Version of utilitarianism associated especially with Bentham, according to which the measure of the value of an act is the amount by which it increases general utility or happiness. An act is to be preferred to its alternatives according to the extent of the increase it achieves, compared to the extent the alternatives would achieve. An action is thus good or bad in proportion to the amount it increases (or diminishes) general happiness, compared to the amount that could have been achieved by acting differently. Act utilitarianism is distinctive not only in the stress on utility, but in the fact that each individual action is the primary object of ethical evaluation. This contrasts it with varieties of indirect utilitarianism, as well as with ethical systems that accord priority to duty or personal virtue.
Act utilitarianism
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Act Utilitarianism is a utilitarian theory of ethics which states that the right action is the one which produces the greatest amount of happiness or pleasure for the greatest number of beings. Act utilitarianism is opposed to rule utilitarianism, which states that the morally right action is the one that is in accordance with a moral rule whose general observance would create the most happiness. Act utilitarianism will use the summary concept as opposed to the practice concept. The summary concept means that the rule is a generalization that a class of actions, such as the keeping of promises, is good. However that is only to be used as a guideline for what is usually right and it doesn't mean that it is always best to keep promises. That being said it does not always cause the greatest good to the greatest amount of people to keep promises.
"An act is right from an ethical point of view if, and only if, the sum total of utilities produced by that act is greater than the sum total utilities produced by another act the agent could have performed in its place." (Jeremy Bentham)
Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism is a consequentialist theory, which means that it stipulates that the morality of an action is determined by its outcome. (This is opposed to deontology, which argues that moral actions should flow from duties or motives.) This consequentialism is then combined with hedonism, which posits happiness or pleasure as the ultimate worthwhile pursuit. Therefore, since only the consequences of an action matter, and only happiness matters, the action is the one that results in the greatest sum of happiness.
See also
- Rule utilitarianism
- Two-level utilitarianism
- Preference utilitarianism
- Jeremy Bentham
- John Stuart Mill
- Peter Singer
Notes
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 | utilitarianism (philosophy) |
| Preference utilitarianism |
| Alastair Norcross |
 | What is the objection that Rule Utilitarianism collapses into Act Utilitarianism? |
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