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Definition of Utilitarianism - 3 dictionary results

u⋅til⋅i⋅tar⋅i⋅an⋅ism

[yoo-til-i-tair-ee-uh-niz-uhm]
–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.

Origin:
1820–30; utilitarian + -ism
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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u·til·i·tar·i·an·ism   (yōō-tĭl'ĭ-târ'ē-ə-nĭz'əm)   
n.  
  1. The belief that the value of a thing or an action is determined by its utility.

  2. The ethical theory proposed by Jeremy Bentham and James Mill that all action should be directed toward achieving the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.

  3. The quality of being utilitarian: housing of bleak utilitarianism.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

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.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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