What is utilitarians?

Answer 1

Utilitarianism is a philosophical theory of morality and "how one should act". It states that one should act so as to maximize the amount of happiness in the world (focuses on the CONSEQUENCES of actions). That is, you should ONLY do "X" if "X" positively contributes to the happiness in the world. So you might think of it this way: Should I steal Mary's candy when she's not looking? My happiness: +200 points Mary's happiness: -300 points You must consider EVERYONE'S happiness EQUALLY, so clearly you should not steal the candy, because it decreases the happiness in the world (-100). John Stuart Mills was the first to really articulate this theory. "Greatest happiness for greatest number of people"

Utilitarianism is defined as the greatest good for the greatest number with pain over pleasure, this is important because otherwise it would be okay to torture convicted criminals just to get answers about other criminals, which is bad because you intentionally causing a person pain and that is immoral which is bad. Utilitarianism is also the opposite of deontological ethics, which state that actions can only be universizable if they are done with duty or good intention essentially, man is not used as a means to an end (you can't make your employees work mandatory overtime because it will make you more money) and that the action does not violate the side-constraint (rules that control our morals). Immanuel Kant was really the first one to discuss and articulate Deontology.

Answer 2

A utilitarian is somebody with a non religious background who bases their actions on what is better for more people.