Three different takes on the role of pleasure/pleasantness in Utilitarian Theory
Hedonistic (Bentham):
"Quantity of pleasure being equal, the experience of playing pushpin was as good as that of reading poetry." (1973: 12)
Bentham main focus was on quantity, that he actually had an equation that would figure out someone's level of pleasure.
Pushpin is a game and Bentham states that this game has the same level of pleasure as if you were reading poetry.
Example: If reading a book is good, reading a book you enjoy is great! (When good = the rightmost decision for the occasion).
Ideal (Moore):
"...Believed that some states of mind, such as those of acquiring knowledge, had intrinsic value quite independent of their pleasantness..."(1973: 12-13)
Having knowledge can allow an individual to have their own moral concerns to be …show more content…
Having two options, A or B, an act-utilitarian would ask which option has better consequences than the other option. The consequences could be equal or be different.
Sir David Ross said that you might agree with the consequences of the options but you might disagree with the evaluations of the possible actions.
Which book is better? "The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" or "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan? YaYa may be very fun to read, and may bring an emotional response to the readers. Cosmos may be more educational, take longer, but may alter the reader's perception towards the world. Therefore, Cosmos is the better choice. But WAIT: what if you promised to read YaYa for this month's book club? Then Cosmos is no longer the best option. Ross may agree that Cosmos is a better book to read, but not that you SHOULD read it instead of YaYa
If you promised to choose option B, but the other option has a better total of consequences, it would be unfair to choose option A since you already promised to complete option
Hedonistic (Bentham):
"Quantity of pleasure being equal, the experience of playing pushpin was as good as that of reading poetry." (1973: 12)
Bentham main focus was on quantity, that he actually had an equation that would figure out someone's level of pleasure.
Pushpin is a game and Bentham states that this game has the same level of pleasure as if you were reading poetry.
Example: If reading a book is good, reading a book you enjoy is great! (When good = the rightmost decision for the occasion).
Ideal (Moore):
"...Believed that some states of mind, such as those of acquiring knowledge, had intrinsic value quite independent of their pleasantness..."(1973: 12-13)
Having knowledge can allow an individual to have their own moral concerns to be …show more content…
Having two options, A or B, an act-utilitarian would ask which option has better consequences than the other option. The consequences could be equal or be different.
Sir David Ross said that you might agree with the consequences of the options but you might disagree with the evaluations of the possible actions.
Which book is better? "The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" or "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan? YaYa may be very fun to read, and may bring an emotional response to the readers. Cosmos may be more educational, take longer, but may alter the reader's perception towards the world. Therefore, Cosmos is the better choice. But WAIT: what if you promised to read YaYa for this month's book club? Then Cosmos is no longer the best option. Ross may agree that Cosmos is a better book to read, but not that you SHOULD read it instead of YaYa
If you promised to choose option B, but the other option has a better total of consequences, it would be unfair to choose option A since you already promised to complete option