Applying Rule Utilitarianism
Applying Act Utilitarianism
What are the Options
List all options that could exist with the ethical dilemma.
Who are the Stakeholders
- List moral rules that would be relevant to situations.
- Determine the net utility of each rule, if everyone followed it.
- Choose the moral rule with the highest net utility.
- Apply this rule to the ethical problem under consideration.
Who has something at stake?
- Customers
- Employees
- Communities
- Agencies
- Environment
- etc.
- Identify the ethical decision to be made.
- Consider all possible optional actions.
- Consider all people affected by these options.
- Determine the net utility of each option.
- Choose and follow the option that produces the highest net utility.
Happiness Units
Thinking of the stakeholders, and the options for the person who has the dilemma, assign a number of happiness level.
Utilitarianism
"Create all the happiness you can create, remove all the misery you can remove."
Jeremy Bentham
Consequential Ethical Theories
John Stuart Mill
Ethical Decision
Case 4 - Time and Money on page 721
History - Great Philosophers
- Apply Act Utilitarianism
- Identify the ethical decision to be made.
- Consider all possible optional actions.
- Consider all people affected by these options.
- Determine the net utility of each option.
- Choose and follow the option that produces the highest net utility.
- Apply Rule Utilitarianism
- List moral rules that would be relevant to situations.
- Determine the net utility of each rule, if everyone followed it.
- Choose the moral rule with the highest net utility.
- Apply this rule to the ethical problem under consideration.
Moral or ethical theories are groups of systematically related ethical principles.
Consequential
- ethical judgments and decisions based on the outcomes
Consequential theories base morality on the results or outcomes of behaviors.
Actions with good consequences are morally right; actions with bad consequences are morally wrong.
Non-Consequential
- ethical judgments and decisions based on factors other than outcomes.
- Act Utilitarianism
- Jeremy Bentham
- Rule Utilitarianism
- John Stuart Mill
Origins of Ethical Beliefs
- Authority
- Culture
- Emotion
- Intuition
- Reason
But how do we know which moral principles are best to follow or live by?
Conclusion
All ethical theories do not fit every situation. There are strengths and weaknesses in all moral theories. They are simply a tool to help us choose the best decision for the ethical issue.