Utilitarianism

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. [1913 Webster]

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. [1913 Webster]

3. The doctrine that utility is the sole standard of morality, so that the rectitude of an action is determined by its usefulness. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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