Benthamism

American  

[ben-thuh-miz-uhm, -tuh-] / ˈbɛn θəˌmɪz əm, -tə- /

noun

1. the utilitarian philosophy of Jeremy Bentham.

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Benthamism British  

/ ˈbɛnθəˌmɪzəm /

noun

1. the philosophy of utilitarianism as first expounded by Jeremy Bentham in terms of an action being good that has a greater tendency to augment the happiness of the community than to diminish it

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Other Word Forms

• Benthamite
  noun
• Benthamic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of Benthamism

First recorded in 1820–30; Bentham + -ism

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Benthamism

The failure was of the sort which was inevitably incident to Benthamism.

From A Short History of English Liberalism by Walter Lyon Blease

But what was the message which could reach a hard-headed young 'lawyer by nature' with a turn for Benthamism?

From The Life of Sir James Fitzjames Stephen, Bart., K.C.S.I. A Judge of the High Court of Justice by Sir Leslie Stephen

The English Miss Sedgwick deserves the thanks of humanity for putting Benthamism into clean purple and fine linen.

From Sketches of Reforms and Reformers, of Great Britain and Ireland by Henry B. Stanton

The argument shows the way in which his religious beliefs were combined with his Benthamism.

From The Life of Sir James Fitzjames Stephen, Bart., K.C.S.I. A Judge of the High Court of Justice by Sir Leslie Stephen

Benthamism was thus a profoundly modifying force in other fields than that of politics.

From A Short History of English Liberalism by Walter Lyon Blease