Consequentialist theorists propose that our only duty should be to do whatever has the best consequences. Utilitarianism, the most popular of consequentialist theories, was formulated by Jeremy Bentham (1789) and later refined by John Stuart Mill (1861). In general terms, classical utilitarianism states that we should do whatever maximises the balance of pleasure over pain for everyone affected by our action. This is a modern conception of morality. It does not rely on God to provide us with moral rules, but places morality in human nature, in which human beings are primarily motivated by…
