Also called restricted or indirect utilitarianism.
Version of utilitarianism which says (in its main formulation) that our duty is not to aim for that act which will produce in fact the best overall consequences (because of the impossibility or impracticability of predicting these) but to follow that rule which would have the best consequences if generally followed.
Objections include: the apparent pointlessness of mechanically following a rule which on this occasion will clearly not have the best results; the pointlessness or counterproductiveness of following a rule which would be the best if everyone followed it but which one knows not everyone will; and the difficulty in the end of even distinguishing rule utilitarianism from act utilitarianism.
Source:
B A Brody, ‘The Equivalence of Act and Rule Utilitarianism’, Philosophical Studies (1967)
Table of Contents
- 1 Videos
- 2 Related Products
- 2.1 Utilitarianism (Dover Thrift Editions)
- 2.2 Ethics 101: From Altruism and Utilitarianism to Bioethics and Political Ethics, an Exploration of the Concepts of Right and Wrong (Adams 101)
- 2.3 Utilitarianism and Cooperation
- 2.4 The Unknowers: How Strategic Ignorance Rules the World (Economic Controversies)
- 2.5 On Liberty
- 2.6 The Triumph of Venus: The Erotics of the Market (Philosophy, Social Theory, and the Rule of Law)
- 2.7 Ethics: Contemporary Readings (Routledge Contemporary Readings in Philosophy)
- 2.8 An Introduction to Christian Philosophical Theology: Faith Seeking Understanding
- 2.9 Individual Conduct and Social Norms: A Utilitarian Account of Social Union and the Rule of Law
- 2.10 Kant and Parfit: The Groundwork of Morals (Routledge Studies in Ethics and Moral Theory)
Videos
Utilitarianism (Dover Thrift Editions)
- John Stuart Mill (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 64 Pages - 02/02/2007 (Publication Date) - Dover Publications (Publisher)
Ethics 101: From Altruism and Utilitarianism to Bioethics and Political Ethics, an Exploration of the Concepts of Right and Wrong (Adams 101)
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Boone, Brian (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 257 Pages - 11/07/2017 (Publication Date) - Adams Media (Publisher)
Utilitarianism and Cooperation
- Hardcover Book
- Regan, Donald H. (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 296 Pages - 10/23/1980 (Publication Date) - Oxford University Press (Publisher)
The Unknowers: How Strategic Ignorance Rules the World (Economic Controversies)
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- McGoey, Linsey (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 256 Pages - 09/15/2019 (Publication Date) - Zed Books (Publisher)
On Liberty
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Mill, John (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 03/07/2016 (Publication Date)
Ethics: Contemporary Readings (Routledge Contemporary Readings in Philosophy)
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Harry Gensler (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 325 Pages - 08/02/2004 (Publication Date) - Routledge (Publisher)
An Introduction to Christian Philosophical Theology: Faith Seeking Understanding
- Davis, Stephen T. (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 192 Pages - 11/03/2020 (Publication Date) - Zondervan Academic (Publisher)
Kant and Parfit: The Groundwork of Morals (Routledge Studies in Ethics and Moral Theory)
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Sarkar, Husain (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 394 Pages - 09/06/2018 (Publication Date) - Routledge (Publisher)
Last update 2020-03-29. Price and product availability may change.