Utilitarianism is the belief that ethics is about maximising the utility of actions.

It is a consequentialist, (sometimes known as teleological) form of ethics. This can be opposed to absolutist approaches.

It is most associated with British enlightenment philosophers: Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill.

It can be summed up by Bentham's phrase that the aim of ethics (and politics) is to create "The greatest good for the greatest number".

WHAT'S ON THE SPECIFICATION?

• The general principles of utilitarianism: consequential or teleological thinking in contrast to deontological thinking
• Bentham's Utilitarianism, Act Utilitarianism, the Hedonic Calculus.

• Mill's Utilitarianism, Rule Utilitarianism, quality over quantity.

• The application of Bentham and Mill's principles to one ethical issue of the candidate's choice (apart from abortion and euthanasia).

Issues Arising:

• Strengths and weaknesses of the ethical systems of Bentham & Mill.

• Which is more important - the ending of pain and suffering or the increase of pleasure?

• How worthwhile is the pursuit of happiness, and is it all that people desire?

• How compatible is Utilitarianism with a religious approach to ethics?

For further depth, it is worth knowing about other scholars who have developed Utilitarianism, such as:

Henry Sidgwick

R M Hare

Peter Singer

Other scholars / critics:

Bernard Williams

Immanuel Kant

...

In times of moral crisis those with a Utilitarian approach would look to do the greater good. For example: an airline pilot is flying a plane with an engine failure, he can either crash land in a field and injure/kill most of his passengers and possibly himself, or he can land on the motorway in the middle of a traffic jam where more unsuspecting people would die. As a utilitarian he would land in the field to injure the least number of people, even though it risks his life.