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