Misplaced Pages

#514485

79-466: In the story, Gradgrind was the father of five children, naming them after prominent utilitarians . He also ran a model school where young pupils were treated as machines, or pitchers which were to be filled to the brim with facts . This satirised the Scottish philosopher James Mill who attempted to develop his sons into perfect utilitarians. His physical description personified this characterisation of

158-541: A coherent principle at its core. The task of philosophy in general and ethics in particular is not so much to create new knowledge but to systematize existing knowledge. Sidgwick tries to achieve this by formulating methods of ethics , which he defines as rational procedures "for determining right conduct in any particular case". He identifies three methods: intuitionism , which involves various independently valid moral principles to determine what ought to be done, and two forms of hedonism , in which rightness only depends on

237-404: A collective something termed happiness, and to be desired on that account. They are desired and desirable in and for themselves; besides being means, they are a part of the end. Virtue, according to the utilitarian doctrine, is not naturally and originally part of the end, but it is capable of becoming so; and in those who love it disinterestedly it has become so, and is desired and cherished, not as

316-479: A fictional character from a novel is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . See guidelines for writing about novels . Further suggestions might be found on the article's talk page . Utilitarianism In ethical philosophy , utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for the affected individuals. In other words, utilitarian ideas encourage actions that lead to

395-412: A hypothetical being with a greater ability to gain utility from resources, who takes all those resources from people in a fashion that is seen as completely immoral. Nozick writes: Utilitarian theory is embarrassed by the possibility of utility monsters who get enormously greater sums of utility from any sacrifice of others than these others lose ... the theory seems to require that we all be sacrificed in

474-520: A key utilitarian phrase in An Inquiry into the Original of Our Ideas of Beauty and Virtue (1725): when choosing the most moral action, the amount of virtue in a particular action is proportionate to the number of people it brings happiness to. In the same way, moral evil , or vice , is proportionate to the number of people made to suffer. The best action is the one that procures the greatest happiness of

553-402: A likely outcome of following total utilitarianism is a future where there is a large number of people with very low utility values. Parfit terms this "the repugnant conclusion", believing it to be intuitively undesirable. To survive the mere addition paradox with a consistent model of total utilitarianism, total utilitarians have two choices. They may either assert that higher utility living

632-475: A means to happiness, but as a part of their happiness. We may give what explanation we please of this unwillingness; we may attribute it to pride, a name which is given indiscriminately to some of the most and to some of the least estimable feelings of which is mankind are capable; we may refer it to the love of liberty and personal independence, an appeal to which was with the Stoics one of the most effective means for

711-414: A method of calculating the value of pleasures and pains, which has come to be known as the hedonic calculus . Bentham says that the value of a pleasure or pain, considered by itself, can be measured according to its intensity, duration, certainty/uncertainty and propinquity/remoteness. In addition, it is necessary to consider "the tendency of any act by which it is produced" and, therefore, to take account of

790-410: A moral duty. The hazards of average utilitarianism are potentially avoided if it is applied more pragmatically . For instance, the practical application of rule utilitarianism (or else two-level utilitarianism ) may temper the aforementioned undesirable conclusions. That is, actually practicing a rule that we must "kill anyone who is less happy than average" would almost certainly cause suffering in

869-553: A number of fallacies : Such allegations began to emerge in Mill's lifetime, shortly after the publication of Utilitarianism , and persisted for well over a century, though the tide has been turning in recent discussions. Nonetheless, a defence of Mill against all three charges, with a chapter devoted to each, can be found in Necip Fikri Alican's Mill's Principle of Utility: A Defense of John Stuart Mill's Notorious Proof (1994). This

SECTION 10

#1733085435515

948-552: A passing expression" in John Galt 's 1821 novel Annals of the Parish . However, Mill seems to have been unaware that Bentham had used the term utilitarian in his 1781 letter to George Wilson and his 1802 letter to Étienne Dumont . The importance of happiness as an end for humans has long been argued. Forms of hedonism were put forward by the ancient Greek philosophers Aristippus and Epicurus . Aristotle argued that eudaimonia

1027-460: A series of three articles published in Fraser's Magazine in 1861 and was reprinted as a single book in 1863. Mill rejects a purely quantitative measurement of utility and says: It is quite compatible with the principle of utility to recognize the fact, that some kinds of pleasure are more desirable and more valuable than others. It would be absurd that while, in estimating all other things, quality

1106-468: Is "no known Epicurean theory of life which does not assign to the pleasures of the intellect ... a much higher value as pleasures than to those of mere sensation." However, he accepts that this is usually because the intellectual pleasures are thought to have circumstantial advantages, i.e. "greater permanency, safety, uncostliness, &c ." Instead, Mill will argue that some pleasures are intrinsically better than others. The accusation that hedonism

