What Philosophy Is

Hedonistic Utilitarianism

As you read the material for the next class, keep the questions below in mind. To answer these questions you will have to reflect critically on what you have read and possibly re-read important passages. Keep in mind that there are two basic kinds of information that you need to look for in the readings.

  1. What are the main points or conclusions that an author accepts with respect to a particular issue?
  2. What are the reasons or important considerations that lead the author to accept that conclusion?

For our purposes, it is information of the latter sort (2) that will be our primary concern since our most basic task is to evaluate the reasons that are offered to support accepting one possible conclusion about an issue, rather than another.

Although I strongly suggest that you write out brief answers to these questions, you do not have to turn in written responses. You do, however, need to be prepared to speak intelligently to these issues in the next class meeting. Also, it is reasonable to assume that the final exam’s questions will be drawn from these questions—particularly those in bold.

Readings:

  • Jeremy Bentham, “The Principle of Utility” (handout).
  • Robert Nozick, “The Experience Machine” from Stephen M. Cahn (ed.), Philosophy for the 21st Century, pp. 580-581.

Questions:

  1. According to Jeremy Bentham, what is pleasure? How would you describe the “calculus” of pleasures that he lays out? Why is he concerned with pleasure, i.e., what role is it supposed to play in his moral theory? Bentham maintains that an action should be evaluated by the net pleasure of all involved, and not just by the amount of pleasure the person performing it receives. What argument could he have to reject egoism? Does this mean we have to care about animals, which also experience pleasure?
  2. Robert Nozick claims that “we learn that something matters to us in addition to experience by imagining an experience machine and then realizing that we would not use it”. What is his argument to justify this claim? Do you believe it is true or would you rather use the machine? Why or why not?
  3. Assuming that pleasure and pain are kinds of experiences (how could they not be?), then does Nozick’s argument refute Bentham’s claim that “it is from them alone to point out what we ought to do”? Which position is supported by the strongest and most compelling argument?

 

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