The word “Utilitarianism" was first used by British philosopher Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) in An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation in 1781. His utilitarianism was based on three points: pain and happiness, utility, and consequentialism. Bentham believed that pain and pleasure of a certain behavior is the only criterion for judging good and evil. Pleasure means good, pain means evil; pursuing happiness and avoid suffering were human nature. Based on this, he proposed a…
One of the most critical concerns of the current modern world is the topic on the rights of gays and in particular the rights of gay marriage. We see in nations such as Russia and India where sexual intercourse is punishable by imprisonment and death which completely goes against tolerant beliefs. The United States as of recently, the US Supreme Court made gay marriage legal in all fifty states as of June 26, 2015. It is not a surprise that this event occurred because there has been an expanding…
primarily focuses on the treatment of animals and how they should be treated more humanely. The paper will discuss utilitarian’s beliefs and whether they require people to stop eating animals and experimenting on them. The classical utilitarian, Jeremy Bentham, argued that the main principle of utility is that we must generate the most happiness and the least unhappiness…
traditional view of consequentialism advocates the idea that “the only kind of result that is good in itself is happiness” (Haines). Since actions in themselves are neither good nor bad, it is important to consider the consequences of our actions. Jeremy Bentham, British philosopher and mentor to John Stuart Mill, measured these consequences by their hedonistic qualities—that is, “people should do what produces pleasure, considering the intensity, duration, certainty, quickness, how many other…
follow the rules to improve the overall society. Instead of supreme leader ruling over people without placing any structures for people to follow. Michel Foucault illustrates "Panopticism" through a panoptic prison that was created by Jeremy Bentham in the 18th century. It had a large…
This idea is equivalent to Jeremy Bentham 's theory of utilitarianism which states, that actions are right if they benefit the majority. In other words, it is the belief that individuals must do the most good for the greatest number of people. The single goal of utilitarianism is to increase…
The death penalty is a controversial means of punishment that divides society on whether it is morally acceptable to allow individuals to die as retribution for serious crimes. Australia abolished the death penalty in 1973 under the Commonwealth Death Penalty Abolition Act. Under this Act, a person under the laws of the Commonwealth “is not liable to the punishment of death for any offence (1973, s.4).” The Australian government later passed the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Torture Prohibition…
self-pleasure, and lacking future concern they argue that individuals should take actions to ensure pleasure in the short term. According to the Cyrenaics, there is not an ethical or moral obligation to engage in pro-environmental actions. However, Jeremy Bentham disagrees, arguing that an ethical action is one which promotes the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. Despite the Cyrenaic view, people do have a moral and ethical obligation to take pro-environmental actions. This…
Should animals be harmed to benefit mankind? This question has become quite a topic of discussion among philosophers in the last two centuries. Animal experimentation emerged in the early nineteenth century. Since then, it has provided humankind with innumerable benefits and advances in technology and medicine. As a matter of fact, it marked the birth of experimental physiology and neuroscience as we currently know it. For the most part, when it comes to Animal Rights, two ethical issues are…
In society, when an individual faces a situation where a moral dilemma arises they must make an ethical decision. One approach is the utilitarian theory where one considers the consequences that arise from their decision. Another approach is deontological ethics where one considers the morality of their actions. Using Andrew Bailey’s First Philosophy: Second Edition I will further explain my points on both utilitarianism and deontology, and explain why I believe Immanuel Kant’s theory of…