What is Utility: Definition and 57 Discussions

Within economics, the concept of utility is used to model worth or value. Its usage has evolved significantly over time. The term was introduced initially as a measure of pleasure or happiness within the theory of utilitarianism by moral philosophers such as Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. The term has been adapted and reapplied within neoclassical economics, which dominates modern economic theory, as a utility function that represents a single consumer's preference ordering over a choice set but is not comparable across consumers. This concept of utility is personal and is based on choice rather than on the pleasure received, and so is more rigorously specified than the original concept but makes it less useful (and controversial) for ethical decisions.

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  1. D

    Utility of Form factor and Crest factor in an AC waverform

    So what is the utility?
  2. Useful nucleus

    GULP-General Utility Lattice Program

    I wonder if somebody has ued it before. I have some probblems in compiling it to work in parallel and I hope that somebody can help in this!
  3. humanino

    Utility of fundamental research ?

    Hi everyone, Can scientific research be founded on utility ? I expect this to be a contreversial topic. I certainly do not want to bias the answers by my own opinion. I was surprised to discover a few other researchers' opinions. Sorry if this does not belong to GD, please move to the...
  4. C

    An illustration of a limitation of Wikipedia's utility

    Someone asked the following question in a post to the moderated newsgroup sci.physics.research, which is mirrored here at PF: Anyone quoting a Wikipedia article in any forum (whether a UseNet post or a PF post) should always link to a specific article and version. Fortunately, I happen to...
  5. P

    Utility companies AC instead of DC?

    Utility companies AC instead of DC?? Why do utility companies transmit electric power via AC instead of DC?
  6. Clausius2

    Programs Which is the utility of a PhD in USA?

    To live up the new forum, that's my question. If anybody wants to do a PhD, what will happen afterwards if you don't want to have a teaching career? Is there industrial jobs for PhDs? Do the industries give some value to a PhD, or merely they consider him a crazy sciencist without any...
  7. M

    What's the utility of the eigenvectors of a matrix?

    What's the utility of the eigenvectors of a matrix? I know that is something about quantum mechanics
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