utilitarianism

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

/ yuˌtɪl ɪˈtɛər i əˌnɪz əm /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR utilitarianism ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

utile dulci, utilicare, utilidor, utilise, utilitarian, utilitarianism, utility, utility function, utility man, utility player, utility pole

Origin of utilitarianism

First recorded in 1820–30; utilitarian + -ism

Related forms

an·ti·u·til·i·tar·i·an·ism, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for utilitarianism

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
Utilitarianism illustrates another way of mistreating the situation.
Human Nature and Conduct|John Dewey
The matter is more difficult than a superficial Utilitarianism perceives.
A Review of the Systems of Ethics Founded on the Theory of Evolution|C. M. Williams
Nevertheless, I must not pride myself too much on my activity and utilitarianism.
Passages From The American Notebooks, Volume 1|Nathaniel Hawthorne

It had newness written everywhere, and utilitarianism and wealth seemed to be the great things to proclaim.
The Day of Judgment|Joseph Hocking
What, therefore, Utilitarianism above all other things recommends and insists upon is the practice of virtue.
Old-Fashioned Ethics and Common-Sense Metaphysics|William Thomas Thornton

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

Culture 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.