optimificadj.
/ɒptᵻˈmɪfɪk/, U.S. /ɑptəˈmɪfɪk/ Philosophy.
Producing the best consequences.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > pragmatism > [adjective] > of or relating to branches of
Spencerian1865
Jamesian1875
optimific1930
praxeological1944
consequentialist1969
1930 W. D. Ross Right & Good 34 No one means by ‘right’ just ‘productive of the best possible consequences’, or ‘optimific’.
1933 Mind 42 181 The ‘Maximalist’ Theory (this designation suggests quantity better than ‘Optimific’).
1940 Mind 49 230 The first half of Universalistic Ethical Hedonism, to wit the theory that being optimific is the one and only right-making characteristic.
2000 Social Theory & Pract. (Nexis) 26 251 Whether he thinks that the policy of retribution is optimific.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1930