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CHAPTER 12
THE UTILITARIAN: JOHN STUART MILL
INSTRUCTIONS: Select the best answer according to the text.
TRUE/FALSE
1. Modern utilitarianism developed as a response to school
segregation and the use of eminent domain.
2. Psychological hedonism is the belief that all decisions
are based on considerations of pain and pleasure.
3. Ethical hedonism is the belief that acts of self-sacrifice
are impossible.
4. Thomas Malthus argued against helping the poor.
5. Malthus argued that population grows at a much
slower rate than food production.
6. Large urban slums were one of the negative consequences
of the Industrial Revolution in England.
7. Jeremy Bentham advocated broadening the power
base as a way of promoting the greatest happiness
for the greatest number.
8. Bentham rejected psychological hedonism.
9. The principle of utility advises us to avoid extravagant
luxuries.
10. Bentham wanted to make ethics a science.
11. John Stuart Mill rejected unmodified, simple
utilitarianism.
12. Mill argued that all pleasures are equal.
13. Mill based his theory of pleasure on empirical grounds.
14. According to Mill, character and experience are major
influences on what pleases us.
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15. Altruism refers to the capacity to get others to care
for us.
16. Mill defined happiness as contentment.
17. Mill claimed that selfishness interferes with happiness.
18. Mill was an optimist.
19. Mill was an advocate of women s rights.
20. Sarah Conly argues that human dignity rests on respect for
autonomy.
21. Conly justifies laws nudging people to make healthy choices in
their personal lives.
22. In spite of advocating social nudges, Conly defends absolute
individual autonomy.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
23. Simple utilitarian is based on the notion that _____ .
a. the finest pleasures are rare
b. nothing that is cheap provides genuine pleasure
c. nothing that provides pleasure is bad
d. the best pleasures cost the most, but are worth it
24. _____ is the belief that we must base all decisions on
considerations of pain and pleasure.
a. Ethical hedonism
b. Psychological hedonism
c. Socratic hedonism
d. Democritan materialism
25. _____ is the belief that we ought to enjoy ourselves as
much as possible.
a. Ethical hedonism
b. Psychological hedonism
c. Socratic hedonism
d. Democritan materialism
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26. _____ argued that welfare programs encourage idleness
and overpopulation.
a. Bentham
b. Mill
c. Malthus
d. James
27. _____ described disease, famine, drought, and war as
natural and historical cures for overpopulation.
a. Bentham
b. Mill
c. Malthus
d. James
28. Which of the following was NOT a result of the effects of
the Industrial Revolution in England?
a. philosophical radicals
b. slums
c. utilitarianism
d. hedonism
29. As the Enlightenment was the Age of Reason, the
nineteenth century was the Age of _____ .
a. Emotion
b. Reform
c. Faith
d. Democracy
30. Bentham based his moral philosophy on the importance
of _____ .
a. actual consequences
b. moral emotions
c. social customs
d. moral duty
31. Bentham thought that all human activity is shaped by
.
a. God
b. genetics
c. pain and pleasure
d. good and evil
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32. What kind of hedonist was Bentham (if any)?
a. psychological hedonist
b. ethical hedonist
c. both a psychological and ethical hedonist
d. none
33. The principle of utility is also known as the _____ .
a. rule of happiness
b. pleasure principle
c. pragmatic principle
d. practical imperative
34. One meaning of utility is _____ .
a. usefulness
b. empirical
c. useless
d. empty
35. Bentham used the term utility to mean _____ .
a. basic
b. dull
c. having character
d. pleasure maximizing
36. Which (if any) of the following is the best basic
formulation of the principle of utility?
a. Always do what is most likely to make you happy.
b. Act always to promote the greatest happiness for the
greatest number.
c. Act always to promote the greatest happiness.
d. Never do what causes pain.
