School
Utilitarianism
The ethical view that actions and policies are right insofar as they produce the greatest happiness, developed by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill.
Utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism: it judges actions and policies entirely by their consequences, and in particular by the happiness they produce. In its classical form, developed by Jeremy Bentham and refined by John Stuart Mill, the right action is the one that brings about the greatest happiness overall, with each person’s happiness counting equally. It remains one of the most influential approaches in ethics.
- Tradition
- Western
Philosophers
- John Stuart Mill1806–1873
Sources
- Julia Driver, The History of Utilitarianism, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy