Benthamism

American  

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

noun

1. the utilitarian philosophy of Jeremy Bentham.

---

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

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Benthamite
  noun
• Benthamic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of Benthamism

First recorded in 1820–30; Bentham + -ism

Example Sentences

Mill's concessions to Coleridge rather scandalised the faithful; and it is enough to observe here that it marks the apogee of Mill's Benthamism.

From The English Utilitarians, Volume II (of 3) James Mill by Stephen, Leslie, Sir

To waive my astonishment at the Benthamism of the phrase, pray what is "International Copyright" to Godfrey, that he should weep for such a Hecuba?

From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 62, Number 385. November, 1847. by Various

This, whatever the ultimate truth, is in fact the essential core of all the Utilitarian doctrine descended from or related to Benthamism.

From The English Utilitarians, Volume I. by Stephen, Leslie, Sir

Benthamism, he says to himself, stands for individualism.

From Recent Developments in European Thought by Various

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

From A Short History of English Liberalism by Blease, Walter Lyon