Jeremy Bentham

There are numerous political philosophies that are employed in today’s government, one such philosophy is utilitarianism. It was originally conceived by Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) and later revised by John S. Mill (1806-1873). The dates alone should be considered with regards to this philosophy, which should altogether be abolished in the realms of government by reason of flawed thinking. This paper will explore a couple of examples on the ways in which utilitarianism has been used in both the…

action is the one that brings about the best state of affairs. The best state of affairs is the state of affairs that consists of the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people. Mill’s utilitarian theory is heavily influenced by Jeremy Bentham’s ideas on the same topic. However, Mill’s writings on utilitarianism attempt to understand what he calls “higher” pleasures and work to resolve complex problems that Bentham’s theory…

The use of capital punishment has been around for centuries, the first known time being the code of Hammurabi, a legal code of ancient Mesopotamia dating back to 1754 BC, the death penalty was inflicted on individuals accused of 25 certain crimes such as infidelity or helping slaves escape surprisingly murder was not one of them. The death sentence for these particular crimes was carried out by such means as crucifixion, drowning, burning alive, or impalement. In our nation’s past, The death…

As an ethical theory, Utilitarianism was first developed by British philosophers Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill who “identified the good with pleasure” and believed that within society “that we ought to maximize the good, that is, bring about 'the greatest amount of good for the greatest number '” (Driver 2). A core assumption of Phillips…

There are situations that exist throughout every facet of life where ethics can be applied. Although ethical decisions must be made all throughout the life; however, some of the most complex ethical decisions are associated with the medical field and involve the patients and treatment. Ethical theories address these issues and provide you with justifiable principles that can be utilized to assist in guiding a person in making these decisions1.These theories give justification of a person’s…

Equal Pay for Equal Work Introduction Is it really right that women are not paid equally to men? Women should be entitled to proper pay for equal work they do. In “2014 the typical woman working full time all year in the U.S. earned 79% of what the typical man earned working full time all year” (Grimshaw, 2014). “Women make up nearly ½ of the U.S. Labor force and there are a growing number of bread winners within their families” (Soyars, 2014). More women are also working positions and fields…

with one current moral issue from the perspective of Utilitarianism by Eleanor Hanley Utilitarianism is a noun. The doctrine that the right course of action is the one that will lead to the greatest happiness of the greatest number of people. Jeremy Bentham, who was an English Philosopher was the founder of the word Utilitarianism. The word Utilitarianism originates back to 1820 – 1830. Utilitarianism is an attempt to provide an answer to produce the best consequences possible. Utilitarianism…

Utilitarianism is the concept illustrated by John Stuart Mill as the maximization of human happiness. (He relates utility to the “greatest happiness principle,” a concept by philosopher Jeremy Bentham.) Mill describes happiness as “pleasure and the absence of pain.” Something of extrinsic value has worth only because of the value or benefits it brings to something else; something of intrinsic value has worth because of the value it possesses even while alone. According to Utilitarianism,…

People have long tried to interpret ethics in societies. Who, how, and why ethics was created are common debates among philosophers. In its simplest form, ethics can be described as how a differentiates between right and wrong. Whether that be due to society’s standards or their own, there are many theories to explain this daily-occurring phenomenon. Kantianism, the divine command theory, existentialism, ethical relativism, the virtue theory, and utilitarianism are the more widely known theories…

Utilitarianism, founded by Jeremy Bentham, is a moral theory that aims to identify what the right course of action in any situation is, and works to maximize the utility, or happiness, of all the stakeholders involved. There are two types of utilitarianism, Act Utilitarianism, which states that “an act is correct if it maximizes overall expected net utility,” and Rule Utilitarianism, which states that “an act is morally required if and only if it is in accordance with a rule that maximizes…