Utilitarianism
The Consequentialist Theory of Normative Ethics which maintains that the good is equivalent
to whatever creates the greatest amount of happiness (i.e., pleasure) for the
greatest number of people. There are two distinct branches of Utilitarianism:
Act Utilitarianism, and Rule Utilitarianism. The former maintains that ethics
should evaluate those actions which meet the utilitarian principle, while the
latter maintains that the focus should be on rules fashioned to meet the utilitarian
principle.