Question

Does act-utilitarianism conflict with commonsense judgments about rights? Why or why not?

Answer 1

Act utilitarianism philosophy rest on principle that whether an action is right or wrong depends on consequence , i.e. action is right when it leads to greatest good for greater no. of people.

Whereas common sense judgement about right and wrong are different. They are a combination of consequences and means . Sometimes it is in conflict with act utilitarianism as it focuses more on immediate consequences rather than long term. Moreover , a conflict between two is also apparent when commonsense judgement emphasizes on means . For example , law prohibits abortion after 24 weeks of fetus keeping in view safety of mother and child both. Then a rape case victim is diagnosed of pregnancy after 24 weeks and she is not ready to give birth. In this case , common sense judgement would prefer to go for abortion as it is not a normal case a d victim will be forced to have trauma for lifetime. However , act utilitarianism will go as per law and not prefer for abortion as violating law will create lawlessness but law is necessary for greater good for greater number.