Posted: February 23rd, 2017

In specific cases where justice and utility are in conflict, it may seem expedient to serve the greater happiness through quick action that overrules consideration for justice.

There are three basic propositions in standard Utilitarianism (Please be sure to listen to Mill’s audio lecture before joining this threaded discussion):

1. Actions are judged right and wrong solely on their consequences;
   that is, nothing else matters except the consequence, and right actions are simply those with the best consequences.
2. To assess consequences, the only thing that matters is the amount of happiness and unhappiness caused;
   that is, there is only one criterion and everything else is irrelevant.
3. In calculating happiness and unhappiness caused, nobody’s happiness counts any more than anybody else’s;
   that is, everybody’s welfare is equally important and the majority rules.

In specific cases where justice and utility are in conflict, it may seem expedient to serve the greater happiness through quick action that overrules consideration for justice. There is a side to happiness that can call for rushed decisions and actions that put decision-makers under the pressure of expediency.