Class notes
Class notes PHL 206
- Course
- PHL 206
- Institution
- Wallace State Community College Hanceville
This document is the notes for the PHL 206 class for modules 4-7 exam.
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Section 2 Exam PHL 206: Modules 4-7Study Questions for Module 4:
1. What is utilitarianism?: moral theory that focuses on
the results, or consequences, of our actions, and
treats intentions as irrelevant.
2. What does it mean to say that the right thing to do is
that which provides the most amount of good to the
most amount of people?: In utilitarianism, doing the
"right thing" means taking the action that results in
the most positive impact for the most people. It's
about maximizing overall happiness or well-being,
even if it means not everyone benefits equally.
3. What is the greatest happiness principle?:
Happiness=Pleasure=The Ultimate End. Everything
is desired for pleasure as an end, or as a means to
promote pleasure and prevent pain.
4. What are objections to his theory that Mill anticipates
and responds to?: A doctirine worthy of swine
(demeaning to humans)- qualitative differences in
pleasure. Higher and lower pleasures- some peopl do
choose lower. Happiness cant be the goal of life
beacuase it is unattainable. Utilitarianism is
selgish/egotistic doctrine. Inapplicable becaise no
time to calulate consequences.
5. What is the problem of determining what kind of
“good” is that which counts for utilitarian moral
analysis?: “Good” can be subjective and varies from
person to person. One problem with utilitarianism is
figuring out whose definition of “good” to use. For
1
, example, some people might see happiness as
pleasure, while others might see it as fulfillment or
achievement. Measuring and comparing these
different kinds of “good” can be tricky.
Notes from reading: John Stuart Mill,
Utilitarianism:
Notes from watching: Utilitarianism:
Crash Course Philosophy:
Immanuel Kant laid out something called
Kantianism.
Kantianism is all about sticking to the moral
rulebook. There are never any exceptions, or
any excuses, for violating moral rules.
Utilitarianism: moral theory that focuses on the
results, or consequences, of our actions, and
treats intentions as irrelevant.
Good consequences=good actions in the
Utilitarianism view.
Modern utilitarianism was founded in the 18th
century by British philosophers Jeremy Bentham
and John Stuart Mill.
Actions should be measured in terms of the
happiness, or pleasure, that they produce.
Happiness is our end, and it is what we do
everything else for.
2
, Like Kant, utilitarians agree that a moral theory
should apply equally to everyone. But they
thought the way to do that was to ground it in
something that’s intuitive-and there’s really
nothing more basic than their primal desire to
seek pleasure and avoid pain.
It is often said that utilitarianism is a Hedonistic
moral theory: the good is equal to the pleasant,
and we ought, morally, to pursue pleasure and
happiness, and work to avoid pain.
Utilitarianism is not egotistical, it is other-
regarding meaning we should pursue pleasure or
happiness, not just for ourselves, but for as
many sentient beings as possible.
“We should act always so as to produce the
greatest good for the greatest number.” This is
known as the principle of utility.
Where morality is concerned, utilitarians argue,
as special as you are, you are no more special
than anybody else.
Utilitarians suggest that we make our moral
decisions from the position of a benevolent,
disinterested spectator. Rather than thinking
about what I should do, they suggest that I
consider what I would think if I were advising a
group of strangers about what they should do.
This way, I have a disposition of good will, but
not emotionally invested.
Bernard Williams offered a case known as A
Critique of Utilitarianism.
Utilitarianism is a really demanding moral
theory.
3
, When Bentham and Mill first proposed their
moral theory, it was in a form known as Act
Utilitarianism (Classical Utilitarianism): in any
given situation, you should choose the action
that produces the greatest good for the greatest
number.
Rule Utilitarianism: version of the theory that
says we ought to live by rules that, in general,
are likely to lead to the greatest good for the
greatest number. It allows us to refrain from acts
that might maximize utility in the short run, and
instead follow rules that will maximize utility for
the majority of time.
Notes from Utilitarianism Lecture:
Utilitarianism (Consequentialism)
Basic Form:
X is the GOOD
An action Y is right if (of all possible actions) it
brings about the most X
- If it maximizes the GOOD
- If it has the best consequences possible
Questions
Is the Good one thing or many things?
Actual consequences, or actual and future ones?
Direct consequences or also indirect ones?
Total net Good or Average Good per person?
Everybody counts equally or some are worth
more than others?
Effects on whom?
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