Which of the following philosophers were “Utilitarians”?
I. Jeremy Bentham
II. John Stuart Mill
III. Immanuel Kant
a)
I only
b)
I and II only
c)
I and III only
d)
I, II, and III – ANSWER- The correct answer is B. Kant was the author
of several works on deontological ethics.
Jeremy Bentham worked out the felicific calculus in order to
a)
decide whether an imperative was categorical or hypothetical
b)
introduce a hierarchy of pleasures of unequal ethical value
c)
reduce moral choices to a universally applicable algorithm
d)
create a tool for his deontological ethical system – ANSWER- The
correct answer is C. Bentham had a fairly unwieldy calculational
model that was designed to prejudge the positive (happinesscausing) and negative (harm-causing) outcomes of any action. How
usable this calculus was in the lightning-quick decisions that must
often be made in ethics has been an ongoing question. Bentham’s
was a consequentialist, not a deontological, system.
Mill and Bentham disagreed that
I. consequences of actions should be taken into account in ethics
II. all pleasures were equivalent
a)
I only
b)
I and II only
c)
II only
d)
neither I nor II – ANSWER- The correct answer is C. Unlike
Bentham, Mill did not hold that all pleasures were equivalent in the
working out of moral consequences.
The “harm principle” was
a)
authored by Mill and stated that liberty extended up to the point of
inflicting harm on another
b)
authored by Mill and stated that liberty was the highest pleasure in the
felicific calculus
c)
authored by Bentham and was that liberty extended up to the point of
inflicting harm on another
d)
authored by Bentham and was that liberty was the highest pleasure in the
felicific calculus – ANSWER- The correct answer is A. Mill took the
view that the prevention of harm was the primary moral duty, and
that therefore the primary aim of just government and law was to
remove any impediments or obstacles to liberty. This lined up with
Mill’s laissez-faire economic notions. Later scholars called this
notion “negative liberty.”
Mill would object to Kant’s categorical imperative in which of the
following ways?
I. It is based on the results of actions
II. It assumes too much rationality in human beings
III. It can lead to greater unhappiness since consequences cannot be
taken into account
a)
I only
b)
I and II only
c)
I and III only
d)
III only – ANSWER- The correct answer is D. Mill insisted that the
consequences of actions be taken into account in ethical questions.
He did not believe that the categorical imperative assumed too much
rationality; in fact, utilitarianism requires that rationality ultimately
dominate the mind as well.
The main difference between rule utilitarianism and act utilitarianism is
that
a)
act utilitarianism requires us to consider the social utility of every act,
whereas rule utilitarianism requires us to consider only the social utility
of a rule and act accordingly
b)
act utilitarianism requires us to consider the social utility of every rule,
whereas rule utilitarianism requires us to consider only the social utility
of every act
c)
act utilitarianism requires us to use the hedonic calculus, whereas rule
utilitarianism does not
d)
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