| A | B |
|---|
| act utilitarianism | This version of utilitarianism focuses on the consequences of a single act; the consequences from the action should be such that the greatest good for the greatest number is maximized |
| rule utilitarianism | This version of utilitarianism focuses on the consequences of following a rule of action (i.e., a type of action done repeatedly), and not just a single action: the consequences for following the rule is that the greatest good for the greatest number is maximized |
| consequentialism | This theory focuses exclusively on the consequences of an action; utilitarianism is the best known consequentialist theory. |
| principle of utility | The principle which calls for minimizing pain and maximizing pleasure for the greatest number. |
| utilitarianism | The theory that one ought to maximize the greatest good (happiness) for the greatest number. |
| Bentham's hedonistic calculus | This is a method of calculating the pleasures and/or pains that a particular action would produce. |
| Mill's higher and lower pleasures | This relies on the notion that some of our characteristics as human beings are more valuable to our humanity than others. |
| the primary weakness of the utilitarian view | The majority can create great harm to the minority of people if it creates happiness for the majority. |
| The greatest good for the greatest number | This is the idea that happiness is maximized not just for one a small group but the largest group possible and not just for now but from the longest time possible; maximizes happiness for as many people as possible on the planet for as many centuries as possible |
| two significant problems for utilitarianism | 1) the difficulty in measuring pleasures and pain;2) the idea that the majority could have pleasure maximized at the expense of the minority |
| Mill's Harm Principle | "The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others." |
| moral code | a set of rules or principles that people use to determine whether an action is right or wrong |
| cultural relativism | the theory that different societies or cultures have different moral codes; this is a descriptive theory |
| descriptive theory | merely describes facts that are observed |
| ethical relativism | the theory that there is no universal moral code; whatever the majority of a particular society or culture considers is morally right is morally right for that culture; this is a normative theory |
| normative theory | This is a theory that makes judgments about what SHOULD be the case with respect to rules or standards |
| an advantage of ethical relativism | it fosters tolerance |
| two disadvantages of ethical relativism | 1) No one can protest against horrible actions if the majority of a society approves of it; and 2) there is no basis for improving ethical codes of a culture |
| The article "Trying Out One's New Sword" | makes an argument against moral isolationism (which goes along with ethical relativism) |
| moral isolationism | Maintains that we can never know a culture well enough to make any judgments/evaluations of it, either positively or negatively |
| Midgely's criticism of moral isolationism | If we cannot make judgments/assessments of other cultures, we also cannot make any of our own; then no moral progress is possible |
| existentialism | a philosophical theory that emphasizes the existence of the individual as a free and responsible agent determining who he/she will become |
| atheistic existentialism | the view that, because there is no God and no resulting moral laws, individuals are free to determine their own human nature through choices for which they stand accountable |
| Friedrich Nietzsche | said "God is dead" and said we should create our own morality |
| theistic existentialism | the view that emphasizes the existence of the individual but in particular dwells on the relationship of the individual to God |
| ubermensch (overman) | Nietzche's idea of the person who creates his/her own morality instead of following the slave (conventional) morality of the group |
| Jean-Paul Sartre | Said that because there's no God human beings don't have a "nature" and that it is our responsiblity (and burden) to choose, by the choices we make in our actions, who we will become |
| Martin Buber | Said "I-Thou" as opposed to "I-It" relationships have us encounter nature, other people and God in a more genuine way |
| Soren Kierkegaard | was a theistic existentialist who said that there are three stages for human beings: the aesthetic, the ethical, and the religious |
| Black existentialism | Emphasized the existence of the individual in the face of oppression and ways of addressing that oppression |
| pragmatism | The philosophical viewpoint that proposes a method more than a worldview: the method involves realizing that truth is what "works," i.e., what has success in its practical application. |
| William James | American philosopher who promoted the theory of pragmaticism, a philosophical viewpoint originating in the United States. |
| correspondence theory of truth | Maintains that a statement is true if it matches up with what is out in reality |
| pragmatic theory of truth | Maintains that something is true if it "works" as far as its ability to be applied successfully in the practical realm |
| Pragmatism favored this theory of truth | the pragmatic theory of truth |
| James says we cannot "prove" free will or determinism, but he still thinks free will is "true" for this "practical" reason | It is pragmatically true because it is only in having free will that it would make sense to have feelings such as regret; we have such feelings because we feel the choice is truly genuine and not forced |
| James' pragmatic argument for believing in the existence of God | We can have a "will to believe" in God if the following is the case: 1) reason is neutral on the issue (God's existence cannot be proven or disproven); 2) it must be a live option (i.e., an idea we are psychologically capable of believing); 3) the choice is "forced" (i.e., we must accept or reject something; there is nothing in between); 4) the issue is "momentous" (i.e., of major concern rather than trivial) |
| Deconstruction (or deconstructionism) | Aims to erase the boundary between binary oppositions (such as man/woman)—and to do so in such a way that the hierarchy implied by the oppositions is thrown into question. |
| Jacques Derrida | French philosopher who was the originator of deconstructionism |
| John Stuart Mill | Elaborated on the theory of utilitarianism with his notion of higher and lower pleasures |
| Jeremy Bentham | Introduced theory of utilitarianism with the hedonistic calculus (measuring pleasures) |
