What is Utilitarianism?
On a simple level, utilitarianism is the belief that the morally right thing to do in any situation is to maximise the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.
A good example of this idea in practice is the organ donor problem. There are 4 patients who are in a hospital waiting room waiting for a life-saving transplant (needing a heart, liver, kidney, and lung, respectively). There are no organs available, and all 4 are set to die. A healthy man comes in for a check-up. The Doctor (a true utilitarian), knocks the healthy man out, takes his organs, and transplants them into the 4 waiting: saving their lives. In a utilitarian calculus, this the morally right thing to do because it saves 4 lives for the cost of 1; it maximises happiness for the greatest number of people.
Related Philosophy and Ethics A Level answers
All answers ▸Assess the view that religious experience provides convincing proof of the existence of God (12 marks)
Examine the ways in which the ontological argument attempts to prove to the atheist that God exists.
To what extent is ethical language meaningful?
Can you explain Westphal's views on the development of philosophical thought in 'The emergence of mdoern philosophy'?