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A Dilemma for Objective Act-Utilitarianism

University College, Oxford, UK gerald.lang{at}univ.ox.ac.uk

Act-utilitarianism comes in two standard varieties: ‘subjective’ act-utilitarianism, which tells agents to attempt to maximize utility directly, and ‘objective’ act-utilitarianism, which permits agents to use non-utilitarian decision-making procedures. This article argues that objective actutilitarianism is exposed to a dilemma. On one horn of it is the contention that objective act-utilitarianism makes inconsistent claims about the rightness of acts. On the other horn of it is the contention that objective act-utilitarianism collapses back into what is, essentially, subjective act-utilitarianism. Three objective act-utilitarian responses to this dilemma are explored and rejected. The recommended conclusion is that a consistent utilitarian must either embrace subjective act-utilitarianism, or abandon act-utilitarianism altogether.

Key Words: act-utilitarianism • subjective • objective • decision-making procedure • criterion of rightness • dilemma

Politics, Philosophy & Economics, Vol. 3, No. 2, 221-239 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/1470594X04042966


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