ETHICS - PHL 205 - MIDTERM 2
QUESTION RESPONSES
Define consequentialism, and explain why act utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism.Correct answer- Consequentialism is acts that are morally right just because they maximize the amount of goodness in the world Act Utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism in the way that it calls for/requires that one ought to ALWAYS act in each & every individual case in such a way as to maximize benefits and (or) minimize harms.It is sometimes said that act utilitarianism requires us to do whatever will benefit the greatest number of people, or that utilitarianism requires us to do whatever generates the greatest amount of happiness. Explain why both of these are misconceptions, giving examples to illustrate your points.Correct answer- Mill rejects that we must always choose the act that will benefit the greatest # of people because the BENEFIT to the majority may be very small.An example of this 'misunderstanding of utilitarianism: would be if the legislature has a surplus of funding and they need to decide to either hand out $50.00 gift cards to every citizen or they could direct the funds towards a much smaller population of citizens that are living in poverty. It can be said that the Funds when directed towards the poor will yield/bring about MORE GOOD; therefore the funds MUST be directed to combat poverty!Mill also rejects that we MUST ALWAYS choose an ACTION that creates the greatest amount of happiness on the grounds that total happiness for all may bring great harm!An example of how acting to promote total happiness would be if a ROMAN EMPEROR wanted to please his people. To do this, he has 2 options: one, he organized gladiator games of which by watching the battles brings HIS PEOPLE the MOST happiness possible. However, it requires the killing of people.Option 2, the Emperor can organize a competitive sports competition, which brings his people joy, but does not kill anyone. The emperor ought to elect option #2, because although it doesn't bring the most happiness, it does not kill - making the athletic competition the choice that brings the greatest net balance of happiness over misery.In what way is utilitarianism impartial? Explain how this can be seen as both a strength and weakness of the theory. Correct answer- Utilitarianism is impartial in the way that no one-person's well being has any greater moral significance than anyone else's well
- / 1