Utilitarianism

Utilitarianism is the philosophical view that regards the action that produces the best outcome as the right action. It is a form of consequentialism. The best outcome is one that maximizes happiness and minimizes suffering for all beings affected by the action. It was systematized by the British philosopher Jeremy Bentham in An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, published in 1789.

Varieties

What should be maximized:

• Hedonistic utilitarianism
• Preference utilitarianism
• Ideal utilitarianism

Acts versus rules:

• Act utilitarianism
• Rule utilitarianism

What does 공리 mean?

공리주의 is the Korean name for “utilitarianism”; “utility” means 효용.

The Korean word 공리 (功利) might best be understood as “placing the greatest emphasis on benefit,” though some argue that it is a mistaken rendering of 공리 (公利), meaning “the public interest.”

In 공리, 리 means “benefit,” and this “benefit” appears to be a translation of “interest.” In English, both 이익 (“benefit”) and 관심 (“concern”) can be called “interest,” so in normative ethics, the word is often used with both meanings in play.

Misrepresentations of utilitarianism

By refusing to be bound by established conventions and focusing on what would produce the best outcomes, utilitarians were ahead of their time in criticizing practices that most of their contemporaries accepted without question, such as slavery, sexism, and the criminalization of homosexuality. They have helped bring about substantial change.

Perhaps partly for that reason, there also seems to be a tendency to caricature or demonize utilitarianism. Most people today, for instance, do not accept that speciesism is wrong, and disregard or distort arguments grounded in utilitarianism.

A familiar example is the claim that utilitarianism means killing a healthy person to save five patients. In a society that accepted such actions, anyone could suddenly be murdered, making it an extremely unhappy society for everyone. That is inconsistent with the aim of “maximizing happiness and minimizing suffering.”

Related reading

• Utilitarianism: A Very Short Introduction is an introduction coauthored by Katarzyna de Lazari-Radek and Peter Singer.
• Animal Liberation is a classic in which Peter Singer exposed the realities of speciesist oppression of animals from a utilitarian perspective.

Related concepts

• Utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism because it gives priority to consequences over duties.
• The position that gives priority to fulfilling given duties over the consequences of actions is called deontology.