What are the two main categories of moral theories?
There are two broad categories of ethical theories concerning the source of value: consequentialist and non-consequentialist.
What are the key principles of utilitarian ethics?
Basic concepts In assessing the consequences of actions, utilitarianism relies upon some theory of intrinsic value: something is held to be good in itself, apart from further consequences, and all other values are believed to derive their worth from their relation to this intrinsic good as a means to an end.
What is rule utilitarianism example?
Rule utilitarians would say that murder is morally wrong because it leads to reduced utility and reduced happiness in society. Thus, the individual scenario of murdering Hitler in his young adulthood would be seen as wrong. In less severe terms, road rules are an example of rule utilitarianism.
Who said the greatest good is pleasure and the greatest evil is pain?
Jeremy Bentham
Can pleasure be quantified?
Hedonistic terms like intensity, duration, fecundity, and likelihood, imply that pleasure can be measured quantitatively, perhaps on a scale from 1-10, as part of a hedonistic calculus.
What is Jeremy Bentham theory?
Jeremy Bentham was a philosopher, economist, jurist, and legal reformer and the founder of modern utilitarianism, an ethical theory holding that actions are morally right if they tend to promote happiness or pleasure (and morally wrong if they tend to promote unhappiness or pain) among all those affected by them.
How does Bentham define pleasure?
As Bentham went on to explain, allowing for “immunity from pain”, pleasure is “the only good”, and pain “without exception, the only evil” (1970, 100). As such, pain and pleasure are the final cause of individual action and the efficient cause and means to individual happiness.
What is pain and pleasure theory?
The pain pleasure principle, developed by Sigmund Freud, suggests that peo- ple make choices to avoid or decrease pain or make choices that create or increase pleasure. The pain pleasure principle is the core of all the decisions we make. Be- liefs, values, actions and decisions are built upon this principle.
How does Bentham measure pleasure?
In measuring pleasure and pain, Bentham introduces the following criteria: Its INTENSITY, DURATION, CERTAINTY (or UNCERTAINTY), and its NEARNESS (or FARNESS). He also includes its “fecundity” (more or less of the same will follow) and its “purity” (its pleasure won’t be followed by pain & vice versa).
What is the fecundity of a pain or a pleasure according to Bentham?
Bentham’s instructions Of the value of each pain which appears to be produced by it in the first instance. Of the value of each pleasure which appears to be produced by it after the first. This constitutes the fecundity of the first pleasure and the impurity of the first pain.