Editing Utility (section)

{{Short description|Concept in economics and decision theory}}
{{About|the economic concept}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2014}}
{{Utilitarianism|expanded=Key concepts}}
In [[economics]], '''utility''' is a measure of a certain person's satisfaction from a certain state of the world. Over time, the term has been used with at least two meanings.

* In a [[Normative economics|normative]] context, utility refers to a goal or objective that we wish to maximize, i.e., an [[objective function]]. This kind of utility bears a closer resemblance to the original [[Utilitarianism|utilitarian]] concept, developed by moral philosophers such as [[Jeremy Bentham]] and [[John Stuart Mill]].
* In a [[Positive economics|descriptive]] context, the term refers to an ''apparent'' objective function; such a function is [[Revealed preference|revealed by a person's behavior]], and specifically by their preferences over [[Lottery (decision theory)|lotteries]], which can be any quantified choice.

The relationship between these two kinds of utility functions has been a source of controversy among both [[Economics|economists]] and [[Ethics|ethicists]], with most maintaining that the two are distinct but generally related.