will it lead to other
which are of equal importance to determine the amount of pleasures.
pleasure produced by an act, determining what right course Intensity-how powerful is it.
of action to take. Certainty-likeliness of pleasure
as a result.
Extent-how many does it
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