PHILOS 2YY3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Organ Transplantation
27 Sep 2016
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Utilitarianism: happiness is desirable, and the only desirable end; all other desirable things are means to that end. Bentham has only one kind of pleasure, but allows for different degrees of pleasure (quantitative not qualitative) Bodily pleasures are inferior to pleasures of the mind and degree must take into account what kind of pleasure it is and how much there is. Because people who know both prefer pleasures of the mind even when intellectual pleasure brings displeasure humans have preference for complex activities rather than sensation. Someone who experiences intellectual pleasure with lots of bodily pain is still better off than someone who only has bodily pleasure. The argument"s proof lies in the fact that others can see it. E. g. proof that an object is visible is that others see there"s no reason to try to convince people of utilitarianism, they will either choose to see it or not. Every person desires their happiness if they see it as attainable.
