This paper is a brief philosophical exploration into act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism, both of which are two different approaches within the ethical theory of. After describing the difficulties of act utilitarianism, rule utilitarianism is discussed as a possibly superior alternative. Like other forms of consequentialism, its core idea is that. An explication of utilitarianism, the most well known of the versions of consequentialism, including where it stands on the ten distinctions outlined in the previous video on the map of.
Utilitarianism is a theory that deals with the concept of acting in a way that is good or bad or right or wrong. There is a difference between rule and act utilitarianism. However, unlike in rule utilitarianism, with act utilitarianism moral rules have no priority over the calculation of an actions potential benefits and costs. The theory of utilitarianism essay 530 words bartleby. Act and rule utilitarianism introduction to ethics. Act utilitarianism is resultoriented in purpose whereas rule utilitarianism is focused on being in line with the rules. If a person decides to run a red light instead of stopping and. The three cases just discussed show why act utilitarianism undermines trust but rule utilitarianism does not. Hence, if such a right act has an outcome that is beneficial to most people, then it is considered morally right mainly because it brings greater happiness or good to the majority of the people. I will also be discussing why i believe act utilitarianism helps more people than rule utilitarianism, in turn, becoming superior to rule. What is the differences between rule utilitarianism vs act. Nov 12, 2017 in this video they will be debating utilitarianism are right and wrong actions defined by the greatest good for the greatest number. Utilitarianism act and rule utilitarianism gradesaver. Rule utilitarianism is an improvement with its practicality in application.
Rule consequentialism stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. Rule utilitarianism, rights, obligations and the theory of rational. This theory in ethics accentuates on the fact that we should engage in acts that do maximum good to the maximum number of people. 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. First, it is significant that mill departed from the principle of utility on occasion. According to the act utilitarian auian, the principle is applied directly to the selection of particular actions under particular circumstances. To the extent that ruleconsequentialism circumvents collapse, this theory is accused of incoherence. One is act utilitarianism and the other is rule utilitarianism. Rule utilitarianism and decision theory springerlink.
Mill attempts to answer this objection in utilitarianism where he claims that lying always has indirect bad. What distinguishes act utilitarianism from other, rival, forms of utilitarianism is the. Other articles where act utilitarianism is discussed. In act utilitarianism, the consequence determines whether the act is good or bad whereas, in rule utilitarianism.
Rule utilitarianism 227 ii act utilitarianism has a number of strengths. Act utilitarianism is linked to jeremy bentham, moral decisions are decisions that are based upon consequences of each individual situation in relation to the total amount of happiness that they produce. Difference between act and rule utilitarianism difference. Utilitarianism is a family of consequentialist ethical theories that promotes actions that maximize happiness and wellbeing for the affected individuals. Mill attempts to answer this objection in utilitarianism where he claims that lying always has indirect bad consequences lying. Act utilitarianism is the theory that a morally right action is one that in the existing situation will produce the highest expected social utility. Hence, the difference between act and rule utilitarianism is that act utilitarianism emphasizes the consequencesresults of action whereas rule utilitarianism emphasizes the consequences from following a rule of conduct. Therefore, bentham is an act utilitarian as the hedonic calculus must be applied to each individual act. While these two reflect on the consequences or usefulness of an action, they are two different views.
Utilitarianism is a family of consequentialist ethical theories that promotes actions that maximize happiness and wellbeing for the majority of a population. As time has passed, however, the term has evolved to the point where utilitarianism has become an umbrella term for multiple theories that engage the greatest happiness principle in different ways. Although different varieties of utilitarianism admit different characterizations, the basic idea behind all of them is to in some sense maximize utility, which is often defined in terms of wellbeing or related concepts. Act utilitarianism is the belief that an action becomes morally right when it produces the greatest good for the greatest number of people, while rule utilitarianism is the belief that the moral correctness of an action depends on the correctness of the rules that allows it to achieve the greatest good. Difference between consequentialism and utilitarianism. The two kinds are extensionally equivalent and the only stable rule available to the rule utilitarian is the act utilitarian one, e. What is the difference between act and rule utilitarianism. One ought to do an action based on a rule that maximizes happiness in general i. Act utilitarianism is arguably the more natural, or default, formulation, with rule utilitarianism typically being understood as initially deriving its appeal from its relative immunity to certain objections to which act utilitarianism is vulnerable although proponents of rule utilitarianism offer further arguments in defense of it.
