There are two main applications of utilitarian thought. Act utilitarianism focuses on the consequences of particular actions in particular circumstances. That is, an act is right to the extent that it produces the highest utility in that individual circumstance. This allows you to consider every situation as completely unique. On the other hand, it also allows for inconsistency in action and requires that you basically start every analysis from scratch.

Rule utilitarianism takes a somewhat different view by suggesting that the principle of utility can be used to develop and test rules that can be applied in similar situations. The basic premise is that if we always follow a set of rules that generally produce the best consequences, our actions will result in the greatest social utility or the best outcome for everyone in the long run. In this view, an act is right if it follows a rule that has been shown to maximize utility in other similar situations. An obvious drawback to this approach is the sheer number of rules and exceptions likely to be generated, as well as the possibility that the rules would conflict in some circumstances.

For more on utilitarianism see:

• Ethics Updates. Utilitarianism.
• Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Jeremy Bentham.
• Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. John Stuart Mill.
• The Literary Encyclopedia. Utilitarianism.
• Mill, J. S. Utilitarianism.
• Philosophy Pages. John Stuart Mill.
• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Consequentialism.