This paper has been written for the course ethics by monash university, melbourne. I will also be discussing why i believe act utilitarianism helps more people than rule utilitarianism, in turn, becoming superior to rule. Classical utilitarians, including jeremy bentham, john stuart mill, and henry sidgwick. I will define both act and rule utilitarianism, give a situation where both can be applied, and respond to an objection of utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is a simple theory and its results are easy to apply. Act utilitarianism, like other forms of utilitarianism, approaches questions of this kind by holding that morality is ultimately a matter of overall wellbeing. Some modern approaches to act utilitarianism tend to say that an act. In actutilitarianism, we are required to promote those acts which will result in the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Morality of an action has nothing to do with intent. Act utilitarianism au is the moral theory that holds that the morally right action, the act. While act utilitarianism would lead to a decision not to tell, rule utilitarianism would require me to confess despite the harm because society in general is better off if wrongs are admitted. Among these are act, rule, negative and preference utilitarianism. Utilitarianism appears to be a simple theory because it consists of only one evaluative principle.
With a little help from batman, hank explains the principle of utility, and the difference between act and rule. The agent carries out this calculation, equating pleasure to hedons and pain to dolors. Act and rule utilitarianism introduction to ethics. Act utilitarianism is a teleological ethical theory propounded by jeremy bentham. Act utilitarianism refers to the theory that the morality of an action is determined by its usefulness to the people. Utilitarianism, kantian ethics, natural rights theories, and religious ethics a utilitarian argument, in the strict sense, is one what alleges that we ought to do something because it will produce more total happiness than doing anything else would. One is act utilitarianism and the other is rule utilitarianism. Act utilitariansim act utilitarianism is one of the simpler and more straightforward types. What is the difference between act and rule utilitarianism. Differences between deontology and act utilitarianism. Types of workplace utilitarianism there are two types of utilitarian ethics practiced on the job, rule utilitarianism and act utilitarianism.
Utilitarianism 11 same to human beings and to swine, the rule of life which is good enough for the one would be good enough for the other. Utilitarians may, however, distinguish the aptness of praising or blaming an agent from whether the act was right. Utilitarianism also differs from ethical theories that make the rightness or wrongness of an act dependent upon the motive of the agent, for, according to the utilitarian, it is possible for the right thing to be done from a bad motive. With act utilitarianism, if a murderer would ask person a where person b is, lying to the murderer would be perfectly fine in the eyes of an act utilitarian. P1 if utilitarianism is true, then the doctors act of killing the janitor for his organs was morally right. The challenge of utilitarianism and relativism to human rights. We act according to how much pleasure or pain an action causes.
Act utilitarianism definition of act utilitarianism by. In other words, the happiness and general wellbeing of the majority should take priority over the individual. What is the difference between rule utilitarianism and act. Hence, if such a right act has an outcome that is beneficial to most people, then it is considered morally right mainly because it brings greater happiness or good to the majority of the people. What distinguishes act utilitarianism from other, rival, forms of utilitarianism is the. Pdf two concepts of rule utilitarianism researchgate. Based on the definitions given by wikipedia, rule utilitarianism and act utilitarianism both seems to imply the same meaning rule utilitarianism. Despite this, the theory has attracted copious criticism.
A plausible formulation of rule utilitarianism would thus have it recommend the same actions as act utilitarianism. In recent times utilitarianism has been subdivided into a number of variant forms. At work, utilitarianism is displayed by working to make sure the workplace is a positive environment for your coworkers to be in, and then make it so for yourself. Utilitarianism is consequential, where we anticipate the consequences of acting the way we act and try to act to maximize benefit to others. Utilitarianism holds that the most ethical choice is the one that will produce the greatest good for the greatest number. P2 the execution of the homeless man was not morally right. Utilitarianism is hard universalism that is that there is an absolute, universal principle of morality which is not subject to cultural interpretation. Any theory that seeks to extend benefits not only to the self but also to others is a form of altruism. According to hedonism, the main aim of life is the achievement of maximum pleasure. The comparison of the epicurean life to that of beasts is felt as degrading, precisely because a beasts pleasures do not satisfy a human beings conceptions of happi ness. Rule utilitarianism says that we ought to judge an action by how much it conforms to moral rules that are. Utilitarianism in the workplace focuses on ethics, democracy, rights and responsibilities within the business. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of utilitarianism by john stuart mill.
The moral theory that the best action is the one that enhances the general welfare more than any other available or known alternative. Our next stop in our tour of the ethical lay of the land is utilitarianism. Whether an act is morally right depends solely on consequences or the goodness of consequences. On a practical level, utilitarianism has been derided as unworkable, and even absurd. Because act utilitarianism approves of actions that most people see as obviously morally wrong, we can know that it is a false moral theory. Act utilitarianism is wellmeaning theory, the central idea behind it is to act in every case so as to bring the greatest amount of happiness at the expense of the smallest amount of suffering.
Utilitarianism focuses on the effects of an action. Act utilitarianism is arguably the more natural, or default, formulation, with rule utilitarianism typically being understood as initially deriving its appeal from its relative immunity to certain objections to which act utilitarianism is vulnerable although proponents of rule utilitarianism. Act utilitarianism claims that an action should maximise pleasure and minimise pain. In his essay an outline of a system of utilitarian ethics melbourne, i96i j.
