What does the term utilitarianism in English literature mean?

I am no expert, but will try to explain what I understand of the term. As I understand it, utilitarianism is a philosophy that measures the virtue of anything or any action by means of its utility. read more

Utilitarianism had a lot of influence in Victorian English literature. The idea was founded by Jeremy Bentham and later popularised by John Stuart Mill's writings. Many writers also heavily criticised utilitarianism in their works, the most famous being Charles Dickens's novel Hard Times. read more

Popular Terms An ethical philosophy in which the happiness of the greatest number of people in the society is considered the greatest good. According to this philosophy, an action is morally right if its consequences lead to happiness (absence of pain), and wrong if it ends in unhappiness (pain). read more