Deck 14: Utilitarianism John Stuart Mill

Question 1

How does Mill define happiness?

A) The fulfillment of one's highest human potential
B) A life lived in accordance with virtue
C) Pleasure and the absence of pain
D) The achievement of one's goals

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Mill's supreme principle of morality is the

A) categorical imperative.
B) principle of utility.
C) natural law.
D) Formula of the End in Itself.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Mill claims that of any two pleasures, one is preferable to the other if and only if it

A) lasts longer.
B) is more intense.
C) is more certain.
D) is preferred by those who are acquainted with both.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

When faced with the complaint that utilitarianism is a doctrine worthy of swine, Mill responds that pleasures differ in

A) purity.
B) quality.
C) species.
D) weight.

Question 5

Mill's list of "higher pleasures" does not include which of the following?

A) Pleasures of human intimacy
B) Intellectual pleasures
C) Pleasures of the feelings and imagination
D) Pleasures of the moral sentiments

Question 6

Mill credits which of the following historical figures with "the complete spirit of the ethics of utility?"

A) Gautama Buddha
B) Jesus of Nazareth
C) Abraham
D) Socrates

Question 7

Mill thinks it is, in general, immoral to lie because

A) lying involves treating someone merely as a means.
B) lying undermines trustworthiness, which is indispensable to human well-being.
C) lying runs counter to the divine will.
D) to lie is to act according to a maxim that could not be universalized.

Question 8

Mill claims that in deciding how to act, we should

A) always calculate the expected consequences of our action.
B) depend on rules of thumb derived from the principle of utility.
C) consult tradition.
D) consult scripture.

Question 9

Mill thinks that his assertion that happiness alone is desirable in itself can be proven by

A) observing the fact that people actually do desire it, and only it, as a good in itself.
B) philosophical reflection on the innate tendencies of every human being.
C) testing the claim against all the alternative theories available in the philosophical tradition.
D) scientific experimentation.

Question 10

How does Mill respond to those who point out that some people desire virtue as good in itself?

A) By showing that they have misunderstood the meaning of virtue
B) By arguing that virtue, like power, fame, or money, can become an ingredient of (and not just a means to) happiness
C) By claiming that the immoral person can be happy
D) All of the above

Question 11

According to Mill, pleasure is the only thing desirable for itself and not as a means to some other end.

Question 12

Mill agrees with Kant that the truly moral motive is always that of duty.

Question 13

According to Mill, it is better to be a satisfied pig than a dissatisfied human.

Question 14

Utilitarianism requires that we be strictly impartial between our own happiness and the happiness of others.

Question 15

Mill argues that we are incapable of choosing a good we know to be less valuable than some alternative.

Question 16

The utilitarian standard of right action is the happiness of the one performing the action.

Question 17

Mill believes that utilitarianism is compatible with Christian moral principles.

Question 18

Mill argues that the only proof that something is desirable is that reason permits everyone to desire it.

Question 19

According to Mill, moral rules admit no exceptions.

Question 20

Mill believes that our inherited moral principles can be indefinitely improved.

Question 21

Mill mentions those who object to utilitarianism on the grounds that it holds humanity to an excessively high moral standard. Why might someone make this argument? How does Mill respond to it? What is your view: Are the requirements of utilitarianism excessively demanding? Why or why not?

Question 22

Someone who saves a person from drowning in the hopes of being paid for it is acting morally according to Mill. Why does he say this? Would Kant agree? Do you? Why or why not?

Question 23

What is the greatest happiness principle? On what does it make the rightness of our actions depend? Do you think it provides a reliable guide to our moral obligations? Why or why not?

Question 24

What is the only thing that is desirable for its own sake according to Mill? How does he argue for this claim? Do you agree with him? Can you supply a counterexample?