Understanding Utilitarianism: Act vs Rule

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Utilitarianism Utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism and a theory in normative ethics. According to utilitarianism, this is a theory that it is concerned on whether an action will result the greatest amount of pleasure (happiness) for the greater number of individuals (Shafer-Landau, 2014, p.138). In order to address the scenario given, the terminology of the two forms of utilitarianism (act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism) and deontology need to be understood so it can be applied on how and why each type will act in this specific scenario. Firstly, J.J.C Smart introduces two forms of utilitarianism, act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism. Act utilitarianism depends on the results of an action, which requires to always …show more content…

Act utilitarianism believes that whenever a certain action is decided, it should perform the greatest amount of happiness. In other words, act utilitarians act before fully evaluating the morally of the action. It is also important to take in consideration that act utilitarianism is simply concerned on which particular action maximizes the most happiness. Where as, rule utilitarianism is concerned on which rule is followed according to a particular action and would this rule maximize the most happiness (Shafer-Landau, 2014, p.154). Due to these differences, Smart defends act …show more content…

Even though some actions might not be morally right or wrong, it is important to decide which action yields the greatest amount of pleasure. Understanding both forms of utilitarianism, act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism, helps on how to decide and apply the decision approached by the doctor in the given scenario. Even though the actions taken might not fully seem morally right, utilitarians simply concern on yielding maximum happiness for a great amount of

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