Essay Database

Consequentialist theorists propose that our only duty should be to do whatever has the best consequences. Utilitarianism, the most popular of consequentialist theories, was formulated by Jeremy Bentham (1789) and later refined by John Stuart Mill (1861). In general terms, classical utilitarianism states that we should do whatever maximises the balance of pleasure over pain for everyone affected by our action. This is a modern conception of morality. It does not rely on God to provide us …

…people. I would rather be objectively concerned with the happiness of each person, of every person obtaining some happiness, than be concerned with the total quantity of all happiness. So, I conclude that the principle which governs utilitarianism - happiness at any expense - is not a moral principle. Therefore, the most powerful objection is that it can never itself be a moral theory, only a theory that provides an alternative to our own morality.