Utilitarianism: Bentham VS. Mill
Utilitarianism is a normative ethical theory that holds the morally right course of action in any given situation is the course of which yields the greatest balance of benefits over harms. More specifically, utilitarianism’s core idea is that the effects of an action determine whether actions are morally right or wrong. Created with philosophies of Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) and John Stuart Mill (1806–1873), Utilitarianism began in England in the 19th Century. Bentham and Mill built their system of Utilitarianism on ancient hedonism (pursuing physical pleasure and avoiding physical pain). Although both of these philosophers agreed on the basic principals of Utilitarianism they disagreed on what exactly hedonism is.
Jeremy Bentham was one of the first philosophers to present a fully developed system of utilitarianism. He thought that we, as humans, should evaluate the consequences of our actions, determine whether each action is morally right or wrong, and tally the pleasure and pain that comes as a result of our actions. Is it right for me to donate to charity? Is it right for me to cheat on my government test? These questions we ask ourselves fall under Bentham’s theory known as act-utilitarianism because it focuses on the consequences of every action we perform. Bentham argues that the “greatest happiness of the greatest number of people” (Bentham) is how we should determine right from wrong. He also believed “mankind is under the
As the founder of utilitarianism, Bentham believes that an act is considered “just” if it produces the most happiness and the least pain for the greatest number of people affected directly, or indirectly by that action. For Bentham, happiness means giving sovereignty to pleasure over pain. Contrarily, Kant proposes that only duty and rules should dictate our actions, as the outcome is beyond our control. To Kant the only thing that matters is good will. His theory suggests that an action is either “just” or “unjust” regardless of the consequences of that same action. Bentham tried to attain his theory through hedonism and Kant his through universal maxims, neither theory beneficial to everyone. In addition, Jeremy Bentham’s theory is flawed because it only considers the most happiness caused by a moral action, it neglects minorities. Similarly, Kant fully ignoring the consequences of a moral action is not a worthy idea, because at times, we may have more than one duty or obligation to
Mill and Bentham are two important philosophers that have stood by the moral theory of classical utilitarianism. Utilitarianism, a form of hedonism, is defined by Mill as “The creed which accepts as the foundation of morals… holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness; wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness” (241). Happiness is the ultimate intrinsically valuable desire according to human nature and consequently pains are intrinsically repulsed. Mill and Bentham have their own perspective on this philosophical concept. This paper will explore and analyze the commonalities that Mill and Bentham share from utilitarianism as well as the conflicts their viewpoints have with each other. Bentham’s work will be critiqued to prove why Mill’s
Jeremy Bentham associates utilitarianism with ancient hedonism, where actions are resulting in the pursuit of happiness. It was him who established “act” utilitarian; where the decisions deal with each individual case analyzing the benefits and harm to promote to overall happiness, which would yield the best consequences. Every action and every decision would be weighted for
Utilitarian’s like Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill embraced a hedonistic value when identifying good with pleasure. Bentham reasoned that there were no qualitative differences between pleasures, only quantitative ones. His moral philosophy was supported by the assumption:
Modern Utilitarianism was founded by philosophers Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill in the 19th Century. Utilitarianism is the moral theory that focuses on the results and consequences of our actions and views intentions as irrelevant. In John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism, he emphasizes the idea that happiness is the superior basis for moral decisions. Mill bases this argument on two large contentions: the greatest happiness principle legitimizes that happiness as moral, and the ambitions of people’s desires are either means to happiness, or encompassed in the definition of happiness.
Utilitarianism is the concept that the best action in any given instance is the one that optimizes wellbeing usually in terms of conscious entities. Jeremy Bentham explained utility as being the acquisition of pleasure with a disregard for any pain or difficulty experienced by an individual as a result of that action. Utilitarianism is a version of consequentialism, which proposes that the consequences of any action is the only measure of whether that action was right or wrong. Utilitarianism is different from other forms of consequentialism because it considers all interests equally. John Stuart Mill was a proponent of utilitarianism and put forth arguments in its support. There are however some flaws in the arguments he provided. Mill argues in support of the Utilitarianism by seeking to counter certain arguments against utilitarianism especially the argument that it reduces humanity to the pursuit of easy pleasures and forsaking the more difficult and often delayed pleasures of intellectual pursuits.