Utilitarianism, in regards to ethics, means what is for the greatest good for the most people. Many critics contend that utilitarianism is too permissive about the morality of lying. The major difference between act and rule utilitarianism is the means of judgement in terms of the best possible outcomes for specific situations. The distinction has to do with what the principle of utility is applied to.
The theory of utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism 952 words 4 pages. Utilitarianism, act and rule internet encyclopedia of philosophy. Utilitarianism is a special and most popular type of consequentialism. Rule utilitarianism looks first into the consequences of choosing what rule to follow. Pdf acts or rules the finetuning of utilitarianism researchgate. The main difference between kantianism and utilitarianism is that kantianism is a deontological moral theory whereas utilitarianism is a teleological moral theory. Just as rule utilitarianism focuses on the standard scenario of making standard moral codes, act utilitarianism states that it is important to make decisions in each individual.
Act utilitarianism is the value of the consequences of the particular act that counts when determining whether the act is right. An action is thus good or bad in proportion to the. Sep 03, 2017 an explication of utilitarianism, the most well known of the versions of consequentialism, including where it stands on the ten distinctions outlined in the previous video on the map of. In my opinion, there is a greater problem with act utilitarianism ersus rule, because it justifies not only ethical but also unethical actions in order to achieve the desired results. Dec 21, 2015 without going into the history of the debate, the short answer is rule utilitarianism lodges the utility judgment in a rule, or set of rules that cover a course of action in general, and from perception, to decision, to action, and, very important. Distinguishing between act utilitarianism and rule. Rule utilitarianism states that there is a secondorder of determining what is wrong. The paper first summarizes the authors decisiontheoretical model of moral behavior, in order to compare the moral implications of the actutilitarian and of the. A plausible formulation of ruleutilitarianism would thus have it recommend the same actions as actutilitarianism. Act utilitarianism vs rule utilitarianism in the study of ethics two terms keep coming up act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism. Pdf two concepts of rule utilitarianism researchgate.
What are the distinctions between traditional utilitarianism. Act utilitarianism, like other forms of utilitarianism, approaches questions of this kind by holding that morality is ultimately a matter of overall wellbeing. Utilitarianism is based on relative values assessed in situational contexts. A plausible formulation of rule utilitarianism would thus have it recommend the same actions as act utilitarianism.
Utilitarianism, act and rule internet encyclopedia of. Act utilitarianism is the theory that a persons act is morally right if and only if it produces at least as much happiness as any other act the person could perform at that time. Rule utilitarianism we ought to adopt moral rules which, if followed by everyone, will lead to the greatest increase in total happiness act utilitarianism applies principle of utility to individual actions rule utilitarianism applies principle of utility to moral rules. This paper is a brief philosophical exploration into act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism, both of which are two different approaches within the ethical theory of utilitarianism.
Normative act utilitarianism hereinafter denoted by aun is the doctrine that the right action is the one that produces the most happiness in that particular situation, while normative rule utilitarianism hereinafter denoted by run holds that the right action is the one which conforms to a rule which, if followed generally, would maximise. Act utilitarianism inclines more towards the person or group of persons that benefit most by the act unlike in the case of rule utilitarianism. Difference between act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism. The one with the better consequence is most likely the good choice. Suggested reading john stuart mill utilitarianism ch 2 and ch 4. But the presence of these other functional possibilities of the utility principle demonstrates that the utilitarian has many more options than simple act and rule utilitarianism. When applying this concept to the consequentialist theory of utilitarianism, it is important to first examine the difference between act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism. Two types of utilitarianism are act utilitarianism and rule. Since ruleconsequentialism can tell people to follow this simpler and less demanding code, even when following it will not to maximise expected good, ruleconsequentialism escapes collapse into practical equivalence to actconsequentialism.
