Introduction to Philosophy

Achieve Test Prep: Philosophy

Consequences: Utilitarianism Two Greek philosophers living at the same time as Aristotle, Aristippus and Epicurus, had a radically different approach to moral life. They believed that morally enlightened actions were defined not by the moral character of the individual as Aristotle believed, or by rationally based duty as Kant believed. Aristippus and Epicurus believed that morally enlightened actions were defined by the consequences of the action believing that the morally correct course of action was the one that resulted in engendering the greatest amount of pleasure, an ethical approach known as hedonism. Hedonism is the view that pleasure is the only thing truly of value and was first identified by Aristippus, who believed that the meaning of life is pleasure, pure and simple and the purpose of life was to achieve as much intense, sensual pleasures as possible. Aristippus was a follower of Socrates and believed happiness consists in pleasure and is commonly associated with the ethical doctrine of hedonism. Epicurus advanced the view in ethics that pleasure is the one sole good and pain is the one sole bad and that one should not seek out pleasures solely but devote oneself to avoiding pain. He believed that there were higher pleasures such as intellectual pursuits and lower pleasures such as physical gratifications. In the Epicurus view, only the higher pleasures could provide optimal pleasure and peace of mind. He created a school called The Garden and invited people to stop by and socialize, eat and drink, and discuss philosophy. It was a serene retreat and everyone was welcome and treated as equals. Bentham: The Greatest Happiness for the Greatest Number Bentham was a British philosopher who developed the moral theory of utilitarianism in response to the ills of industrialization. He was committed to social equality, democracy, public education, and a universal improvement in the public welfare. His writing was aimed at addressing the abuses spawned by the Industrial Revolution in England. He argued for an ethical theory that took the happiness and suffering of the working class into account. His theory came to be known as utilitarianism which was aimed to promote the greatest good for all people, not just the wealthy and it focused on the social consequences of ethical decisions. Utilitarianism is the view that we should act to promote the greatest amount of happiness and create the least amount of suffering possible for the greatest number of people. Bentham was a hedonist believing that humans not only necessarily governed by pleasure and pain (psychological hedonism) but also should be governed by pleasure and pain (ethical hedonism). Psychological hedonism is the view that all human desire is necessarily directed to achieving pleasure and avoiding pain. Ethical hedonism is the view that human desire and action ought to be directed to achieving pleasure and avoiding pain. Bentham expands the basic framework for his theory and expands it to a social philosophy by stating that his argument is that for each of us to achieve maximum pleasure, it is in our interest to live in a society in which all people have an opportunity to achieve genuine pleasure for themselves as well. In order to achieve that, we need to create a democratic society based on the principles of social justice and personal opportunity, enforced by the authority of the law. Bentham believed it was in our self- interest to help people fulfill their own self-interest and the moral guide of our actions is what Bentham

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