Consequentialism and Utilitarianism

Consequentialism is the family of normative theories holding that the rightness or wrongness of an action depends entirely on its consequences. Nothing else—not intentions, not the type of act, not who performs it—matters for its own sake; what matters is the outcome the act produces. The most influential form of consequentialism is utilitarianism, which identifies the good outcome with well-being or happiness and instructs us to maximize it.

Bentham and the hedonic calculus

Jeremy Bentham gave utilitarianism its classic formulation. He began from a psychological and moral claim: nature has placed humanity under two sovereign masters, pleasure and pain. The right action is the one that produces the greatest happiness for the greatest number, where happiness is understood as a balance of pl