Utilitarianism | Definition, Philosophy, Examples, Ethics, Philosophers ...
Dec 1, 2025 · Utilitarianism, in normative ethics, a tradition stemming from the late 18th- and 19th-century English philosophers and economists Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill according to …
Utilitarianism - Ethics Unwrapped
Utilitarianism holds that the most ethical choice is the one that will produce the greatest good for the greatest number. It is the only moral framework that can be used to justify military force or war.
Utilitarianism: What It Is, Founders, and Main Principles
Jun 17, 2025 · Utilitarianism is a theory of morality that supports actions that foster happiness or pleasure. It opposes actions that cause unhappiness or harm. A utilitarian philosophy would aim for …
Utilitarianism - Wikipedia
In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for the affected individuals. [1][2] In other words, utilitarian ideas …
Understanding Utilitarianism: A Guide - Philosophos
Jun 22, 2023 · Utilitarianism is a type of philosophy and ethical theory that focuses on maximizing overall benefit and minimizing harm. This philosophy was first developed in the 18th century by British …
The History of Utilitarianism - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Mar 27, 2009 · Though the first systematic account of utilitarianism was developed by Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832), the core insight motivating the theory occurred much earlier. That insight is that morally …
What is Utilitarianism? | Utilitarianism.net
Utilitarians want all lives to go as well as possible, counting everyone’s well-being equally. On this view, what matters most is bringing about the best overall consequences by improving the lives of sentient …
Act and Rule Utilitarianism - Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Utilitarians believe that the purpose of morality is to make life better by increasing the amount of good things (such as pleasure and happiness) in the world and decreasing the amount of bad things (such …
5.3 Utilitarianism – Introduction to Philosophy
Utilitarianism is a consequentialist theory; it is the view that an action is morally right if it produces at least as much good (utility) for all people affected by the action as any alternative action that could …
Utilitarianism - Philosophy - Oxford Bibliographies
Nov 29, 2022 · A brief and accessible introduction to utilitarianism, by two leading contemporary utilitarian theorists, covering the historical roots of the view, arguments in support of it, objections, …