ETHICS
"The greatest happiness of the greatest number"
BENTHAM
Happiness is commonly seen as the key motive behind human
behaviour, and an incredibly important concept in moral philosophy, from Plato and
Aristotle onwards. Bentham considered pleasure to be the most important
motive.
Bentham aligned pleasure with happiness, whereas Aristotle
had drawn a distinction between them. Bentham regarded pleasure as simply a sensation, that could be
accessed in a number of ways, and believed the relationship between an action and pleasure was one of cause and effect.
From a Utilitarian point of view, quantity of pleasure/pain must
be considered before any actions or decisions are taken.
Bentham was aware that quantification was not easy,
and made suggestions of how to quantify pleasure, relating to duration, certainty and immediacy, to decide what makes one pleasure greater than another.
When making personal decisions we must consider whether the decision will trigger further occurrences of pleasure or pain. When deciding public
policy, it must be considered how widely the pleasure or pain will be spread. This is the principle of greatest happiness
of greatest number.
This is a very ambiguous phrase however, not specifying what is meant by the greatest number.
It is likely that Bentham mean the greatest number of PEOPLE, however others have
extended it to sentient beings, as they are also capable of experiencing pleasure and pain.
This also raised further questions, such as should we try and increase the population so a greater number may benefit? When measuring happiness, do we consider the total or average happiness.
Bentham is a consequentialist, believing that morality is based on
consequence and that no action cannot be justified. This is the opposite of the absolutist view, where some actions are completely unjustifiable.
MILL
Mill was also a consequentialist, but he somewhat toned down Bentham's work.
Mill distinguishes between pleasure not only in quantity but in quality also.
He claims that universal happiness is the ultimate moral
standard, but need not be the motive force behind each and every action. Also acknowledges
that all moral systems leave room to justify evildoing to some extent, no moral system is completely flawless.
SCHOPENHAUER
Schopenhauers ethics are tied to his metaphysics, that the true reality is the universal will, and that human nature is dictated by necessity, that motives arise out of individual character through necessity.
Believes if the character and motives of a person are completely known, his
decisions can be calculated and predicted, as it is character and motive that influences all a man does.
Schopenhauer suggests that no person can ever be truly content, as the will is never
satisfied, and can never be truly overcome. This is because the only way to overcome the will is through complete renunciation, however renunciation is a gesture of will.
Schopenhauer's ideal is an ascetic perspective; “he compels himself to
refrain from doing all that he would like to do, and to do all that he would
like not to do”.
NIETZSCHE
Nietzsche believed that the values of Christianity needed to be
overturned, essentially believing in a sort of philosophical survival of the fittest, where
the weakest are brushed aside.
He believed that we are progressing towards the
highest form of life, the Superman (not the comic book hero). To reach this we must have a will and desire for power. He claimed “humanity must be surpassed, it is a bridge not a goal”
Condemns traditional virtues believing they hinder rather
than help progress towards the superman, which must come through seeking increased power, not
promoting the weak.
AESTHETICS
Baumgarten is seen by many as the father of aesthetics. He believed that beauty exists to give pleasure, and that the highest form of beauty is nature, therefore art aims to replicate nature.
Burke suggested that achieving the sublime can also be the aim of art, as well as achieving beauty.
Hume claimed that beauty is interpreted by each individual, it
is what satisfies our souls, dependent on our mood, nature and social
conventions. Essentially, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. However, here 'satisfaction' is a term that needs some clarification.
Kant describes two kinds of satisfaction – sensual delight
as gratification, and enjoyment of beauty as pleasure. Sensual delight is personal, whereas beauty is considered universal by Kant.
Kant went on to describe two kinds of beauty, free beauty
and derivative beauty. Free beauty is beauty without purpose, it may not have a
function but is still beautiful, derivative beauty is based on its purpose, it cannot be beautiful without fulfilling its purpose.
SCHOPENHAUER
Schopenhauer believed that beauty must be admired without desire influencing our
opinion. A desire to possess the beautiful object or letting others convince us of its beauty corrupts our opinion.
He considered art to be representations of beauty, attempts to
recreate beauty, to capture something perfect, and holds poetry and drama as highest form of art, because it comes the closest to perfectly representing beauty.
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