greatest happiness for the greatest number

1. The goal that human conduct, laws, and institutions should have, according to utilitarianism.

Example Sentences

Whatever Harry said, whatever Harry did, whatever Harry put down as his meta-ethic, this week, on his Arete profile, be it the ends justify the means or the greatest happiness for the greatest number or do what thou wilt be the whole of the law, Harry never meant a word.

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In reality, it would be hard to assign a philosophical principle—the greatest happiness for the greatest number—with a computational output.

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The idea then was to put one’s trust in an enlightened despot who could see the way clear to providing the greatest happiness for the greatest number and had the unchallenged power to turn intentions into action.

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Both Mr. Bankman-Fried’s parents are Stanford Law School professors who have studied utilitarianism, an ethical framework that calls for decisions calculated to secure the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.

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In its announcement, the Berggruen Prize committee lauded Singer, a professor at Princeton, for reinvigorating the philosophical tradition of utilitarianism — which holds that creating the greatest happiness for the greatest number, rather than absolute principles of the good, should be the guiding principle for action — both within academic philosophy and as a force in the world.

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