功利主义 Utilitarianism

功利主义（英语：Utilitarianism）又译作效益主义，是一种伦理学之理论类型，认为最正确的行为是将效益达到最大。“效益”就是快乐，倾向得到最大快乐，而倾向避免痛苦就是正确。功利主义的创始人边沁将效用描述为一个行为所产生的所有快感的总和，减去参与此行为的所有人的痛苦。功利主义是一种结果主义，结果主义认为任何行为的结果是评判对错的唯一标准。与其他形式的结果主义（如伦理利己主义）不同的是，功利主义平等地考虑所有受牵连的人的利益，乃至有些更顾及动物之利益。功利主义的拥护者在一些问题上意见不一。例如施事者是应该根据其可能的结果选择行为（行为功利主义），还是应该遵守效用最大化的规则（规则功利主义）。功利主义者对于追求总效用最大化（总体效用功利主义），还是平均效用最大化（平均效用功利主义），也存在分歧。

Utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for all affected individuals. Although different varieties of utilitarianism admit different characterizations, the basic idea behind all of them is to in some sense maximize utility, which is often defined in terms of well-being or related concepts. Utilitarianism is a version of consequentialism, which states that the consequences of any action are the only standard of right and wrong. Unlike other forms of consequentialism, such as egoism and altruism, utilitarianism considers the interests of all humans equally. Proponents of utilitarianism have disagreed on a number of points, such as whether actions should be chosen based on their likely results (act utilitarianism), or whether agents should conform to rules that maximize utility (rule utilitarianism). There is also disagreement as to whether total (total utilitarianism), average (average utilitarianism) or minimum utility should be maximized. 以下为具体例句，供参考：

例句1

Utilitarianism is a theory of morality that advocates actions that foster happiness or pleasure and oppose actions that cause unhappiness or harm. When directed toward making social, economic, or political decisions, a utilitarian philosophy would aim for the betterment of society as a whole.

功利主义是一种道德理论，主张促进幸福或快乐的行为，反对导致不幸福或伤害的行为。当面向社会、经济或政治决策时，功利主义哲学的目标是改善整个社会。

例句2

Utilitarianism is a tradition of ethical philosophy that is associated with Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, two late 18th- and 19th-century British philosophers, economists, and political thinkers. Utilitarianism holds that an action is right if it tends to promote happiness and wrong if it tends to produce sadness, or the reverse of happiness—not just the happiness of the actor but that of everyone affected by it.

功利主义是一种伦理哲学传统，与杰里米·边沁和约翰·斯图亚特·密尔这两位18世纪和19世纪晚期的英国哲学家、经济学家和政治思想家有关。功利主义认为，一个行动如果倾向于促进幸福，就是对的；如果倾向于产生悲伤，或者产生幸福的反面，就是错的——不仅仅是行动者的幸福，还有受其影响的每个人的幸福。

例句3

Utilitarianism holds that the most ethical choice is the one that will produce the greatest good for the greatest number. As such, it is the only moral framework that can justify military force or war. Moreover, utilitarianism is the most common approach to business ethics because of the way that it accounts for costs and benefits.

功利主义认为，最合乎道德的选择是为最多的人创造最大的利益。因此，这是唯一可以证明军事力量或战争是正当的道德框架。此外，功利主义是商业道德最常见的方法，因为它解释成本和收益的方式。

例句4

Utilitarianism puts forward that it is a virtue to improve one’s life better by increasing the good things in the world and minimizing the bad things. This means striving for pleasure and happiness while avoiding discomfort or unhappiness.

功利主义提出，通过增加世界上美好的事物，减少不好的事物来更好地改善自己的生活是一种美德。这意味着努力追求快乐和幸福，同时避免不适或不快乐。