文档介绍：: Problems of Philosophy
Prof. Sally Haslanger
November 29, 2001
Duty and Famine: Singer
Last time we considered Mill's version of Utilitarianism, called Eudaimonistic Utilitarianism, characterized by what he
calls "the greatest-happiness principle":
You ought always to act so as to maximize happiness, ., the right act is the act that results in the greatest
amount of happiness overall.
The "greatest-happiness principle", however, just states one version of Utilitarianism. Other versions of Utilitarianism
emphasize, ., pleasure or welfare as opposed to happiness, the utility of rules or principles as opposed to particular
actions, etc.
As we discussed, there are a number of at least potential problems with Utilitarianism:
ï It does not respect ordinary moral principles, ., keep your promises, don't lie, respect for human
rights.
ï It does not respect ordinary moral distinctions, ., between harming and failing to help.
ï It asks too much of us, ., we could always be doing more to increase overall happiness.
ï It asks to little of us, ., what matters for Utilitarianism is only the actual consequences, but this lets
people who are lucky off the hook.
But Utilitarianism does seem to capture some basic elements of moral thinking, ., that one person's welfare is no more
important than any other's, and that moral