Strengths

Many people agree with its consequentialist approach

• One reason people tend to like Utilitarianism is that it is a consequentialist as opposed to a teleological approach

• It avoids situations where you might follow an ethical rule but end up with making everyone unhappy

• This flexible approach to ethics seems much more pragmatic than traditional religious ethics 

The Hedonic Calculus gives some guidance about how to calculate pleasure 

• To help calculate future pleasures, Bentham provides the Hedonic Calculus to which some people feel makes the idea of pleasure very clear and more meaningful ▪ Bentham, states when calculating pleasure, we should consider the intensity, duration, certainty, purity and extent of it 

• This makes his ethical theory non-elitist and more democratic as it treats all people’s pleasures the same  

Weaknesses

Robert Nozick: Pleasure isn’t the only important thing 

• We can imagine situations where we have pleasure but not justice and most people would be unhappy with this 

• Later version of Utilitarianism such as Singer’s Preference Utilitarianism can avoid this problem though 

Peter Vardy: Act Utilitarianism values the quantity of pleasure instead of the quality of it 

• Act Utilitarianism doesn’t distinguish between the quality of pleasure and instead focuses on more. 

• This might lead us to watching junk TV is better than listening to opera 

Peter Vardy: It’s seems to complicated to estimate future pleasure 

• The Hedonic Calculus seems very complicated and difficult to apply in real situations 

  • A Roald Dahl story describes a doctor saving a pregnant woman only to end with the line: “Your son will be okay Mrs Hitler”. 

W.D. Ross: It ignores justice

• Ross notes that we have prima facie duties to others that are completely ignored such as saving your own children before a stranger or promoting justice

Key arguments/debates -Bentham

• Some philosophers view pleasure as too vague a concept for ethical decisions as it can be arbitrary and subjective. 

• Others would debate the ability to predict outcomes.

•  But how can one predict everything with equal accuracy? 

Strengths

Rule Utilitarianism solves some of the problems of Act Utilitarianism 

• Mill solves two problems with Act Utilitarianism

  • Firstly, his loose rules can avoid the problem of the Hedonic Calculas being too complicated as instead of working out future pleasure each time, you can follow a simple loose rule 

  • Secondly, higher pleasures could include justice and so this allows the ethical theory to promote justice

Weaknesses

It’s hard to distinguish between higher and lower order pleasures 

• Some people feel that the difference between higher and lower order pleasures are just snobbery and never justified 

• There is also the problem it seems hard to distinguish what is a higher order pleasure from a lower order pleasure as this just seems to be subjective

Key arguments/debates Mill

• Some philosophers Rule Utilitarianism puts its emphasis on the ways that humans have responded well to recurring situations and that it can be an incredibly powerful tool for learning from the past. 

• Others would argue that Rule Utilitarianism is in danger of becoming deontological and not doing justice to the principle of utility. 

Key Quotes   -Bentham

“...when happiness is present, we have everything. When it is absent, we do everything to possess it.” (Epicurus) 

“Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters: pain and pleasure.” (Jeremy Bentham) 

“It is the greatest good to the greatest number of people which is the measure of right and wrong.” (Jeremy Bentham) 

“[Judge action] ...according to the tendency which it appears to have to augment or diminish the happiness of the party whose interest is in question.” (J Bentham 

Key Quotes -Mill

“...some kinds of pleasure are more desirable and more valuable than others.” (J. S. Mill) 

“It is better to be a human being dissatisfied, than a pig satisfied.” (J. S. Mill) 

“... no person of feeling and conscience would be selfish and base.” (J. S. Mill) 

“All action is for the sake of some end...” (J. S. Mill)