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Utilitarianism is an ethical theory stating that the best action is the one that maximizes overall utility, typically defined as happiness or well-being for the greatest number of people.
Jeremy Bentham is considered the founder of classical utilitarianism, introducing the principle of utility in his work An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (1789).
Act utilitarianism evaluates each individual action by its consequences, while rule utilitarianism evaluates actions based on whether they follow rules that generally maximize utility.
The felicific calculus (or hedonic calculus) is Bentham's method for measuring pleasure and pain using criteria such as intensity, duration, certainty, propinquity, fecundity, purity, and extent.
Mill introduced a qualitative distinction between pleasures, arguing that intellectual and moral pleasures (higher pleasures) are superior to mere physical pleasures (lower pleasures).