Philosophical Dictionary

Utilitarianism is all about maximizing happiness for the greatest number, a philosophy founded by Jeremy Bentham and refined by John Stuart Mill. Bentham treated all pleasures equally, which led to the joke: “If a pig’s happier than you, it’s better to be the pig!” Mill, worried we’d all become pleasure-chasing pigs, argued that higher pleasures (like thinking) are superior to lower ones (like eating).

Though noble, utilitarianism gets tricky—predicting outcomes and balancing happiness can turn life into mental gymnastics. After all, we can’t analyze every choice, not even pizza toppings!

What does Nietzsche mean by master and slave morality? We explain this by means of a meme and refer to his book "Genealogy of Morals". Read more now.

We summarize the basic idea of the spiritual development of man according to Kierkegaard.

Why and how do the two philosophies of Plato and Aristotle differ? We explain the differences with the help of a meme. Read more here.

A summary of the major moral theories besides a definition of moral perspectivism including its limitations. Read more on our Philosophy Blog.

What has Selfie Dysmorphia to do with Plato's cave?