Utilitarianism � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �

Throughout the history of philosophy, thinkers have addressed the question of what makes an act moral or immoral (for purposes of this and the follow­ ing discussions, we will use the terms “moral” and “ethical” interchange­ ably).1 A variety of answers have been given. In this and the following two chapters, we will consider in some detail the three most common answers to the question. In this chapter, we examine the approach to ethics or morality known as utilitarianism.