Social Relativism Contract Theory a theory that says people are bound by an unwritten contract to be moral Thomas Hobbes Sovereign king controls order John Locke balance of powers Democracy Utilitarianism based on Empiricism Pleasure and Pain Hedonism o Good is equivalent to pleasure happiness o Bad is equivalent to pain unhappiness Jeremy Bentham 1748 1832 Greatest happiness principle Seek the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number Pleasure Calculus o Example Making Kent downtown more bicycle friendly Pleasure Pain Usually a referendum is a good start to vote for funds but it does not measure the amount To properly measure it a scale should be used and then there will be a tally of pleasure of pleasure pain behind each vote versus pain John Stuart Mill 1806 1873 Bentham s godson Wrote the book Utilitarianism Corrects Bentham s Pleasure Calculus Pleasure Types 1 Quantity amount of pleasure 2 Quality a Higher b Lower 1 Pleasure Calculus can be used by a majority to persecute a minority 2 Pleasure Calculus could be used to promote purely swinish pig like pleasures a Example a community wants to allocate funds for education library etc for pleasures like a sports arena casino etc i Example Tic Tac Toe versus Chess Tic Tac Toe is a simply mastered game but chess is more intellectually challenging but when mastered is brings a more refined pleasure Morality Lower Pleasures selfish Higher Pleasures altruistic selfless Revised Greatest Happiness Principle Seek the greatest long term or higher pleasure for the greatest number
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