Act Vs. Rule Utilitarianism
Submitted by edt1114 on July 1, 2009
Category: Philosophy
Words: 424 | Pages: 2
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According to the author, act-utilitarianism and rule-utilitarianism are two contrasting views that he argues are actually more identical to one another than they may seem. The first view, act-utilitarianism, is the view that the rightness or wrongness of an action is judged by the consequences of the action itself. This group, he explains, follows one cardinal rule: to maximize probable benefit. Simply put, whatever consequence seems to have the most beneficial outcome is the correct thing to do, no matter who or what receives the most benefit. On the other hand, rule-utilitarianism is the view that the rightness or wrongness of an action is judged by the goodness and badness of the consequences of a rule that everyone should perform the action in like circumstances. This group, the author explains, is much more dependent on rules and do not like to break them. This group is also...