In this essay I will be arguing the flaws within Jeremy Bentham’s theory of Act Utilitarianism by solidifying my position, with evidence, in support of John Stuart Mill’s reformulation. Jeremy Bentham, an english philosopher, highly regarded as the founder of modern utilitarianism, established the utilitarian doctrine. The main proposition of Bentham’s utilitarian doctrine states: The highest principle of morality is to maximize happiness, the overall balance of pleasure and pain (Sandell, 34). Bentham believed that ”pleasure and pain” stood above all other moral considerations and endured the role as our “sovereign masters”. He justified actions as “good” if it led to an increase of pleasure, and “bad” if it led to an increase of pain.
Utilitarianism, as described in An Introduction to Catholic Ethics, is a philosophy made popular in the early 19th century. This “consequentialist” philosophy had been studied by and branched from two English philosophers by the names of, Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. Utilitarianism can even be linked back to as far as 341-270 BC with the Epicurates. “What is utilitarianism?”, one might ask. Utilitarianism is an idea that can be simply grounded on the belief of human reasoning. When referring to Utilitarianism, John Stuart Mill is the name that is often brought up.
Utilitarianism is an act which is right when it promotes happiness and is wrong when it promotes unhappiness. Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) was the
Jeremy Bentham decided if things were ethical by doing actions that will result in the greatest happiness, or pleasure, for the greatest number of people or community. Bentham felt that pain and pleasure are what governs how people act and also how people should act. He also would measure pleasure and pain by using a hedonistic calculus system, meaning some actions and circumstances could be measured, such as certainty, extent, and duration. And these factors could be measured by the amount of pain and pleasure that would be caused due to them, the greatest number of people that would be effected and for how long, and so this would then decide what action would be the best ethical decision to choose for the greater good
Jeremy Bentham is primarily known today for his principle of utilitarianism, which evaluates actions based on their consequences. He believes that an act is considered “just” if it generates the most happiness and the least pain for the greatest number of people affected directly or indirectly by that action. Bentham defines utility as the property in any object that tends to produce benefit, good, pleasure or happiness or averts the happenings of pain and unhappiness to the party where interest is considered. Hence, utilitarianism bases its understanding of right action based on consequences. (Wolff)
Jeremy Bentham was an English philosophy (1748-1632) who challenged the idea of the Social Contract theory, which states that the people create a social contract to agree to form of government. Bentham opposed the idea of natural rights and followed the idea of utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is the idea that political and moral decision should not be based on natural rights, but based on which choice produces the “greatest good for the greatest number”. For an example, this principle explains whether a student should start a food fight or not. The food fight could cause injuries (i.e someone slipping on food), property damage, and extra work for the people who must clean it up. Starting the food fight may produce good for some people, but
Jeremy Bentham and John Stewart Mill both present great ideas towards Utilitarianism. Bentham on one hand came up with the theory of Utilitarianism, while Mill tried to build upon Bentham’s ideology, and make his own stronger. Bentham believed in one ultimate moral principle, the principle of utility.
The utilitarianism theory is described as the happiest and pleasure of the most people not included the personal happiness. Jeremy Bentham believes there were two masters in this world that are pleasure and pain. On utilitarianism, we should reject pain and found a way to make more people happy no matter what the outcome. Utilitarianism is unsound because of events in history, life conflict, and animal cruelty that occurs in our everyday.
In his book Utilitarianism, John Stuart Mill presents his exposition and his major defenses of the philosophy of utilitarianism. Utilitarianism, a theory in ethics developed by the philosopher Jeremy Bentham, focuses on a concept of utility that focuses on deciding if actions are morally right or wrong by analyzing the pleasure and pain they cause. In other words, if an action causes primarily pleasure for all parties, then it must be good and right; however, if it causes pain for the parties involved, then it is bad and wrong. In his book, Mill expands on Bentham’s original ideas and presents some of his own ideas and nuances. In this paper, I will present Mill’s concept of Utilitarianism and some of his defenses of it, relate it to our modern society, and offer my own thoughts on the theory.