PSYB30H3 Lecture Notes - John Stuart Mill, Consequentialism
Document Summary
Utilitarianism is a doctrine which states that if an act is morally right it will produce the greatest sum of pleasure, minus that of its respective pain. Which put into a formula would be the utility of an act is equal to its value in hedons minus, that of its respective dolors. The subject has been divided into two segments which are: consequentialism, focusing on producing the greatest total amount of good; as well as hedonism, which states the only thing which is good is pleasure and the absence of pain. In the reading, in defense of utilitarianism by john stuart mill there are three main objections to this practice. The one being focused on is the no time to calculate objection, stating that in ordinary circumstances calling for a moral decision we lack the time needed for calculating utility . The objection itself, as mill puts it, stems from a misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the views of utilitarianism.
