Utilitarianism (OCR A-Level Religious Studies): Flashcards

Theory: best action maximises happiness, minimises suffering

Morality judged by consequences, not nature or intentions

Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832)

Greatest happiness for the greatest number

Pleasure & happiness are the highest goods

Action maximising utility (happiness) & minimising suffering

Method to measure pleasure/pain an action generates

Intensity, Duration, Certainty, Propinquity, Fecundity, Purity, Extent

Each action judged independently by its consequences

No one person's happiness valued more than another's

Hard to foresee outcomes; requires precise future knowledge

Majority happiness outweighs minority suffering

Extremely hard to measure subjective pleasure/pain objectively

Humans naturally motivated by pleasure, seek to avoid pain