1. Utilitarianism
“That action is best, which procures the
greatest happiness for the greatest numbers.”
Suppose you are on an island with a dying millionaire. With
his final words, he begs you for one final favor: “I’ve dedicated
my whole life to baseboll and for fifty years have gotten endless
pleasure rooting for the New York Yankees. Now that im dying,
I want to give all my assets, $2 million, to take Yankees.”
Pointing to a box containing money in large bills, he continues:
“Would you take this money back to New York and give it to
the Yankees’ owner so that he can buy better players?” You
agree to carry out his wish, at which point a huge smile of relief
and gratitude breaks out on his face as he expires in your arms.

2.  After traveling to New York, you see a newspaper
advertisement placed by your favorite charity, World
Hunger Relief Organization, pleading for $2 million to be
used to save 100,000 people dying of starvation in Africa.
Not only will the $2 million save their lives, but it will also
purchase equipment and the kinds of fertilizers necessary
to build a sustainable economy. You decide to reconsider
your promise to the dying Yankee fan, in light of this
advertisement.
 What is the right to do in this case?

3.  Some traditional moral principles:
 “Let your conscience be your guide.”
 “Do whatever is most loving.”
 “Golden Rule: Do to others as you would
have them do to you.”

4.  Utilitarianism claims that happiness is the only good,
and that an action is right if it leads to the greatest
happiness of all those it affects, if it maximises
happiness.
 Utilitarianism is all about the maximization of
goodness in society, that is the greatest goodness for
the greatest number.
 Utilitarianism is the dominant version of teleological
ethics.
 It is thus a form of consequentialism, meaning that
the moral worth of an action is determined only by its
resulting outcome, and that one can only weigh the
morality of an action after knowing all its
consequences.

5.  Utilitarianism also differs from ethical theories that
make the rightness or wrongness of an act
dependent upon the motive of the agent; for,
according to the Utilitarian, it is possible for the right
thing to be done from a bad motive.
 Utilitarianism is an effort to provide an answer to the
practical question “What ought a man to do?” Its
answer is that he ought to act so as to produce the
best consequences possible.
 Unlike ethical egoism, utilitarianism is a universal
teleological system.