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The word utility is used to mean general well-being or happiness, and Mill's view is that utility is the consequence of a good action. Utility, within the context of utilitarianism, refers to people performing actions for social utility. By social utility, he means the well-being of many people.
The utilitarian rule is easy to interpret and implement when the functions u i represent some tangible, measurable form of utility. For example: [1]: 44 Consider a problem of allocating wood among builders.
Most utility functions used for modeling or theory are well-behaved. They are usually monotonic and quasi-concave. However, it is possible for rational preferences not to be representable by a utility function. An example is lexicographic preferences which are not continuous and cannot be represented by a continuous utility function. [8]
Instead of imposing rational behavior on the social utility function, we can impose a weaker criterion called independence of common scale: the relation between two utility profiles does not change if both of them are multiplied by the same constant. For example, the utility function should not depend on whether we measure incomes in cents or ...
As an example, one's attitude toward ice cream may serve a utilitarian function because it is likely to be based on the reward (e.g., enjoyable taste) and punishments (e.g., weight gain) associated with ice cream and to guide behavior that maxims benefits while minimizing costs (e.g., eating low-fat ice cream) (Shavitt & Nelson, 2002 [7]).
This function embodies value judgements about interpersonal utility. The social welfare function shows the relative importance of the individuals that comprise society. [citation needed] A utilitarian welfare function (also called a Benthamite welfare function) sums the utility of each individual in order to obtain society's overall welfare ...
In decision theory, the von Neumann–Morgenstern (VNM) utility theorem demonstrates that rational choice under uncertainty involves making decisions that take the form of maximizing the expected value of some cardinal utility function. This function is known as the von Neumann–Morgenstern utility function.
Attitude objects also play a significant role in shaping and determining the functions of attitudes, which can be classified as utilitarian, social identity, or self-esteem maintenance functions. [3] The utilitarian function involves attitudes toward objects that provide direct benefits (e.g., coffee or air conditioners), which help maximize ...