PHILO-120 Lecture Notes - Lecture 22: On Liberty, Fecundity, Consequentialism
12 Aug 2020
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Jeremy bentham, 1748-1832: good consequences of actions are the foundation of morality. John stuart mill, 1806-1873: mill agreed that promoting good consequences was the heart of morality, amends bentham by distinguishing qualities of pleasure: it is better to be. Socrates unsatisfied than a pig satisfied. : rejects act by act maximizing strategy. A moral theory should not flippantly require such things. Devoted to the struggle between authority and liberty. In terms of democracy, the chief concern is the risk of the tyranny of the majority. Harm principle: that the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to protect harm to others. The general idea is that citizens are assumed to have antecedent maximal rights. The state has the burden of proof when it comes to restricting those rights. Toleration of all opinions best positions society to discover truth.
