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Lexicon.

utilitarianism

noun [juˌtɪləˈtɛriəˌnɪzəm]
pronunciation CMU Pronouncing Dictionary (form utilitarian, with the regular suffix -ism), open source

Utilitarianism is the ethical view that an action is right when its consequences bring the most happiness or well-being to the largest number of people.

source Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)

Definitions

  1. A theory in moral philosophy which holds that the rightness of an action depends only on its results, and that the best action is the one that brings the most total happiness, or the least suffering, to everyone it affects.
    source Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)
  2. In politics and public policy: the principle that laws and institutions should be judged by how much welfare they create for society as a whole.
    source Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)
  3. In loose, often critical use: an attitude that values things only for their practical usefulness and ignores beauty, feeling or principles that cannot be measured.
    source Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)

Examples

Usage

In philosophy, utilitarianism is a neutral technical term for one of the main families of ethical theory, usually set beside virtue ethics and duty based ethics. Outside the classroom the word is often less friendly. Journalists and critics speak of the utilitarianism of a government, a company or an age when they want to say that someone cares only about measurable benefit. The adjective utilitarian is broader still and can simply mean plain and practical, as in a utilitarian kitchen or a utilitarian building.

source Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)

Webster (1913) gives three senses and ties each to a name. The first, credited to Jeremy Bentham, is the doctrine that the greatest happiness of the greatest number should be the end and aim of all social and political institutions. The second, credited to John Stuart Mill, holds that virtue is founded in utility. The third makes utility the sole standard of morality, so that an action is right according to its usefulness. Webster also quotes Thomas Chalmers, who said utilitarians would merge all virtues into greatest usefulness.

source Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913, open source

The family of words is built on utility. Skeat traces utility through French utilité to Latin utilitas, usefulness, from utilis, useful, and finally from uti, to use, and finds it in Middle English in Chaucer. He describes utilitarian itself as a modern coined word. Webster (1913) records utilitarian both as an adjective and as a noun meaning one who holds the doctrine, and quotes Sir William Hamilton's dry remark that a utilitarian is simply one who prefers the useful to the useless.

source Editorial team; facts: W. W. Skeat, An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed., Oxford 1910, and Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913, open source

Common adjectives with the noun are classical, act, rule, ethical, strict and crude, and typical verbs are defend, reject, embrace and argue against. A supporter of the theory is a utilitarian. It is useful to keep utilitarianism apart from hedonism: a hedonist is mainly interested in pleasure, often their own, while a utilitarian adds up the happiness of everyone affected by a choice. Consequentialism is a wider label for any theory that judges actions by their results, and utilitarianism is its best known form.

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Word forms

Regular English noun, usually uncountable; the plural utilitarianisms is rare and refers to different versions of the theory.

word forms

przypadek forma
singular utilitarianism
plural utilitarianisms

Word forms: Editorial team

Collocations

Synonyms · Antonyms

Synonyms consequentialism, the greatest happiness principle, Benthamism
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Antonyms deontology, virtue ethics, idealism
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Etymology

Skeat derives utility through French utilité from Latin utilitas, usefulness, from utilis, useful, and uti, to use, and calls utilitarian a modern coined word derived from it. Webster (1913) likewise refers utilitarian to utility; utilitarianism adds the suffix -ism to that adjective.
source W. W. Skeat, An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed., Oxford 1910, open source
also Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913, open source

Related words

Related entries

Questions and answers

What does utilitarianism mean?

Utilitarianism is the moral theory that the right action is the one with the best overall consequences, judged by how much total happiness it creates for all the people it affects.

source Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)

Who founded utilitarianism?

Webster (1913) links the greatest happiness of the greatest number to Jeremy Bentham and the grounding of virtue in utility to John Stuart Mill. These two English thinkers are the names most closely tied to the theory.

source Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913, open source

Where does the word utilitarianism come from?

It is built on utility, which came into English through French utilité from Latin utilitas, usefulness, and utilis, useful. Skeat calls utilitarian a modern coined word, and utilitarianism adds the suffix -ism to it.

source W. W. Skeat, An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed., Oxford 1910, open source

Is utilitarianism the same as hedonism?

No. Both care about pleasure or happiness, but a hedonist usually focuses on pleasure as the main good, often for oneself, while a utilitarian asks which choice produces the most happiness for everyone involved.

source Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)