WHO & WHEN:
Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, late eighteenth to mid nineteenth century. Continues through the 20th century. Also see John Rawls, A Theory of Justice, 1973. Utilitarianism remains an important ingredient in government and business decision-making.
THE PRINCIPLE: UTILITY
Act in the way that you think will produce the best consequences for everyone who is affected.
It does not matter who is benefited or harmed, as long as the total good/benefit/pleasure outweighs the total bad/harm/pain. That is, an act is not wrong because it will benefit you and harm others, nor is it either right or wrong because it will harm you while benefiting others. The person making the judgment by the utilitarian method tries to objectively judge the consequences for everyone who is affected, and decide if the overall consequences are good or bad. He is expected to make this judgment from a neutral point of view, without regard to his particular position in the......
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