What is it?
Utilitarianism is a democratic theory proposed by Jeremy Bentham (1748-1882). His theory proposed that we should act in a way that produces the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. He believed that a moral action is one that produces the greatest amount of pleasure and reduces pain as much as possible. Good is the maximisation of happiness and the minimisation of pain. The possible consequences of different actions must be measured to establish what is producing the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people. To measure these results, Bentham proposed The Hedonic Calculus.
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The Hedonic Calculus has its strengths and weaknesses as most things do. I will begin with looking at the strengths of the Calculus. The Hedonic Calculus can lead to immediate happiness for the greatest number of people; it takes a person through clear and detailed steps; it can give you the most happiness! The weaknesses of the Calculus are: that the Calculus is too long and, depending on the person, may lead to differennt outcomes. It may require someone to act in a way which is morally wrong, it could also cause you sorrow. One main factor would be that it is impossible to measure happiness or pain.
HOw would a utilitarian react to cryopreservation?
A Utilitarian would take into consideration the different precepts and apply each one to the situation to see whether the outcome creates the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people. On the whole Utilitarians would disagree with cryopreservation.
Cryopreservation is an expensive procedure and this would create a grey area between the rich and poor, as only certain people would have access to this. One could say that the Hedonic Calculus cannot measure the happiness created in this situation, as all components of this procedure are uncertain. Bearing in mind science has still not uncovered the truth to this amazing theory, the Hedonic Calculus may also have difficulties being applied to this situation, as the person is dead. As the person is dead they would not be able to feel any of the procedure; however if science does manage to discover the secrets behind Cryonics, then would the Hedonic Calculus be able to be applied? This is an interesting debate as on the one hand the Utilitarian view would be that it may create happiness for the person involved if they are able to be resuscitated, however on the other hand, someone Utilitarians may find it a hard process to undergo and may be conscious of the uncertainty of Cryopreservation.
Cryopreservation is an expensive procedure and this would create a grey area between the rich and poor, as only certain people would have access to this. One could say that the Hedonic Calculus cannot measure the happiness created in this situation, as all components of this procedure are uncertain. Bearing in mind science has still not uncovered the truth to this amazing theory, the Hedonic Calculus may also have difficulties being applied to this situation, as the person is dead. As the person is dead they would not be able to feel any of the procedure; however if science does manage to discover the secrets behind Cryonics, then would the Hedonic Calculus be able to be applied? This is an interesting debate as on the one hand the Utilitarian view would be that it may create happiness for the person involved if they are able to be resuscitated, however on the other hand, someone Utilitarians may find it a hard process to undergo and may be conscious of the uncertainty of Cryopreservation.