Study Questions on Will Kymlicka
Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Introduction
Oxford University Press, 2002Instructor: Dr. Garrett
Last revised date: October 14, 2004
Chapter 2
1. Why does Kymlicka start with utilitarianism? (10)
2. What is utilitarianism in its simplest formulation? (10)
3. Is Kymlicka considering it chiefly as a comprehensive moral view? Explain. (10)
Section 1. Two attractions 4. What is the first attraction of utilitarianism? (10-11) What role does impartiality play in it? (11)
5. What is the importance of the second attraction? (11)
6. In what sense is utilitarianism not just another set of rules? (11)
7. Can utilitarianism help us distinguish morality from etiquette? Explain. (11-12)
8. What are the "two parts" of utilitarianism? (12)
Section 2. Defining utility 9. How does welfare hedonism define the chief human good? (13) non-hedonistic mental state utilitarianism? (14) What arguments does Nozick bring against these utilitarian approaches? (13-14)
10. How does the "third option" define utility? (14) To what problem does this view succumb? (15) What do people really want, according to Kymlicka? (15) What does preference satisfaction utilitarianism get backwards? (15)
11. What are adaptive preferences and what challenges does the fact of their existence pose for the "third option"? (15-16)
12. What is the fourth account of utility? Why is it advanced? What new problems does it raise? (16-17)
13. What does Kymlicka mean by the "experience requirement"? Why does he claim that informed preference utilitarianism drops it? (17)
14. Do the difficulties of identifying and balancing informed preferences pose a unique problem for informed preference satisfaction utilitarianism? (18)
15. What is "interpersonal comparability" of utility, and why does it seem to pose problems? (18-19) Why is this a weak objection in Kymlicka's view? (19)
16. How can government deal with the problem of irrational or adaptive preferences? (19)
17. With the problem of interpersonal comparability? (19-20) Explain the phrase "all-purpose goods" (19). Why is the solution called "resourcist"? (20)
18. What does "consequentialism" tell us? (20)
Section 3. Maximizing utility 19. What problem arises from limited resources and the potential for preference conflict? (21)
20. How does utilitarianism decide on the right action? (21)
21. What is the first main objection to utilitarian decision-making? (22-26)
22. What is the second main problem with utilitarian decision-making? (Relate to our intuitions about rights and justice.) (26-27)
23. What solution to the previous problem do "rule-utilitarians" adopt? (28)
24. What point does Kymlicka make about rule utilitarianism at p. 29.15ff (line 15 and following on page 29)? What is his point about the example of the games at the Roman coliseum?
25. What point does Kymlicka make on p. 30 (bottom para.)? What would "indirect utilitarianism" be? (30)
26. What is "Government House" utilitarianism? What does it mean that indirect utilitarians prefer a model in which everyone shares a "two-level moral outlook"? (31)
Section 4. Two arguments for utility maximization 27. What is the first argument for utility maximization? (32-33)
28. What is the second interpretation of utilitarianism? Why does Rawls call this a "teleological theory"? What bizarre results in the area of population policy would this promote? (33-34)
29. Why does Kymlicka challenge the idea that maximizing utility as our direct goal should be considered a moral duty? (35)
30. In what way might teleological utilitarianism cease to be a moral theory? (36) When does utilitarianism cease to have any attraction? (36)
31. What confusion makes utilitarianism both attractive and incoherent, according to Kymlicka? (36-37)
Section 5. Inadequate conceptions of equality 32. What is meant by "external preferences" and what problem is posed for preference utilitarianism by their existence? (37-38) What solution to this problem is considered on p. 38?
33. What are "selfish preferences"? (38) How does J. L. Mackie defend excluding such selfish preferences in the determination of public policy? (41)
34. What is the better way of securing the equal concern that R. M. Hare seeks that the utilitarian approach with his proviso that an initial equal distribution of resources be subject to redistribution to maximize utility? (42)
35. Why, according to Kymlicka, does utilitarianism fail to recognize special relationships or exclude illegitimate preferences? (42-43)
36. How is the goal of equal consideration best implemented in Kymlicka's view? What has utilitarianism oversimplified? (43) Why does utilitarianism fail to ensure that people are treated as equals? (44)
37. Can we deduce anything specific from the idea of moral equality? Explain. (44-45)
Section 5. The politics of utilitarianism 38. How has utilitarianism been used to attack those who hold unjust privileges at the expense of the majority? What has happened to utilitarianism in the two centuries since it was founded? (45-46)
39. Why does Kymlicka think this has happened? (46-47) Why is it unclear what solution to contemporary political problems utilitarianism recommends?
40. How do some utilitarians defend more egalitarian redistribution of wealth today? How do utilitarians defend laissez-faire capitalism? (48)