Act Utilitarianism:Act utilitarianism judges the morality of an act according to how much utility it produces. In this case, utility refers to an end or consequence. A morally sound act has utility, meaning that its end is a positive one. The act that produces the most happiness is considered the morally right one. An act utilitarian who believes that feminism is a harmful ideology might argue that yielding to feminist's beliefs would produce less happiness than rejecting them. S/he may argue that forcing "equality" by, for example, requiring fire departments to establish less demanding physical examinations for women, or requiring corporations to exercise gender quotas may cause more unhappiness. Taken another step, if a fire-fighter's effectiveness rests to a certain extent on his physical strength, then would it be so far-fetched to suggest that inevitably lives will be lost because of the inability of certain fire-women to carry an unconscious person up from the basement of a burning house? According to this reason, an act utilitarian may view feminism as a harmful ideology. Rule Utilitarianism:A rule utilitarian seeks underlying moral rules of particular acts, and judges their morality by finding which rules produce the most utility. In the issue of whether feminism is a harmful ideology or not, a rule utilitarian would find the underlying moral rules on each side of the debate. S/he may feel that the underlying moral rules in Michael Levin's "Feminism and Freedom" are:-One should not infringe upon individual liberty -One should not discriminate based on sexThe rule utilitarian may feel that there is more utility to be gained by following the first rule. This is a value judgement that may not be held by all rule utilitarians, but in this particular utilitarian's view, it is the rule that produces the most happiness.Kantian View:The Kantian theory of ethics maintains that there is a universal moral principle ...
