PHIL 1550 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Conflict Resolution, Act Utilitarianism, Consequentialism
24 Oct 2016
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Document Summary
Consequentialism states: acts are morally right just because they maximize the amount of goodness in the world. The act that yields the greatest balance of benefits over drawbacks is the optimific action. Act utilitarianism is the most prominent version of consequentialism. According to act utilitarianism, there is one ultimate moral standard: the principle of utility. The principle of utility states: an action is morally required just because it does more to improve overall well-being than any other action you could have done in the circumstances. Two misunderstandings: we must do whatever benefits the greatest number of people and we must always choose the action that creates the greatest amount of happiness. The actual view is we must perform the act that creates the greatest net balance of happiness over unhappiness. Most utilitarians claim that the rightness or wrongness of an action is. Attractions of utilitarianism determine by its actual results, not its expected results.
