Free Paper with Some Questions on Utilitarianism

1. Argument is and what reciprocal illumination is.

Jonathan Mills essay brings up an argument that he terms as the Greatest Happiness Principle. The argument begins with an analogy between visibility and desirability. He further argues that based on the proof that something is visible means that a person can see it, hence for something to be desirable one must desire it. The ultimate goal people want is happiness, and thus they will desire an action that leads to most happiness.

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Reciprocal Illumination is a process in which our judgments about specific cases can influence how we regard a particular theory. Our views about a theory can affect our choices depending on the cases. It poses a two-way influence to a person.

2. What is the difference between hedonistic utilitarianism and preference utilitarianism?

How does the example of the experience machine bear on each of these theories?

Hedonistic utilitarianism says that the right action is the one that maximizes pleasure and minimizes pain and it does not apply only to one agent but to all individuals. This form of utilitarianism depicts that one should plug into the experience of life and become more like the fool and less like Socrates; Mill believed that dissatisfied Socrates had a better life than a satisfied fool. The author, however, is of the opinion that these ideas are false and that the hedonistic utilitarianism should be rejected.

Preference utilitarianism's main idea is not to maximize pleasure but rather the degree in which people get their preferences satisfied. According to this form if utilitarianism, should people want to lead real lives and avoid plugging into the experience machine then it will have no problem explaining why it would be wrong to plug people into it.

3. What is the Apples and Oranges problem?

This is how one can compare the intensity of one person's gains to the intensity of another person's loss. Conflicting preferences lead to problems in comparisons. Preference utilitarian needs to determine the intensity in which a person prefers one thing over another. The apples and oranges problem can be addressed in many ways.

Using money as mode of comparison. A particular desire is put up to create a dilemma for both parties. The way the money stacks up on both sides is then noted. The side that attracts a higher bid desires it more. The major flaw of this method is that it can be influenced by the intensity of the participant's desires.

This problem can also be addressed by taking a vote. The fact that each person has a single vote means that this doesn't fully represent the intensity of one's desires and also the fact that two different peoples votes count as equal.

4. How does the Problem of Fanatic Majority present difficulty for utilitarianism?

Based on the essay "On Liberty" by Mill, the fanatic majority problem created an objection to utilitarianism. Liberals have an imprecise slogan that "People should be free to do what they want, as long as it doesn't hurt others." The slogan though appears to be imprecise in that the liberals can claim to be "hurt" just by knowing that other people are living differently from their view of life. Mill being a utilitarian himself was faced with a problem to reconcile utilitarianism with the idea that people should be liberal. He ends up having to differentiate between private and public actions

5. How does the Dirty Hands Objection present a difficulty for utilitarianism?

This objection deals with what is morally right and what is morally wrong. People tend to do what he or she deems morally or ethically upright. Morality, however, does not affect the consequences. Such is not the case with utilitarianism since it doesn't take morality into account.