Definition of "utilitarianism" []

• The belief that the value of a thing or an action is determined by its utility. (noun)
• 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. (noun)
• The quality of being utilitarian: housing of bleak utilitarianism. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "It's one thing to show that utilitarianism is not good."
• "I learned that utilitarianism is a kind of consequentialism."
• "Recently, my interest in utilitarianism was piqued by a conversation with a philosopher friend, so I took to the web."