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The Principle of Utility

A good action is that which provides the absolute most utility. Intentions are irrelevant.

What do you apply this principle to?

• Your Actions (Act Utilitarianism): If you're making an action, base it on what will produce the most utility. Problem: hard to calculate for each action.
• Rules (Rule Utilitarianism): Select rules that will maximize utility. (example: don't lie) Problem: Degrades into Act Utilitarianism.
• Practices: A practice is more encompassing than a rule. A practice such as stamp collecting has a set of rules (don't burn valuable stamps, don't eat too much glue, etc.) John Rawls, I believe, supports this, except I don't think he's a utilitarian. Hmmm...

What's this "utility" thing?

• Pleasure (Hedonistic Utilitarianism): Jeremy Bentham liked this one. # of Hedons vs. # of Dolars.
• Happiness (Eudaimonistic Utilitarianism): John Stuart Mill thought this was the coolest. Quality of Hedons and Dolars matter.
• Ideals (Ideal Utilitarianism): Justice, freedom, knowledge, whatever. A Good Thing, says G.E. Moore.
• Personal Preference (Preference Utilitarianism): You want pleasure, so for you, utility is pleasure. I want happiness so for me utility is happiness. What matters is how satisfied people are as a result of your actions. Proponent: Kenneth Arrow.

Who does this apply to?

• Rational Beings: Monkeys? Dogs? Highly-retarded humans?
• Ability to Suffer: The question isn't "can it think" but "can it suffer?" Dogs can. Cats can. Pigs can. Peter Singer thinks this is The Way To Go.
• Future Generations: Do those who haven't been born yet have the right to be considered in the Hedonistic Calculus? (See re-population paradox for an interesting consideration.)

I just realised, I forgot to mention that this is used in the Utilitarian Theory of ethics. You know about Utilitarianism, don't you?

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Luca Kaceem Butler Masters
Last modified: 2003 Jul. 12
Copyright 2001-2003 by General Wesc