And thirdly it is naturalistic because an “ought” is derived from an “is”: what “is” the happiest state of affairs is the one we “ought” to create. It is teleological because the calculation concerns consequences which result from pursuing the end or telos of pleasure or happiness. Utilitarianism is an empirical philosophy because it claims happiness or pleasure can be measured and calculated and then applied to real-life situations. ![]() There are three features of utilitarian philosophy: Utility means “usefulness”, as the claim of the Utilitarian philosophers such as Bentham ((1748-1832) and Mill (1806-1873) is that their philosophy is useful for two reasons: it helps define what is good and it helps us make decisions on a personal level by examining the consequences of our choices, and on a collective level by giving us an indicator of welfare for society. This handout is a much reduced summary of the detailed treatment of three forms of utilitarianism (Bentham, Mill and Singer) in my book Utilitarianism and Situation Ethics.
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