Utilitarianism Act Utilitarianism free essay sample

(Redirected from Utilitarian) Jump to: navigation, search This article discusses utilitarian ethical theory. For a discussion of John Stuart Mills essay Utilitarianism (1861), see Utilitarianism (book). The Utilitarianism series, part of the Politics series Utilitarian Thinkers[show] Jeremy Bentham John Stuart Mill Henry Sidgwick Peter Singer Forms[show] preference utilitarianism rule utilitarianism act utilitarianism Two-level utilitarianism Total utilitarianism Average utilitarianism Negative utilitarianism animal welfare Abolitionism (bioethics) Hedonism Enlightened self-interest Predecessors[show] Epicurus David Hume William Godwin Key concepts[show] Pain Suffering Pleasure Utility Happiness Eudaimonia Consequentialism Felicific calculus Problems[show] Mere addition paradox Paradox of hedonism Utility monster See Also[show] Rational choice theory Game theory Social choice Economics Portal:Politics Utilitarianism is the idea that the moral worth of an action is solely determined by its contribution to overall utility, that is, its contribution to happiness or pleasure as summed among all persons. It is thus a form of consequentialism, meaning that the moral worth of an action is determined by its outcome—the ends justify the means. We will write a custom essay sample on Utilitarianism Act Utilitarianism or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Utility — the good to be maximized — has been defined by various thinkers as happiness or pleasure (versus sadness or pain), though preference utilitarians like Peter Singer define it as the satisfaction of preferences. It may be described as a life stance with happiness or pleasure as ultimate importance. It can be described by the phrase the greatest good for the greatest number, though the phrase greatest number gives rise to the problematic mere addition paradox.