Utilitarism
Lewis Vaughn, Doing Ethics, Fifth Edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2019.(textbook) 500-600 words On Utilitarianism
How do classical utilitarians define the good and bad? In other words, what is their theory of value?
What is the principle of utility? Formulate it.
What are the differences between Mill and Bentham on quality of pleasures?
Bentham proposes what becomes known as act utilitarianism? Describe Act utilitarianism and some problems with act utilitarianism that lead Mill to espouse a different perspective.
Describe Mill’s development of utilitarianism as what becomes known as rule utilitarianism. Describe also the role Mill sees for virtue in his version of utilitarianism.
Describe Mill’s harm principle and how legislating in accord with it is thought to lead to the greatest happiness of society.
Lewis Vaughn, Doing Ethics, Fifth Edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2019. (textbook) 500-700 word essay On Utilitarianism
How do classical utilitarians define the good and bad? In other words, what is their theory of value?
What is the principle of utility? Formulate it.
What are the differences between Mill and Bentham on quality of pleasures?
Bentham proposes what becomes known as act utilitarianism? Describe Act utilitarianism and some problems with act utilitarianism that lead Mill to
espouse a different perspective.
Describe Mill’s development of utilitarianism as what becomes known as rule utilitarianism. Describe also the role Mill sees for virtue in his version of
utilitarianism.
Describe Mill’s harm principle and how legislating in accord with it is thought to lead to the greatest happiness of society.
Sample Solution
The utilitarians were social reformers. They thought that irrational restrictions in common sense morality and in the law retarded social progress and permitted unwarranted cruelty. Historically speaking, they are liberal heroes. Utilitarians tend to hold: Hedonistic views of the good. They think that pleasure (happiness, the satisfaction of desires, utility, etc.) is ultimately the only good thing and that pain is ultimately the only bad thing. They think that the right action or policy is the one that brings about better overall consequences than the alternatives. When we couple their consequentialism with their hedonism, we see that they seek to maximize happiness overall.
