Two-level utilitarianism

Two-level utilitarianism (sometimes Government House utilitarianism) is a utilitarian theory of ethics developed by R. M. Hare. According to the theory, a person's moral decisions should be based on a set of 'intuitive' moral rules, except in certain rare situations where it is more appropriate to engage in a 'critical' level of moral reasoning.

Utilitarians believe that an action is right if it produces the best possible state of affairs. Traditional utilitarianism treats this as a claim that people should try to ensure that their actions maximise overall happiness or pleasure.

Two-level utilitarianism is virtually a synthesis of the opposing doctrines of act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism. Act utilitarianism states that in all cases the morally right action is the one which produces the most pleasure, whereas rule utilitarianism states that the morally right action is the one that is in accordance with a moral rule whose general observance would create the most happiness. In terms of two-level utilitarianism, act utilitarianism can be likened to the 'critical' level of moral thinking, and rule utilitarianism to the 'intuitive' level.

Utilitarianism is a type of consequentialist ethical theory. According to such theories, only the outcome of an action is morally relevant (this contrasts with deontology, according to which moral actions flow from duties or motives). Utilitarianism is a combination of consequentialism and the philosophical position hedonism, which states that pleasure, or happiness, is the only good worth pursuing. Therefore, since only the consequences of an action matter, and only happiness matters, only happiness that is the consequence of an action is morally relevant. There are similarities with preference utilitarianism, where utility is defined as individual preference rather than pleasure.

The two predecessor theories to two-level utilitarianism, act and rule utilitarianism, were beset by various objections. For example, rule utilitarianism was criticized for implying that in some cases an individual should pursue a course of action that would obviously not maximise utility. Conversely, act utilitarianism was criticized for not allowing for a 'human element' in its calculations, i.e. it is sometimes too difficult (or impossible) for an ordinary person.

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