An ethical philosophy in which the happiness of the greatest number of people in the society is considered the greatest good. According to this philosophy, an action is morally right if its consequences lead to happiness (absence of pain), and wrong if it ends in unhappiness (pain).
Since the link between actions and their happy or unhappy outcomes depends on the circumstances, no moral principle is absolute or necessary in itself under utilitarianism. Proposed by the English philosopher-reformer Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) in his 1789 book Principles Of Morals And Legislation it was developed by the English philosopher-economist John Stuart Mill (1806-73) in his 1863 book Utilitarianism.
Use 'utilitarianism' in a Sentence
He was very skilled in utilitarianism, he believed that he could fix anything given a good box of tools and materials.
Many people in the United States believe military drone usage is a form of utilitarianism because it removes the potential pain and sadness of losing a loved one to war.
The requirement to vaccinate children against diseases such as polio, measles, and whooping cough is an example of utilitarianism, or serving the public good, as opposed to allowing parents to opt out of vaccination based upon religious grounds.
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