Act utilitarianism is a theory, which states that an action becomes morally right when it produces the greatest good for the greatest number of people. In particular, the theory states “an act is right if and only if it results in at least as much overall wellbeing as an act the agent could have performed” (Eggleston, 2014).
One example that is applicable to this theory is to imagine a patient who has a terminal illness that is causing them too much pain. Such a patient could be having cancer that is at a critical stage, and in that case, it is almost definite that the patient will die. Sometimes family members in such scenarios sympathize with their patient when they see them in so much pain. A healthcare provider may also find themselves in very technical situations. Ending the life of the patient using euthanasia may be the best and right thing to do, at least to alleviate the situation of the patient. However, generally, ending one’s life regardless of their situation is considered unethical and even immoral. But in act utilitarianism, ending the patient’s life in such a case is right because there is overall wellbeing of the patient; the patient dies but there is no pain. If nothing is done, the patient will still eventually die but with excruciating pain. The second example is to consider a driver in a moving vehicle that has a faulty braking system with twenty passengers and the only option to bring the vehicle to a stop is by hitting a road user walking by the roadside. If the driver does not hit the single road user, then his life, as well as the lives of all the other twenty passengers will definitely be lost. In act utilitarianism, hitting one road user to save the twenty lives is justified although generally killing one innocent person deliberately regardless of the situation is considered unethical.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Rule utilitarianism states that the moral correctness of an action depends on the correctness of the rules that permit it to achieve the greatest good. In particular, rule utilitarianism requires that the most efficient means of achieving the greatest good for humanity is to have a moral code, which has rules of conduct, which are understood clearly (Dragaš, 2018). The moral rules ought to result into the maximum amount of productivity, happiness, and utility for the greatest number of people, and once the rules are decided upon, they ought to be applicable in every scenario without exception.
The first best example of rule utilitarianism is road rules and regulations. The rules are intended for the common good of all people, and the process of creating the rules is most of the time not questionable. In most countries around the world, the process of creating laws and rules is done by legislators, who are considered to be representatives of the people. And when the rules are implemented, they apply even to the most powerful people. When driving, everyone is considered a road user, and therefore, there is no exception. The second example also concerns laws guiding various crimes in the country. The laws are made by representatives of the people and are aimed at controlling the conduct of everyone in the country. Even when powerful people are caught committing crimes, it is expected that they are also subjected to the treatment of the laws. The laws are generally made for everyone and not just for people with less power.
References
Dragaš, J. M. (2018). Utilitarizam postupka vs. utilitarizam pravila (Doctoral dissertation, University of Zagreb. Department of Croatian Studies.). https://repozitorij.hrstud.unizg.hr/islandora/object/hrstud%3A1725/datastream/PDF/view
Eggleston, B. (2014). Act utilitarianism. https://philpapers.org/archive/EGGAU.pdf
