Utilitarianism

CORE DEFINITION

Utilitarianism is a type of ethical theory that holds that the most correct action is the one that maximizes utility. "Utility" is pleasure, and the tendency to produce the greatest pleasure while avoiding pain is considered right. The founder of utilitarianism, Bentham, described utility as the sum of all pleasures produced by an action minus the suffering of all people involved. Utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism, which holds that the consequences of any action are the sole standard for judging right and wrong. Unlike other forms of consequentialism (such as ethical egoism), utilitarianism considers the interests of all affected parties equally, and some even consider the interests of animals. Adherents of utilitarianism disagree on some issues. For example, whether an agent should choose actions based on their likely consequences (act utilitarianism) or should follow rules that maximize utility (rule utilitarianism). Utilitarians also differ on whether to pursue the maximization of total utility (total utilitarianism) or the maximization of average utility (average utilitarianism).