Act utilitarianism advises us to judge each individual action on its outcomeresults alone. Virtue ethics vs utilitarianism the philosophy forum. The moral arithmetic one uses to determine whether an action is moral. Action is right as it conforms to a rule that leads to the greatest good, or that the rightness or wrongness of a particular action is a function of the correctness of the rule of which it is an instance. The rightness of actions depends solely on the overall wellbeing produced by individual actions. Though there are various definitions of selfeffacing moral theories, i essentially follow parfits 1984 classic characterizations. Pdf the notion of rule utilitarianism a twentiethcentury addition to the. A theory of ethical behavior, utilitarianism holds that an action is right to the extent that it benefits people or society, either by creating happiness, improving wellbeing, or reducing suffering. The main difference between act and rule utilitarianism is that act utilitarianism emphasizes the consequencesresults of action whereas rule utilitarianism emphasizes the consequences from following a rule of conduct utilitarianism, which is one of the most influential moral theories in the world, refers to the theory that the morality of actions depends on their effect on the. One of the most influential ethical frameworks, utilitarianism is focused on consequences and results. Utilitarianism consequencebased ethics learning theories.
Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. The ethical theory of utilitarianism, the idea that we have to maximise the amount of utility, i. In each case, act utilitarianism implies that a certain act is morally permissible or required. Many critics contend that utilitarianism is too permissive about the morality of lying. This ver sion of the theory drew numerous criticisms. Although different varieties of utilitarianism admit different characterizations, the basic idea behind all of them is to in some sense maximize utility, which is often defined in terms of wellbeing or related concepts. Utilitarianism finds itself in stark contrast with the theories discussed above because it is a consequentialist theory of ethics. Utilitarianism is an ethical theory according to which the rightness and wrongness of acts depends entirely on facts about the maximization of overall wellbeing. The consequences of the act of giving money to charity would be considered right in actutilitarianism, because the money increases the happiness of many people. For one thing, the criterion dispute includes a dispute about whether there is any such moral instinct. The research in this project will focus on utilitarianism, specifically act utilitaria nism. Utilitarianism, in whatever form, is a teleological ethical theory as each action or rule is judged on whether its end telos result maximizes good.
Utilitarianism is also a consequentialist theory in that only the consequences of an act count not the intentions which precipitated the act. In this short essay two types of utilitarianism are discussed. According to this theory, the value of an act is to be assessed on the basis of pleasure and pain. P1 if utilitarianism is true, then the execution of the homeless man was morally right. An overview about 8,000 words of act utilitarianism, covering the basic idea of the theory, historical examples, how it differs from rule utilitarianism and motive.
According to act utilitarianism, our moral obligation is to pursue the action, intervention or policy that would maximize. Another goaldirected theory is egoism, which promotes the greatest good for the self alone. They believe that the greatest pleasure of the greatest number of people should be the result of the action that you make which will render it morally right. Value based theories an act is morally right if it promotes the good or what has value.
By the same token, act utilitarianism entails that the moral value of an act does not depend, at all, on whether the act complies with any kind of moral rule other than the actutilitarian rule of maximize wellbeing. Utilitarians may, however, distinguish the aptness of praising or blaming an agent from whether the act was. Utilitarianism is a family of consequentialist ethical theories that promotes actions that maximize happiness and wellbeing for the affected individuals. Utilitarianism, act and rule internet encyclopedia of. So act, that the rule on which thou actest would admit of being adopted as a law by all rational beings. Ethical theory and information technology professional journal of information technology vol. Act utilitarianism is a utilitarian theory of ethics which states that a persons act is morally right if and only if it produces the best possible results in that specific situation. An act is right if in a particular situation it produces a greater balance of wellbeing over suffering than any alternative acts. I shall, however, hereafter try to show that this psychological theory has an important though subordinate place in the establishment of ethical utilitarianism. Actutilitarianism holds that an act is morally required if.
Virtue ethics derives the rightness or wrongness of ones conduct from the character of the behavior itself rather than the outcomes of the conduct. Utilitarianism the blackwell guide to ethical theory. Moreover, utilitarianism offers an obvious answer to the question of why we should act in a certain way in the absence of a religious justification. It proposes that actions should be judged individually on their ability to bring about the principle of utility.
The two kinds are extensionally equivalent and the only stable rule available to the rule utilitarian is the act utilitarian one, e. The original basis of this theory was hedonism, a psychological theory. Utility is defined in terms of pleasure and suffering, or the satisfaction of preferences or interests. Rule utilitarianism also known as restrictive utilitarianism. Utilitarianism, act and rule internet encyclopedia of philosophy. Utilitarianism is a normative ethical theory according to which our moral obligation is to maximize the good, i. Some theorists have pursued rule utilitarianism as a way to reconcile human rights and utilitarianism. Pdf acts or rules the finetuning of utilitarianism researchgate. Utilitarianism, kantian ethics, natural rights theories.
That is, actions should be done if and only if it produces the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. Originally published as three separate essays in 1861, and then in collected. Act utilitarianism also called extreme utilitarianism. The moral action is that which produces the greatest good for the greatest number. Yet, each of the judgments that flow from act utilitarianism conflicts with widespread, deeply held moral beliefs. Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that determines right from wrong by focusing on outcomes. Mill attempts to answer this objection in utilitarianism where he claims that lying always has indirect bad consequences lying.
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