Hypertext Webster Gateway: "utilitarianism"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
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.
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.
3. The doctrine that utility is the sole standard of
morality, so that the rectitude of an action is determined
by its usefulness.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
utilitarianism
n : doctrine that the useful is the good; especially as
elaborated by Jeremy Bentham and James Mill; the aim was
said to be the greatest happiness for the greatest number
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