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E thics, political philosophy A principle providing the central idea of classical utilitarianism. It is often considered another name for Bentham 's principle of utility , although its well-known formulation was provided by Hutcheson in 1725. According to this principle, an action is moral if it produces the greatest happiness for the greatest numbers of people involved. The greatest happiness involves the maximization of pleasure and the minimization of pain . Classical utilitarianism derives from this principle the meaning of key moral terms, such as good, right , and duty. As it stands, however, the principle needs explanation because of a problem about the distribution of happiness in a population. An action is not necessarily good if it procures the greatest happiness for the greatest numbers by giving immense happiness to a small group and meager happiness to the rest. Furthermore, there are difficulties about how to measure quantities of happiness. “The creed which accepts as the foundation of morals ‘utility’ or the ‘greatest happiness principle’ holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness; wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.” Mill, Utilitarianism , in Robson (ed.), Collected Words , vol. X ... log in or subscribe to read full text