Reasoning towards utilitarianism

Abstract

R M Hare claims that universalizability, correctly understood, leads to a determinate conclusion to any moral deliberation; specifically, to a form of utilitarianism. This claim has been denied by critics such as J L Mackie. I show that while Mackie is right to object to the claim that mere analysis of the meanings of words can compel us to become utilitarians, Hare can employ some of Mackie’s own arguments to supplement linguistic analysis, and so reach the same conclusion.