| 释义 |
utilitarian, n. and a.|juːtɪlɪˈtɛərɪən|
[f. utilit-y, after ns. and adjs. in -arian. Hence Pg. and It. utilitario, F. utilitaire.]
A. n. One who holds, advocates, or supports the doctrine of utilitarianism; one who considers utility the standard of whatever is good for man; also, a person devoted to mere utility or material interests.
1781Bentham Let. Wks. 1843 X. 92/1 He is a utilitarian, a naturalist, a chemist, a physician. 1821Galt Ann. Parish xxxv, I thought they had more sense than to secede from Christianity to become Utilitarians. 1835Wordsw. Yarrow Revisited, etc. 326 A right in the people (not to be gainsaid by utilitarians and economists) to public support when [etc.]. 1860Maury Phys. Geog. (Low) iv. 268 The utilitarian who compares the water-power that the falls of Niagara would afford if applied to machinery. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) IV. 29 We are therefore justified in calling Socrates the first utilitarian.
B. adj.
1. Of philosophy, principles, etc.: Consisting in or based upon utility; spec. that regards the greatest good or happiness of the greatest number as the chief consideration or rule of morality.
1802Bentham Let. Wks. 1843 X. 390 A new religion would be an odd sort of a thing without a name: accordingly there ought to be one for it—at least for the professors of it. Utilitarian..would be the more propre. 1814New Brit. Theatre I. 50 The sublime ideas of the utilitarian philosophy. Ibid. 227 The philanthropy of the true utilitarian principles. 1841Gladstone State in Relat. Ch. (ed. 4) I. 107 A reason quite irreconcilable with the utilitarian theories. 1861Mill Utilit. iv. (1863) 51 The utilitarian doctrine is, that happiness is..the only thing desirable, as an end. 1869Lecky Europ. Mor. I. 18 They were at once profoundly antipathetical to Utilitarian morals.
b. Of or pertaining to utility; relating to mere material interests.
1830Westm. Rev. Jan. 3 So far from its being proscribed by Utilitarian notions, they demand its existence. 1853Kane Grinnell Exp. x. (1856) 77 Their application to the fishing grounds..would be a matter of large utilitarian interest. 1859W. S. Coleman Woodlands 58 Turning from the picturesque or romantic, to the utilitarian view of this tree. 1873J. O. Brookfield Not a Heroine I. 23 From a utilitarian point of view.
c. In quasi-depreciative use: Having regard to mere utility rather than beauty, amenity, etc.
1847H. Miller First Impr. Eng. xvi. 294 For the hill-top cottage..I found a modern hard-cast farm-house, with a square of offices attached, all exceedingly utilitarian, well kept, stiff, and disagreeable. 1876M. E. Braddon J. Haggard's Dau. I. 29 A good garden of the old-fashioned utilitarian type.
2. Of persons: Holding or advocating utilitarian views, principles, etc.; aiming at, supporting, or advancing utilitarianism; also, preferring mere utility to beauty or amenity.
1802[see 1]. 1828Bentham Let. Wks. 1843 XI. 2/2 The accomplished utilitarian statesman. 1834K. H. Digby Mores Cath. v. x. 360 The favour of utilitarian philosophers, or of self-interested reformers. 1862Sir B. Brodie Psychol. Inq. ii. i. 32 The mere utilitarian philosopher, having his views limited to some immediate practical result. 1873Mill Autobiog. 79 [In the winter 1822–3] the name I gave to the society I had planned was the Utilitarian Society. It was the first time that any one had taken the title of Utilitarian; and the term made its way into the language from this humble source.
3. Of times: Marked or characterized by prevalence of utilitarian doctrine, principles, or views. (Freq. with age.)
1828Carlyle Goethe ⁋16 In these hard, unbelieving utilitarian days. 1839Morn. Herald 3 Sept., The cold ‘philosophy’ of a money-getting utilitarian age. 1854Poultry Chron. II. 251/1 In these utilitarian days, every thing seems to..play its proper part.
Hence utiliˈtarianly adv. rare—1.
1878Fraser's Mag. XVII. 665 A new tower..built, utilitarianly, of common yellow brick. |