37. Bentham named his technique for scientifically
determining the proper course of action for any
circumstance the _____ .
a. utilitarian calculus
b. hedonistic calculus
c. hedonic calculus
d. utilitarian method
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38. Bentham referred to units of pleasure as _____ .
a. bits
b. hedons
c. goodies
d. endorphins
39. _____ is the belief that all decisions are made in terms of
furthering or hindering what we want or need.
a. Psychological egoism
b. Psychological hedonism
c. Psychological utilitarianism
d. Refined utilitarianism
40. Bentham used _____ to show how our individual welfare
is inseparable from social welfare.
a. the story of Mill s childhood
b. an egoistic hook
c. the story of the prodigal son
d. the myth of the ring of Gyges
41. Bentham s utilitarianism is _____ , whereas Mill s
is _____ .
a. altruistic/social
b. egoistic/personal
c. egoistic/altruistic
d. hedonistic/egoistic
42. Bentham thought that the only difference between two
pleasures is _____ .
a. cost
b. longevity
c. repeatability
d. intensity
43. Bentham extended the ethical reach of the pleasure
principle to include _____ .
a. quality
b. selflessness or altruism
c. animals
d. gods
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44. Regarding animals, Bentham said, The question is can
they _____ ?
a. suffer
b. reason
c. be of use
d. think
45. Bentham disagreed with Descartes s contention that ____ .
a. animals have moral rights
b. animals are meaty machines
c. reason is a valuable tool
d. utility can be measured
46. Kant _____ .
a. included animals in the kingdom of ends
b. referred to animals as meaty machines
c. excluded animals from the kingdom of ends
d. agreed with Bentham that animals have dignity
47. A major difference between Mill and Bentham centered on
whether or not _____ .
a. women should have voting rights
b. pleasures differ in quality
c. the poor should be protected by the government
d. education should be available to all
48. Mill argued that the only people qualified to settle
disputes about the relative worth of two pleasures are
_____ .
a. those sufficiently well educated
b. those who live longest
c. those who have experience of both
d. nonexistent; no one can compare pleasures.
49. Mill argued that there are _____ grounds for claiming that
some pleasures are superior to others.
a. no
b. empirical
c. metaphysical
d. historical
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50. Mill said that some people choose lower pleasures
because they _____ .
a. are poor
b. are evil
c. have weak characters and bad habits
d. want to shock others with their behavior
51. Mill says that people lose their high aspirations if they _____ .
a. marry too young
b. don t have the time or opportunity to indulge them
c. live solitary lives, avoiding high society
d. are successful before they are mature
52. When Mill speaks of character, he refers to _____ .
a. an indefinable inner quality
b. what psychologists call personality
c. socially conditioned habits
d. the soul
53. _____ is the capacity to promote the welfare of others.
a. Egoistic empathy
b. Political awareness
c. Hedonism
d. Altruism
54. According to Mill, a proper education _____ .
a. fosters social concern and good character
b. trains us to make a living but does not impose any
values on us
c. is necessary for only a small segment of the
population
d. is possible only in a one-on-one situation, like he
experienced as a child
55. According to Mill, the principal cause of unhappiness
is _____ .
a. ignorance
b. selfishness
c. altruistic sentiments
d. poverty
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56. According to Conly, the principal cause of unhappiness
is _____ .
a. ignorance
b. social paternalism
c. autonomy
d. well-intentioned nudges
57. Conly criticizes Enlightenment philosophers for _____ .
a. relying on science and logic to solve social problems
b. failing to include reason in their catalogue of virtues
c. their enthusiastic faith in human reason
d. nothing; she is a proponent of Enlightenment philosophy
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Chapter 12
THE UTILITARIAN: JOHN STUART MILL
1. Characterize simple utilitarianism. How do egoism and
hedonism figure into this philosophy? Explain.
2. What is the hedonic calculus? Apply it to a real-life case and
assess its strengths and weaknesses. *
3. Describe the egoistic hook that Bentham discovered and
explain its significance to his philosophy. Then identify and assess
contemporary examples of the hook as it appears in social and
political policies. Do you think the egoistic hook is the basis of all
choices or can it be resisted? Explain. *
4. Compare and contrast refined utilitarianism and simple
utilitarianism.
5. In your own words, present Mill s basic argument for
qualitative differences among pleasures. Then analyze it by applying
it to your own experience. *
6. Why was education so important to Mill? What did he mean by
education? Has your education conformed to Mill s notion? Be
specific. *
7. Distinguish between happiness and contentment according to
Mill. Explain the importance of the distinction to his philosophy. *
8. Was Mill a utilitarian? Why is the question raised at all? Answer
it based on your understanding of the issue. *
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CHAPTER 12 ANSWERS