Posted: February 28th, 2023

Philosphy

HAPPINESS

Review—Deontological Ethics and the Categorical Imperative

HAPPINESS

The Ethics of Happiness challenges us to achieve the greatest balance of happiness (well-being, satisfaction, pleasure) over suffering. Included in the great calculation is the happiness of others as well as oneself, and we find ourselves looking to achieve the greatest balance of happiness over suffering in society as a whole. Ethical thinking in this family of values is quantitative and economic, concerned with trade-offs and the distribution of goods, maximizing tangible social benefits.

Anthony Weston—A 21st Century Ethical Toolbox, p. 174.

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CC BY-SA.

Utilitarianism& Calculus of Happiness

Jeremey Bentham
&
J.S. Mill

Jeremey Bentham (1748-1832)
John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)

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CC BY-SA

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under
CC BY-NC-ND

The Bentham’s Quantitative
Felicific Calculus
Intensity: How strong is the pleasure?

Duration: How long will the pleasure last?

Certainty or
uncertainty: How likely or unlikely is it that the pleasure will occur?

Propinquity or remoteness: How soon will the pleasure occur?

Fecundity: The probability that the action will be followed by sensations of the same kind.

Purity: The probability that it will not be followed by sensations of the opposite kind.

Extent: How many people will be affected

Mill’s Qualitative Calculus
If I am asked what I mean by difference of quality in pleasures, or what makes one pleasure more valuable than another, merely as a pleasure, except its being greater in amount, there is but one possible answer. Of two pleasures, if there be one to which all or almost all who have experience of both give a decided preference, irrespective of any feeling of moral obligation to prefer it, that is the more desirable pleasure.

J.S. Mill—On Utilitarianism

Utilitarianism

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PART 1

350 Words

You are Bob’s lawyer. Your job is to convince a jury that Bob is not guilty of the child’s death.Based on your reading, and the videos, provide the jury with a 350 to 750 closing statement that will convince them that Bob did nothing wrong.

CHAPTER 6 PP. 174-203 ATTACHED

Apologies for the delay in posting. Perhaps it is my age, but I remain perplexed as to how to get the videos to play in the slide presentations. I will seek professional help this week!

Reading: Chapter 6–The Ethics of Happiness, pp. 174-203. Particular attention to the section on Utilitarianism, pp. 181-198. This is where your writing assignment will come from.

In this section is selection from one of founding texts of Utilitarianism by the 19th century philosopher J.S. Mill. Engaging with the original authors is important for understanding. It may take you two or three swipes through it to get a full handle on the language, but it is worth it.

Since we are studying HAPPINESS this week–No Worries, Be Happy!

The videos that are referenced in the slide deck are listed below. Watch the videos in order–, Don’t Worry, Mashup, etc. This corresponds to the way they appear in the slide deck.

I reference the TV show, The Good Place, a lot. It was a great show that explored ethics with aplomb and clarity, as well as being entertaining. After Don’t Worry video, the next three videos are Mashup, TGP Deontology, TGP Utilitarianism. The Deontology and Utilitarianism videos are by Dr. Todd May who teaches Philosophy at Clemson University. He uses The Good Place to explain the Categorical Imperative (Deontology) and Utilitarianism.

The final three short lectures are on Utilitarianism. These lectures are by Dr. Julia Markowitz. She taught philosophy at MIT when she recorded the videos. She now teaches a Cornell University. These lectures give you a very good grounding in the issues surrounding Utilitarianism. Please watch. These will help you with your writing assignment.

Writing Assignment is in Assignments and Forum Discussion prompt is in Discussions. Enjoy.

Again, apologies for the delay in posting.

This is a very clumsy workaround, but it you want to get a sense of what the deck is supposed to look like:
1. Click on Link (Theories of Happiness)
2. Open in Powerpoint
3. Choose
Play From Current Slide
4. Click on first slide–for each slide with video there will a brief intro. The click the video to play.
5. After the first slide is completed you will need to go to the next slide. If you are in full screen click curser button that goes right.
6. If you hit escape and go out of full screen, just click on the next slide.