ˈben(t)thəˌmizəm, -ntəˌm- noun
( -s )
Usage: usually capitalized
Etymology: Jeremy Bentham died 1832 English jurist and philosopher + English -ism
: the utilitarian philosophy of Bentham and his followers ; especially : the theory that the morality of actions is estimated and determined by their utility and that pleasure and pain are both the ultimate standard of right and wrong and the fundamental motives influencing human desires and actions