utilitarianism

[ yoo-til-i-tair-ee-uh-niz-uhm ]

/ yuˌtɪl ɪˈtɛər i əˌnɪz əm /

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noun

the ethical doctrine that virtue is based on utility, and that conduct should be directed toward promoting the greatest happiness of the greatest number of persons.

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Origin of utilitarianism

First recorded in 1820–30; utilitarian + -ism

OTHER WORDS FROM utilitarianism

an·ti·u·til·i·tar·i·an·ism, noun

Words nearby utilitarianism

utile, utile dulci, Utilicare, utilidor, utilitarian, utilitarianism, utility, utility function, utility knife, utility man, utility player

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use utilitarianism in a sentence

In those situations, says David Magnus, director of the Center for Biomedical Ethics at Stanford University, long-standing principles of utilitarianism, prioritization and egalitarianism apply.
COVID-19 Is Forcing Us to Talk About Rationing Health Care in the U.S. Again. Could We Have Avoided This?|Alice Park|September 10, 2021|Time
Over the years, he has pushed for animal rights, made the case for utilitarianism, and advocated for more — and more effective — giving.
The world’s problems overwhelmed me. This book empowered me.|Kelsey Piper|December 11, 2020|Vox
But here's what utilitarianism, according to Williams, leaves out of the picture: individual agency.
A Sophistic Moral Case For War|Ali Gharib|October 27, 2012|DAILY BEAST
In spite of his keen interest in Utilitarianism, there is no trace that he read the later writers of the school.
The Life of Mazzini|Bolton King

For an express discussion and vindication of this principle, see the little volume entitled "Utilitarianism."
A System of Logic: Ratiocinative and Inductive|John Stuart Mill
Here he would seem to lean towards utilitarianism, were it not that he is as severe on men of experiment as on men of dogma.
Beacon Lights of History, Volume VI|John Lord
To accept the philosophy was to be also pledged to practical applications of Utilitarianism.
The English Utilitarians, Volume I.|Leslie Stephen
The Morals and Legislation opens by briefly and contemptuously setting aside more philosophical opponents of Utilitarianism.
The English Utilitarians, Volume I.|Leslie Stephen

British Dictionary definitions for utilitarianism

utilitarianism

/ (juːˌtɪlɪˈtɛərɪəˌnɪzəm) /

noun ethics

the doctrine that the morally correct course of action consists in the greatest good for the greatest number, that is, in maximizing the total benefit resulting, without regard to the distribution of benefits and burdens

the theory that the criterion of virtue is utility

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for utilitarianism

utilitarianism

A system of ethics according to which the rightness or wrongness of an action should be judged by its consequences. The goal of utilitarian ethics is to promote the greatest happiness for the greatest number. Jeremy Bentham, an English philosopher, was the founder of utilitarianism; John Stuart Mill was its best-known defender.

utilitarianism

Origin of utilitarianism

OTHER WORDS FROM utilitarianism

Words nearby utilitarianism

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How to use utilitarianism in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for utilitarianism

Cultural definitions for utilitarianism