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Rule utilitarianism, rights, obligations and the theory of rational behavior
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Journal Article
Rule utilitarianism, rights, obligations and the theory of rational behavior
1980
Overview
One possible application of decision theory is in analysis of moral concepts. Two basic utilitarian approaches are contrasted: act utilitarianism & rule utilitarianism. Contrasts between these are presented through three voting examples. The moral behavior of act-utilitarian individuals will have the nature of a noncooperative game, played in the extensive mode, & involving action-by-action maximization of social utility by each player. In contrast, the moral behavior of rule-utilitarian individuals will have the nature of a cooperative game, played in the normal mode, & involving a firm commitment by each player to a specific moral strategy, the strategy selected by the rule-utilitarian choice criterion, even if some individual actions prescribed by this strategy fail to maximize social utility when considered in isolation. The most important advantage of rule utilitarianism over act utilitarianism is its ability to give full recognition to rights & obligations. Action-by-action maximization of social utility, as required by act utilitarianism can recognize their moral value, because it focuses on commitment to an overall moral strategy, independent of action-by-action & social-utility maximization. The conventional theory of rational behavior cannot avoid the paradox that, in any large election, voting is always an irrational action because one's own individual vote is extremely unlikely to make any difference to the outcome of any election. But this paradox can be resolved by rule-utilitarian principles, which lead to the conclusion that voting, even in large electorates, may be perfectly rational action. More generally, the example of rule utilitarianism shows what an important role the concept of a rational commitment can play in the analysis of rational behavior. Modified HA.
Publisher
Kluwer Academic Publishers
