This paper is divided into three sections. The first section goes over the major developments in consumer choice theory1 over time and contrasts the approaches of Marshall, Hicks and Samuelson. In the second section is an inquiry into the nature of utility and a hypothesis is developed in the Marshallian tradition. The hypothesis is built on the grounds that utility is not a homegenous concept as is conventionally believed. The last section is concerned with identifying some theoretical and philosophical implications of the hypothesis for economics.