Act utilitarianism analyses a consequence of a decision as one particular act whereas rule utilitarianism evaluates a consequence as if it will be later replicated in the future.
12.
Act utilitarianism maintains that an action is right if it maximizes utility; rule utilitarianism maintains that an action is right if it conforms to a rule that maximizes utility.
13.
Weak rule utilitarianism ( "'WRU "') attempts to handle David Lyons and others have argued, this will necessarily tend to collapse into act utilitarianism.
14.
In terms of two-level utilitarianism, act utilitarianism can be likened to the'critical'level of moral thinking, and rule utilitarianism to the'intuitive'level.
15.
According to act utilitarianism, then, the right thing to do tomorrow is to go out and do charity work; it is wrong to stay home and watch television all day.
16.
Critics also cite more significant problems, such as the fact that act utilitarianism seems to imply that specific acts of torture or enslavement would be morally permissible if they produced enough happiness.
17.
Proponents of utilitarianism have disagreed on a number of points, such as whether actions should be chosen based on their results ( act utilitarianism ) or whether average utilitarianism ) utility should be maximized.
18.
Conversely, act utilitarianism was criticized for not allowing for a'human element'in its calculations, i . e . it is sometimes too difficult ( or impossible ) for an ordinary person.
19.
Worldwide, his defence of act utilitarianism and preference theory has been less prominent but has influenced philosophers who have worked or been educated in Australia, such as Frank Jackson, Philip Pettit, and Peter Singer.
20.
Act utilitarianism is based on the principle of utility, which is the basis of all utilitarian theories and is best summed up in Bentham's well-known phrase, " the greatest good for the greatest number ".
