Exam 5: Using Your Reason, Part 1: Utilitarianism

Explain the general idea of the naturalistic fallacy and how it relates to utilitarianism.

Utilitarianism might allow for using human suffering as a means of entertainment if the happiness produced outweighs the suffering.

The philosopher Epicurus was the godfather of John Stuart Mill.

Niccolò Machiavelli's theory that if the end is to maintain political power for oneself, one's king, or one's political party, that will justify any means one might use for that purpose, such as force, surveillance, or even deceit, is both a consequentialist as well as a utilitarian theory.

One of the reasons for Jeremy Bentham donating his body to medical research was to put a stop to body snatching.

The harm principle states that adult persons should not be interfered with, unless they are doing harm to others or themselves.

There seem to have been several factors at play in young John Stuart Mill's breakdown, other than his own insistence that he was disappointed with Jeremy Bentham's utilitarian theory. Which one is NOT discussed in the text?

In the movie Purge, on a specific date every year, all violence is allowed. The (supposed) benefit from the orgy of violence is that for the other 364 days of the year, life is peaceful and productive with no violent crimes. The majority benefits through the painful, terrifying deaths of a minority of the population. Discuss whether the killing of a few people under ritual circumstances provides benefits. Even if it somehow did, would it be the right thing to do?

Do you think that people who lie more often see themselves as lying for selfish reasons or utilitarian reasons? Can a person's reasons for lying be both selfish and utilitarian at the same time?

In the film Extreme Measures, is Dr. Myrick's experimentation a noble quest in order to help humanity or a perverse abuse of human beings? Is there a third alternative? Explain your position.

According to John Stuart Mill, how can we make a decision without knowing the consequences? Explain and discuss.

What is the difference between intrinsic and instrumental reasoning? Give an example.

Instrumental value refers to valuing something in itself without regard to what it might bring of further value.

In The Blacksmith and the Baker, an innocent baker is being executed for the crime of the blacksmith.

Which of the following is a statement by John Stuart Mill?

Discuss the permissibility of torture with respect to the utilitarian approach. Do you agree? Why or why not?

René Descartes argued that animals cannot feel pain, because they have no mind.

Evaluate Descartes's theory that only those beings with minds can suffer, and only human beings have minds. Explore the possible consequences for a moral theory if we agree that animals, including human beings, have the capacity for suffering.

John Stuart Mill believed that whole populations could not be trusted to govern themselves because they were not sufficiently mature.