Utilitarianism applied to animal experimentation and nuclear deterrence

Overview

Recall questions on why animals count for Bentham, the hedonic calculus, act and rule approaches, weighting human interests, the paradox of deterrence, and the argument for disarmament.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   Why do animals enter Bentham's moral calculation at all?

   Model answer

   Because the capacity to suffer, rather than the capacity to reason or speak, is what makes a being's pain morally relevant.

2. 2

   How would an act utilitarian assess a single medical experiment on animals?

   Model answer

   By weighing the suffering it causes the animals against the medical benefit expected for the patients it would eventually help.

3. 3

   Which factors of the hedonic calculus weigh heaviest in judging animal experimentation?

   Model answer

   Extent, because a successful treatment may help very many, and certainty, because the suffering of the animals is certain while the benefit is often speculative.

4. 4

   When would an act utilitarian condemn an animal experiment?

   Model answer

   Where the suffering inflicted is severe and the expected benefit is small, unlikely or merely repeats work already done.

5. 5

   How does a rule utilitarian approach animal experimentation?

   Model answer

   By asking whether a general rule permitting regulated experimentation produces more happiness over time than a rule forbidding it altogether.

6. 6

   What rule on animal research might a rule utilitarian defend?

   Model answer

   A rule allowing experiments only where no alternative exists, suffering is minimised and the expected benefit is substantial.

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