Jeremy Bentham and Utillitarianism

What is Utilitarianism?

Utilitarianism is a teleological ethical theory that states that right and wrong are determined by the utility of it. Jeremy Bentham established pain and pleasure were important qualities in making moral decisions; He believed that motivation comes through pain and pleasure.

Utilitarianism is a democratic system as the pleasure can't be just for one person.The only good is the maximisation of pleasure and the minimisation of pain. It judges the ethicacy of an action only by the consequence.  

Utilitarianism follows a criteria to place a judgement whether or not an action was morally right or wrong, because of this, it is a secular ethical theory.

Who was Jeremy Betham?

Jeremy Bentham was the founder of Utilitarianism, he was a British philosopher and atheist who was born in 1748 and died in 1832. He authored 'The principles of morals and legislation' in 1789.

Utilitarianism is based on the idea that human beings want to avoid pain and attain pleasure, therefore it is often referred to as a Hedonistic theory.In utilitarianism, there are no intrinsic goods or bads, Pleasure is the sole good, and pain is the sole bad.

Bentham's beliefs about moral action can be summarised in the principle of utility. Utility means the usefulness, for Betham, the usefulness and goodness of an action is determined by the amount of pleasure it produces.

"The greatest happiness for the greatest number of people."  -The principle of utility

Bentham believes that pain and pleasure are the things that motivate human beings as humans want to achieve happiness and avoid pain.