ESSAY QUESTIONS:
1. Outline the forms of utilitarianism developed by both Bentham and Mill. What are the principle differences between them? Which do you believe is the most defensible, and why?
2. In what way is utilitarianism a response to the social conditions of the nineteenth century? Do you believe that it is still relevant today? Explain your answer.
3. How is Bentham's view of morality different from that of Kant? Which is the more realistic? Does this also mean that it is the most correct? Explain your answer, taking care to define how you understand the term "realistic".
4. What is Bentham's view of pleasure? What is Mill's? What are the problems associated with each?
5. Do you believe that pleasure is the ground of morality? Why, or why not?
6. What are the similarities and differences between the utilitarian focus on happiness and Aristotle's focus on eudaimonia?
7. What is ethical egoism? What is psychological egoism? What is the relationship (if any) between them?
8. What is altruism? Should we try to encourage it? If so, why? If not, why not?