Rule utilitarianism this form of utilitarianism argues that you should focus on general rules that everyone should follow to bring out the greatest good. Thus, the wrong thing can be done for the right reasons or if the typical unethical act results in higher benefits. I will define both act and rule utilitarianism, give a situation where both can be applied, and respond to an objection of utilitarianism. In this video they will be debating utilitarianism are right and wrong actions defined by the greatest good for the greatest number. This contrasts it with varieties of indirect utilitarianism, as well as with ethical systems that accord priority to duty or personal virtue. Utilitarianism is one of the best known and most influential moral theories. It is relatively easy to understand and apply, has been championed by normative ethicists for over a century, and is intuitively plausible. A moral theory is a form of consequentialism if and only if it assesses acts andor character traits, practices, and institutions solely in terms of the goodness of the consequences. These two forms of utilitarianism oppose each other. I will also explore a third option which attempts to find a solution to the problems both approaches face. Ruleutilitarianism 227 ii actutilitarianism has a number of strengths. The two most important utilitarians are jeremy bentham and john stuart mill. This highly opposed by the rule utilitarianism as the rule dictates that one should instead an individual should follow the rule that has the best consequences if observed at a general level. However rule utilitarianism aims to dispose the problem presented by act utilitarianism, which is aiming for the rule that will produce the best consequences.
But both hold equally that morality must be deduced from prin. The first is called act utilitarianism and the second is called rule utilitarianism. Without going into the history of the debate, the short answer is rule utilitarianism lodges the utility judgment in a rule, or set of rules that cover a course of action in general, and from perception, to decision, to action, and, very important. It depends on the principle of utility for every situation. Rule utilitarianism is a form of utilitarianism that says an action is right as it conforms to a rule that leads to the greatest good, or that the rightness or wrongness of a particular action is a function of the correctness of the rule of which it is an instance. The main difference between act and rule utilitarianism is that act utilitarianism emphasizes the consequencesresults of action whereas rule utilitarianism emphasizes the consequences from following a rule of conduct utilitarianism, which is one of the most influential moral theories in the world, refers to the theory that the morality of actions depends. According to this criticism, although rule utilitarianism looks different from act utilitarianism, a careful examination shows that it collapses into or, as david lyons claimed, is extensionally equivalent to act utilitarianism. However, these two philosophies take on different standpoints on ethics. The act utilitarian considers only the results or consequences of the single act while the rule utilitarian considers the consequences that result of following a rule of conduct. Aug 16, 2012 utilitarianism is a special and most popular type of consequentialism.
Act utilitarianism first looks into the consequences of an act. It states that even when something works in the interest of the majority, it can also. People dont really talk about anything called traditional utilitarianism. Rule utilitarianism, equality, and justice cambridge university press. Jan 29, 2019 act and rule utilitarianism are two main subbranches of utilitarianism, which differ in their focus. Fundamentally, in the cases of doctors, judges, and promisekeepers, it is trust that is at stake.
Utilitarianism has remained influential and vibrant within ethical canon since mills treatise was first published in 1861. What is the difference between rule utilitarianism and act. What is believed to be right or wrong is based on the effect or consequence. 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. Both kantianism and utilitarianism are ethical theories that express the ethical standard of an action. Utilitarianism is one of the most influential moral theories known to man. Explain the difference between rule, act and preference utilitarianism 25 marks utilitarianism is the ethical theory behind justifying an action for being for the greater good. 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. Utilitarianism7 as well as truth and falsehood, are questions of observation and experience. An example of act utilitarianism is stopping at a red light. Following a rule that generates the greatest utility or happiness is the more correct choice.
Act utilitarianism is concerned with the consequences of the act whereas rule utilitarianism is based on the rules of conduct. It allows for the abuse of peoples rights, demoralizes and devalues the welfare of individuals if it brings enough happiness to the group. It deals with acts that are either good or bad and right or wrong. Difference between act and rule utilitarianism free essays. Act utilitarianism is the belief that it is the right action that brings the greatest happiness to the greatest number of people. Utilitarianism is an approach to morality and social policy that grounds justification in the promotion of utility. It involves various theories that are grounded on principles on doing certain acts. Nov 01, 2004 a plausible formulation of rule utilitarianism would thus have it recommend the same actions as act utilitarianism. In their view, whatever defects act utilitarianism may have, rule utilitarianism will have the same defects.
675 570 1359 1302 580 432 720 712 922 1177 1392 275 1501 1306 1318 434 675 336 448 62 1191 587 1474 785 728 838 632 1427 927 492 287 1029 263 421