9/17/21, 11:05 AM Calculating Consequences: The Utilitarian Approach – Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
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Calculating Consequences: The Utilitarian Approach
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Imagine that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency gets wind of a plot to set off a dirty bomb in a major
American city. Agents capture a suspect who, they believe, has information about where the bomb is
planted. Is it permissible for them to torture the suspect into revealing the bomb’s whereabouts? Can
the dignity of one individual be violated in order to save many others?
Greatest Balance of Goods Over Harms
If you answered yes, you were probably using a form of moral reasoning called “utilitarianism.” Stripped
down to its essentials, utilitarianism is a moral principle that holds that the morally right course of
action in any situation is the one that produces the greatest balance of benefits over harms for everyone
affected. So long as a course of action produces maximum benefits for everyone, utilitarianism does not
care whether the benefits are produced by lies, manipulation, or coercion.
Many of us use this type of moral reasoning frequently in our daily decisions. When asked to explain
why we feel we have a moral duty to perform some action, we often point to the good that will come
from the action or the harm it will prevent. Business analysts, legislators, and scientists weigh daily the
resulting benefits and harms of policies when deciding, for example, whether to invest resources in a
certain public project, whether to approve a new drug, or whether to ban a certain pesticide.
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9/17/21, 11:05 AM Calculating Consequences: The Utilitarian Approach – Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
https://www.scu.edu/ethics/ethics-resources/ethical-decision-making/calculating-consequences-the-utilitarian-approach/ 2/4
Utilitarianism offers a relatively straightforward method for deciding the morally right course of action
