Act utilitarianism is defined by J.the view that the rightness or wrongness of an action is to be judged by the consequences, good or bad, of the action itself"- or, simply that a person's act is morally right if, and only if, it results in the most happiness of everyone concerned. Compared to rule utilitarianism, act utilitarianism appeals to some as being the more agreeable theory since the alternative option prescribes that everyone must follow given rules that will ultimately result in the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. Hence in a rule, utilitarian point of view the choices are limited to a finite number of possibilities due to the constraints of the aforementioned rules. An act utilitarian, however, would reject this idea as they would argue that there are many other possible situations where happiness can be maximized, and that these are neglected by the rigidity of rule utilitarianism. From this point onwards, I will be focusing on act utilitarianism, analyzing this theory and hence portraying its strongest objections, followed by a discussion on how an act utilitarian might respond to this objection and why. .
According to act utilitarianism, every single act is individually judged by its individual consequences, and from this, an evaluation regarding morality is reached. Act utilitarianism is entirely situational and contextual, however the consequences of one action cannot be applied across all similar situations, as no two situations will ever be entirely comparable. To further illustrate this theory an example may be used; say that there is a shortage of organ donations, and in a desperate attempt to provide organs to those in need, governments and hospitals decide to harvest organs from criminals who face a lifetime in jail. To an act utilitarian the idea of harvesting organs from an individual who has committed a crime, and as such did not produce any happiness or utility in society, in order to prolong the life of an individual who has the ability to produce a greater amount of happiness, as well as contribute productively and effectively in society, is morally right and acceptable.
