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For instance, some action by the government could produce numerous pleasures for a small portion of the population, or it could produce a small bit of pleasure for the entire populous; Bentham seems to endorse both outcomes, but it is easy to imagine situations in which the two might conflict. He leaves us with no way to address this dilemma. Perhaps Bentham believed that he properly attended to this objection by contending that pleasure comes in one variety -- only being separated by time interval and intensity -- but it is still possible to enjoy a finite number of singular pleasures, and he fails to indicate how such pleasures should be distributed throughout a just society.
Bentham's hedonism is psychological as well. He writes, "Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure. It is for them alone to point out what we ought to do, as well as to determine what we shall do." Such a position implies that human beings are by their very nature pleasure-seekers; this, obviously, suggests a level of egoism to each individual person's actions. The trouble with this psychological stance is that it then questions Bentham's ethical stance -- the greatest happiness of the greatest number -- because for this to be applicable to society it requires selfless actions. He recognizes this and offers the practical solution of societal sanctions.
Bentham believes that for his moral ideal to be obtained that people who engage in antisocial -- egoist -- behavior should be punished for their actions only to the point where their subsequent unhappiness does not outweigh the pain they may have otherwise inflicted. To Bentham, such a functioning of society is only possible under the direction of a "free" government. Centrally, "Free government in a stable social condition is characterized by a balance of punctual obedience and free censure, which leads to a steady and secure form of social change and progress." So the consequence of Bentham's utilitarianism is that there is a two sided pull within any society with a centralized government: an utterly free government...
In the latter sense, the government merely functions as an institution of security; it ensures the expression of the greatest happiness principle by sanctioning those who step out of line with it by moving towards egoism.
Overall, Bentham's orchestration of political liberty is uniquely tied to his take on the ideas of utility, hedonism, and psychological egoism. Only by making the boundaries of permissible human actions clear can society at large enjoy liberty, and be free to pursue their own happiness. This is the core rational behind government, punishment, and social morality that made Jeremy Bentham one of the most noteworthy philosophers to ever write in the English language.
Works Cited
Bentham, Jeremy. A Fragment on Government. London: Oxford University Press, 1951.
Dinwiddy, John. Bentham. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.
Hampsher-Monk, Iain. A History of Modern Political Thought. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1992.
Long, Douglas G. Bentham on Liberty. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1977.
McGreal, Ian P. Great Thinkers of the Western World. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1992.
Pringle-Pattison, A. Seth. The Philosophical Radicals. London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1907.
Pringle-Pattison, A. Seth. The Philosophical Radicals. London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1907. Page, 14.
Bentham, Jeremy. A Fragment on Government. London: Oxford University Press, 1951. Page, 132.
Hampsher-Monk, Iain. A History of Modern Political Thought. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1992. Page, 310.
Dinwiddy, John. Bentham. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989. Page, 25.
McGreal, Ian P. Great Thinkers of the Western World. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1992. Page, 308.
Long, Douglas G. Bentham on Liberty. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1977. Page, 95.
Works Cited
Bentham, Jeremy. A Fragment on Government. London: Oxford University Press, 1951.
Dinwiddy, John. Bentham. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.
Hampsher-Monk, Iain. A History of Modern Political Thought. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1992.
Long, Douglas G. Bentham on Liberty. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1977.
Smoking rates do seem to be down, as a result of sin taxes and smoking bans in public areas like restaurants. However, although this might be an example of when Bentham's moral science might seem to work (although it is controversial how helpful mandatory sentences may be) it is hard not to think of a familiar phrase: "one man's meat is another man's poison" -- in short, what gives pleasure
Thus, as this initial object is almost impossible to fully achieve, Bentham argues that the subordinate goals of any given justice system should be "if a man must needs to commit an offence of some kind or other […] to induce him […] to choose always the least mischievous of two offences that will either of them suit his purpose," "to dispose him to do no more misheif than
Plato, Thomas Aquinas and Jeremy Bentham have exerted great influence over our ideas of justice and have spawned various schools of thought. This paper compares views on justice by looking at their writings on the ideal state and what constitutes moral behavior. Plato (427-327 BC) is one of the most famous philosophers of antiquity. In The Republic, Plato wrote of his concept of individual justice as an offshoot of what he
Bentham also suggests that individuals would reasonably seek the general happiness simply because the interests of others are inextricably bound up with their own, though he recognized that this is something that is easy for individuals to ignore" (Sweet 2008). Critical section: Raise two or three objections to Bentham's principle of utility. What reasons do you think we have to doubt that it is the fundamental principle of morality? It
Philosophy of Pleasure The question of ethics and morality, what is the right thing to do vs. The wrong thing in a given situation, can be an extremely difficult one. There are occasions where right and wrong are clear, black and white distinctions. In such scenarios, the right thing to do is easy discernible, though it may not be the easiest things to do. However, this is the rarest of occasions.
Utilitarianism, a philosophy first espoused by Jeremy Bentham, embodies an important set of concepts in that it coincided with the re-thinking of what we know as liberalism. The liberalism of the early 19th century was a product of classical economics; it was the ideology of laissez-faire and the free market. However, utilitarianism was to offer an alternate set of opinions regarding the role of government in society; utilitarians such as