Utilitarianism Theory and Its Subtypes

In general, utilitarianism is a theory in ethics that claims that the best actions are the ones that provide maximum utility. Regarding the utility, in this case, it is an overall pleasure which all parties receive during the time that the consequences of these actions are in effect. Utilitarianism is a variant of consequentialism, which claims that any action is determined purely by its consequences, thereby demonstrating what is right and what is wrong (“Utilitarianism,” 2017). In addition, utilitarianism takes into account the interests of every human being equally.

Adherents of utilitarianism have many contradictions in terms of certain aspects, and, as a result, different subtypes of this theory have appeared. Thus, there is act utilitarianism, rule utilitarianism, total utilitarianism, and so on, which slightly differ from each other. Basically, utilitarianism tries to answer the question of what people ought to do in order to provide the best possible consequences of their actions. In the assessment of the consequences, utilitarianism uses the theory of intrinsic value, which states that some actions are good by themselves notwithstanding the consequences, whereas other actions are considered to extract their worth from their connection to the intrinsic good and regarded as a means to an end (“Utilitarianism,” 2017).

References

Utilitarianism (2017). Web.