ABSTRACT
There are four great issues involved in the theory of utility as a moral theory: 1) what is its object, 2) does the theory enjoin men to consider only the consequences of actions, with little (if any) regard to actions themselves, 3) is the theory maximalist, in that it directs us to maximize "the good" — whatever this may turn out to be, and 4) recognizing that the goal of the theory of utility is happiness, what, exactly, is happiness? As an empirical theory, there is one issue facing the theory of utility: is its psychological explanation of the motive behind all human actions, that we act according to our calculations of the happiness and unhappiness that actions bring to us personally, true; and its corollary, is this empirical theory consistent with the theory of utility as a moral theory?
