Definition
Utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for all affected individuals. Often summarized as “the greatest good for the greatest number,” it is a form of consequentialism, meaning the moral worth of an action is determined solely by its outcome.
Why It Matters
Utilitarianism provides a ‘calculus for morality.’ While controversial, it offers a rigorous framework for making difficult policy choices by aiming to maximize the ‘greatest good,’ serving as the backbone for effective altruism and modern ethics.
Core Concepts
- The Utility Principle: Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.
- Act vs. Rule Utilitarianism:
- Act: Evaluate each individual action by its utility.
- Rule: Follow rules that, if generally adopted, would lead to the greatest utility.
- Hedonic Calculus: Jeremy Bentham’s framework for measuring pleasure and pain based on intensity, duration, certainty, and propinquity.
- Effective Altruism (EA): A modern application of utilitarian principles to philanthropy and career choice, focusing on “doing the most good” through data and reason.