Utilitarianism

In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for the affected individuals. In other words, utilitarian ideas encourage actions that lead to the greatest good for the greatest number. Although different varieties of utilitarianism admit different characterizations, the basic idea that underpins them all is, in some sense, to maximize utility, which is often defined in terms of well-being or related concepts. For instance, Jeremy Bentham, the founder of utilitarianism, described utility as the capaci

thumb|alt=Diagram with the texts "pleasure", "motivation", "value", and "morality", together with arrows|Different forms of hedonism address the role of pleasure in motivation, value, and morality.

300px|thumb|Birthplaces of notable Chinese philosophers from the Hundred Schools of Thought in the [[Zhou dynasty. Philosophers of Mohism are marked by triangles in blue.]]

academic discipline

observed tendency of humans to quickly return to a relatively stable level of happiness despite major positive or negative events or life changes

ethical theory; a form of negative consequentialism

affective quality referring to the intrinsic attractiveness or averseness of an event, object, or situation

voting method where voters give each candidate a numeric score

philosophical paradox, problem of the utilitarianism

form of ulilitarian ethics that defines well-being in terms of satisfied and frustrated preferences

risks of astronomical suffering

economic value used to quantify the benefit of avoiding a fatality. It is also referred to as the cost of life, value of preventing a fatality (VPF), implied cost of averting a fatality (ICAF), and value of a statistical life (VSL)

paradox in moral philosophy

algorithm measuring the amount of pleasure that a specific action is likely to cause

form of utilitarianism that says an action is right as it conforms to a rule that leads to the greatest good

thought experiment about a machine that provides any pleasurable experience one wants

biotechnological elimination of involuntary suffering

Principle in utilitarian ethics

ethical philosophy

thought experiment critiquing utilitarianism

argument raised against consequentialist ethical theories

Prioritarianism, the priority view, or priority to the worst off is a perspective within ethics and political philosophy stating that "social welfare orderings should give explicit priority to the worse off". Prioritarianism resembles utilitarianism, and is likewise a form of aggregative consequentialism.

thumb|right|130px|Personism states that being human does not give one exclusive claim to moral rights.

flavour of utilitarianism