Utilitarianism is a consequentialist moral theory that favors acts that produce the most considerable amount of happiness for the greatest amount of people. One of the two most significant ethical philosophies - opposite of Deontology (Kant). It focuses on the sum of individual pleasures and pains; what matters is the cumulative happiness of a number of people. And it is one of the best known and most influential moral theories. The main idea of Utilitarianism is to determine whether actions are morally good or bad, right or wrong depends on their consequences rather than intentions. Jeremy Bentham is the influential philosopher who represented Utilitarianism the best. Utilitarianism is generally divided into two genres: act utilitarianism and rule Utilitarianism. Rule utilitarianism, created by John Stuart Mill, is act utilitarianism. Act Utilitarianism considers the consequences of specific individual acts. Rule utilitarians want us to think long-term, and on a larger scale. It allows us to refrain from actions that might maximize utility in the short run, and instead follow rules that will maximize efficiency for the majority of the time
There are some negative views of Utilitarianism. The consequences of our actions are essential and matter. But if the utilitarian is right, then consequences are all that matters. John Stuart Mill said that there are higher and lower pleasures. Where the higher pleasures are the pleasures of the intellect, and the lower pleasures are the pleasures of the senses. The upshot is that morally speaking, it is not just the quantity of pleasure that matters to the utilitarian, but the quality as well. It could require us to violate the standards of justice, and sometimes it means punishing the innocent in certain situations to create peace and calm the crowd.
In my opinion, people should take ethical theories with a grain of salt, and it's not always healthy to fully follow a theory of ethics. Take bits and pieces of ethics and create your narrative of beliefs
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