Political Science 1020E Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Jeremy Bentham, Thought Experiment, Decision Rule
1 Dec 2017
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Document Summary
The right action is the one that maximizes utility utility=happiness, well-being, pleasure, preference satisfaction. Obey the law if and only if doing so will produce greater happiness than disobeying. Requirement of maximization: duty to produce as much good as possible. We value impartial concern, especially as a public value. Consequentialism: consequences only matter, focuses on expected consequences. The pleasure machine: thought experiment-> plugged into a machine that allows you to feel pleasure but you have to remain there your whole life. Experience machine: getting experience of hardships to get the end result wanted (being in prison to win nobel prize) Desire satisfaction-the good for a person is getting what they desire. Wolff: obey the law if and only if doing so will produce greater happiness than disobeying (otherwise disobey the law) Don"t justify particular actions by appeal to utility promotion decision rule vs. criterion of rightness. Well-being is maximized by each of us obeying the laws.
