Running Head: UTILITARIANISM 1

Running head: UTILITARIANISM 1
Utilitarianism Theory
David Mariano Barreto Vales
Florida International University
February 10, 2017
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UTILITARIANISM 2
Utilitarianism Theory
Let’s think hypothetically for a moment shall we? Imagine a scenario where you have the
option to only save either one member of your immediate family or 5 complete strangers from
imminent death, so if you choose your family member those 5 strangers are going to die and if
you choose those 5 people your family member is going to die. Know you find yourself in a tight
spot where the correct option to you might be to save your family member rather than those
strangers, but what if I tell you that according to utilitarianism the option that will be the logical
and most correct one would be to save those 5 people even if you don’t ever see them again.
Utilitarianism theory is one of the most important moral and ethical theories of our time
proposed by 19th-century English philosophers and economists Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart
Mill, it basically tries to explain the idea that the moral importance or worthiness of an action is
purely determined by its contribution to net utility, which is defined as maximum happiness and
pleasure, among all the people that were affected by a certain outcome [2]. So, to keep things
simple it’s basically the action that will yield the most pleasure and happiness for the greatest
number of people including your own by any means necessary. Utilitarianism is in a way a
quantitative approach that can make easier decisions taking. Utilitarianism theory is presented
with the basis that net pleasure and happiness are extremely valuable whereas pain and suffering
are un-valuable or not wanted at all. This focus on happiness and pleasure is the ultimate end of
moral decisions and it’s the only thing that should matter when taking decisions. Utilitarians also
support equality based on equal consideration of interests, this means that they don’t have any
opinions or make arbitrary decisions based on gender race, ethnicity or sexual orientation, they
[1] Mastin, Luke. "Utilitarianism." The Basics of Philosophy. Accessed February 9, 2017.
[2] West, Henry R. "Utilitarianism." Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed February 09, 2017.
[3] Nathanson, Stephen. "Act and Rule Utilitarianism." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Accessed
February 09, 2017
UTILITARIANISM 3
just relay in what will yield the most happiness no matter what. However, this theory does accept
the idea of declining marginal utility, which is the phenomenon where the interests of a wealthy
individual are furthered to a lesser degree than would be the interests of a less wealthy individual
by the same thing (for example. A wealthy American is helped less by the gain of $20 than would
be to a homeless American) [1].
Utilitarianism can be branched into two main principles, act-utilitarianism and rule
utilitarianism. Act-utilitarianism requires to promote acts which will ultimately result in the
greatest good for the greatest number of people. Basically act-utilitarians only have to ask
themselves if their action would yield the greatest happiness no matter what. They see the utility
of an action based in what would yield, and if net happiness rises the action right. This will leave
an important question to ourselves; how do we incorporate act-utilitarianism into our life. Rule-
utilitarianism in the other hand, is a reaction to act-utilitarianism. The principle of utility in rule
utilitarianism is to follow a set of rules which will ultimately result in the greatest good for the
greatest number of people. This principle tries to explain that the overall net happiness and
pleasure would increase if we follow and consider moral rules along with our judgment rather
than doing only individual actions based on our judgement. In most cases a stricter rule-based
system leads to greater overall happiness because normally people are notoriously bad at judging
what is the best action to take in a difficult and stressful situation. By having specific rules, we
can maximize utility by limiting people’s quick and most of the times wrong judgments and
thereby decreasing pain and negative feelings. One objection often found to rule-utilitarianism is
that in some cases the utility of breaking a rule might be greater than keeping that rule. What this
February 09, 2017
UTILITARIANISM 4
means is that sometimes a rule utilitarian might live his live by the moral rule “don’t lie” or
“don’t ever raise your voice to people older than you”, but a time can come where lying to
someone can increase the overall happiness rather than telling a true that might have negative
consequences. When a rule-utilitarian breaks a rule, he or she will be forced to modify the rule
in order to restore the theory and reduce his or her cognitive dissonance. This rule-modifying
style will continue for as long as the situations continue to pose problems with the rules. The
rule-breaking technique is necessary sometimes in order to maintain the greatest utility because
not all situations would apply to a specific rule. Both theories count as utilitarian because they
define which actions will produce the greatest net utility by either individual actions or indirectly
through rules [3].
Utilitarianism theory is very interesting and in a way a simple theory with many points of
view. Many people would agree that out of the two main principles of this theory, rule
utilitarianism is one of the most accepted or used ones because it serves as a moral outline in
situations where time and options are limited. Of all moral theories this is the one that fascinates
me more because it tries to explain how we should act in difficult situation in a way that is
completely logical but also in a way that puzzle us because we are social individuals that act
based on our emotions and bonds with other peers. This theory proposes solutions that we use in
today’s society when it comes to difficult situations but in most cases we make the wrong
choices according to act utilitarians since we mostly care about ourselves and the few people we
really care about. It is fascinating how our minds and views of the world shape who we are.
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UTILITARIANISM 5
References
Mastin, Luke. "Utilitarianism." The Basics of Philosophy. Accessed February 9, 2017.
http://www.philosophybasics.com/branch_utilitarianism.html.
Nathanson, Stephen. "Act and Rule Utilitarianism." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Accessed February 09, 2017. http://www.iep.utm.edu/util-a-r/#H4.
West, Henry R. "Utilitarianism." Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed February 09, 2017.
https://www.utilitarianism.com/utilitarianism.html.
February 09, 2017
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Running head: UTILITARIANISM 1

David Mariano Barreto Vales

Florida International University

February 10, 2017

February 09, 2017

be to a homeless American) [1].

February 09, 2017

through rules [3].

February 09, 2017

Mastin, Luke. "Utilitarianism." The Basics of Philosophy. Accessed February 9, 2017.

Nathanson, Stephen. "Act and Rule Utilitarianism." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

Accessed February 09, 2017. http://www.iep.utm.edu/util-a-r/#H4.

West, Henry R. "Utilitarianism." Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed February 09, 2017.

February 09, 2017

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