1. Utilitarianism is a theory about what we ought to do. It states that we should always choose actions which produce the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest amount of people – the greatest happiness principle The most famous exponents are Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill.

2. During the 20 th Century Utilitarianism was separated into two types: act & rule: Act Utilitarianism – each action should be judged on our ability to produce the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest amount of people (Or avoid the most amount of pain). Assess how well individual actions will achieve the greatest good. Rule Utilitarianism – some general rules are more likely to lead to the general good so there is no need to judge every action as new. Strong utilitarianism follows rules closely while weak involves being flexible on how useful you think the rule is.

3. Bentham was a social reformer who wanted to find a way of defining what is right and wrong without the need to appeal to religion. Bentham is associated with act utilitarianism. Bentham attempted to calculate happiness with his utility calculus. Good deeds – bad deeds = happiness. Mill distinguished between higher an lower pleasures. He said that not everyone in life would strive for the higher pleasures. Mill was a rule utilitarian who thought people would be better off following moral rules rather than calculating happiness.

4. It is up to individuals or governments to judge what will produce happiness. The rights of minorities should not be ignored or given priority as it could lead to an unhappy society. – everyone is equal Utilitarian's can act selfishly or selflessly depending on what action brings about the most happiness.

5. How do you calculate happiness? How can an outcome be accurately predicted? What is better more happiness for many and agony for some, or should there be a balance? Is everyone’s idea of happiness the same? How can we distinguish between higher and lower pleasures? Its too simplistic – life is more complicated! What about freedom of speech and right of assembly?