What is "utilitarianism"

Utilitarianism \U*til`i*ta"ri*an*ism\, n.

1. The doctrine that the greatest happiness of the greatest number should be the end and aim of all social and political institutions.
   --Bentham.

2. The doctrine that virtue is founded in utility, or that virtue is defined and enforced by its tendency to promote the highest happiness of the universe.
   --J. S. Mill.

3. The doctrine that utility is the sole standard of morality, so that the rectitude of an action is determined by its usefulness.

1827, from utilitarian + -ism. The doctrine that the end of all action should be the greatest happiness of the greatest number.

n. 1 (context philosophy English) A system of ethics based on the premise that something's value may be measured by its usefulness. 2 (context philosophy English) the theory that action should be directed toward achieving the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people"; hedonistic universalism.

n. doctrine that the useful is the good; especially as elaborated by Jeremy Bentham and James Mill; the aim was said to be the greatest happiness for the greatest number

Utilitarianism is a theory in normative ethics holding that the best moral action is the one that maximizes utility. Utility is defined in various ways, but is usually related to the well-being of sentient entities. Originally, Jeremy Bentham, the founder of Utilitarianism, defined utility as the aggregate pleasure after deducting suffering of all involved in any action. John Stuart Mill expanded this concept of utility to include not only the quantity, but quality of pleasure, while focusing on rules, instead of individual moral actions. Others have rejected that pleasure has positive value and have advocated negative utilitarianism, which defines utility only in terms of suffering. As opposed to this hedonistic view, some define utility with relation to preference satisfaction whereas others believe that a range of values can be included in its definition.

Utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism, which states that the consequences of any action are the only standard of right and wrong. This view can be contrasted or combined with virtue ethics which holds virtue as a moral good. Some believe that one's intentions are also ethically important. Utilitarianism is distinctly different from other forms of consequentialism such as egoism as it considers all interests equally. Proponents of utilitarianism have been split about whether individual acts should conform to utility ( act utilitarianism) or whether agents should conform to ethical rules ( rule utilitarianism). Utilitarians additionally remain split about whether utility should be calculated as an aggregate ( total utilitarianism) or an average (average utilitarianism).

Historically, hedonism can be traced back to Aristippus and Epicurus, who viewed happiness as the only good. Bentham is, however, credited with founding utilitarianism when he wrote An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation. Since Bentham, prominent utilitarians have included John Stuart Mill, Henry Sidgwick, R. M. Hare and Peter Singer. The philosophy has been applied to modern issues including the suffering of non-human animals. Specifically, utilitarianism has been applied to the ethics of raising animals for food.

Opponents of utilitarianism have criticized it for many reasons. Some have said that utilitarianism ignores justice while others contend that utilitarianism is impractical. Specific criticisms have included the mere addition paradox and the utility monster. Others have said that pleasure is not commensurable across people with varying identities and thus the idea of aggregating utility is impossible.

John Stuart Mill's book Utilitarianism is a classic exposition and defence of utilitarianism in ethics. The essay first appeared as a series of three articles published in Fraser's Magazine in 1861; the articles were collected and reprinted as a single book in 1863. Mill's aim in the book is to explain what utilitarianism is, to show why it is the best theory of ethics, and to defend it against a wide range of criticisms and misunderstandings. Though heavily criticized both in Mill's lifetime and in the years since, Utilitarianism did a great deal to popularize utilitarian ethics and was "the most influential philosophical articulation of a liberal humanistic morality that was produced in the nineteenth century."