Utilitarianism is a form of ethical theory which teaches that the end of human conduct is happiness, and that consequently the discriminating norm which distinguishes conduct into right and wrong is pleasure and pain.
             The basis of utilitarianism is a form of hedonism, the conception of the good life that says the ultimate good is pleasure and that in the final analysis we want and ought to want this pleasure. But where traditional hedonism is concerned only with one's personal pleasure, utilitarianism is concerned with pleasure in general; that is, with one's own pleasure and the pleasure of other people. Pleasure and happiness are not to be confused with one another and should not be used interchangeably. Many short lived pleasures do not make us happy, and happiness is much more than mere pleasure. This is a major concern for the utilitarians; their whole theory revolves around a single aim, to make the most people happy as possible, sometimes sacrificing short term pleasure for enduring ones. Their central principle is often summarized as "the greatest good for the greatest number".
             What is usually meant in practice by the slogan "the greatest good for the greatest number" is something like the following procedure for choosing between two or more actions.
             1. Look at the state of the world after each action. Look in particular at the level of happiness of each person in the various situations.
             2. Add up, somehow, those levels of happiness in each case.
             3. Compare the results. The one which leads to the maximum total happiness is the (morally) right one.
             Utilitarianism was first put forth by the 19th century philosopher Jeremy Bentham. Bentham created a catalog that provides a rational analysis of pleasure. There are seven categories which he calls the categories of felicity. They are as follows:
             According to Bentham you can compare any action you are considering to perform with its...