1185-410: Is a "doctrine worthy only of swine" has a long history. In Nicomachean Ethics (Book 1 Chapter 5), Aristotle says that identifying the good with pleasure is to prefer a life suitable for beasts. The theological utilitarians had the option of grounding their pursuit of happiness in the will of God; the hedonistic utilitarians needed a different defence. Mill's approach is to argue that the pleasures of

1264-562: Is a version of consequentialism , which states that the consequences of any action are the only standard of right and wrong . Unlike other forms of consequentialism, such as egoism and altruism , utilitarianism considers either the interests of all humanity or all sentient beings equally . Proponents of utilitarianism have disagreed on a number of issues, such as whether actions should be chosen based on their likely results ( act utilitarianism ), or whether agents should conform to rules that maximize utility ( rule utilitarianism ). There

1343-445: Is absurd. To ask why I pursue happiness, will admit of no other answer than an explanation of the terms. This pursuit of happiness is given a theological basis: Now it is evident from the nature of God, viz. his being infinitely happy in himself from all eternity, and from his goodness manifested in his works, that he could have no other design in creating mankind than their happiness; and therefore he wills their happiness; therefore

1422-403: Is also disagreement as to whether total utility ( total utilitarianism ) or average utility ( average utilitarianism ) should be maximized. The seeds of the theory can be found in the hedonists Aristippus and Epicurus who viewed happiness as the only good, the consequentialism of the ancient Chinese philosopher Mozi who developed a theory to maximize benefit and minimize harm, and in

1501-439: Is avoided by average utilitarianism, some generally repugnant conclusions may still obtain. For instance, if there are two completely isolated societies, one a 100-hedon society and the other a 99-hedon society, then strict average utilitarianism seems to support killing off the 99-hedon society (this violent action would increase the average utility in this scenario). This criticism is also exemplified by Nozick's utility monster ,

1580-449: Is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied. And if the fool, or the pig, are of a different opinion, it is because they only know their own side of the question... Mill argues that if people who are "competently acquainted" with two pleasures show a decided preference for one even if it be accompanied by more discontent and "would not resign it for any quantity of

1659-434: Is considered as well as quantity, the estimation of pleasures should be supposed to depend on quantity alone. The word utility is used to mean general well-being or happiness, and Mill's view is that utility is the consequence of a good action. Utility, within the context of utilitarianism, refers to people performing actions for social utility. With social utility, he means the well-being of many people. Mill's explanation of

SECTION 20

#1733085435515

1738-410: Is desirable, except that each person, so far as he believes it to be attainable, desires his own happiness...we have not only all the proof which the case admits of, but all which it is possible to require, that happiness is a good: that each person's happiness is a good to that person, and the general happiness, therefore, a good to the aggregate of all persons. It is usual to say that Mill is committing

1817-416: Is grounded in the nature of God, Paley also discusses the place of rules, writing: [A]ctions are to be estimated by their tendency. Whatever is expedient, is right. It is the utility of any moral rule alone, which constitutes the obligation of it. But to all this there seems a plain objection, viz. that many actions are useful, which no man in his senses will allow to be right. There are occasions, in which

1896-403: Is no higher end than pleasure. Mill says that good actions lead to pleasure and define good character . Better put, the justification of character, and whether an action is good or not, is based on how the person contributes to the concept of social utility. In the long run the best proof of a good character is good actions; and resolutely refuse to consider any mental disposition as good, of which

1975-433: Is on a completely different scale from, and thus incomparable to, the bottom levels of utility, or deny that there is anything wrong with the repugnant conclusion. (Although, Sikora argues that we may already be living within this minimal state. Particularly as quality of life measurements are generally relative and we cannot know how we would appear to a society with very high quality of life.) Average utilitarianism values

2054-441: Is quite compatible with a full appreciation of the intrinsic superiority of the higher." Mill says that this appeal to those who have experienced the relevant pleasures is no different from what must happen when assessing the quantity of pleasure, for there is no other way of measuring "the acutest of two pains, or the intensest of two pleasurable sensations." "It is indisputable that the being whose capacities of enjoyment are low, has

2133-412: Is saying that intellectual pursuits give the individual the opportunity to escape the constant depression cycle since these pursuits allow them to achieve their ideals, while petty pleasures do not offer this. Although debate persists about the nature of Mill's view of gratification, this suggests bifurcation in his position. In Chapter Four of Utilitarianism , Mill considers what proof can be given for

2212-561: Is that why you would put tables and chairs upon them, and have people walking over them with heavy boots?" "It wouldn't hurt them, Sir. They wouldn't crush and wither, if you please, Sir. They would be the pictures of what was very pretty and pleasant, and I would fancy..... -" "Ay, Ay, Ay! But you mustn't fancy," cried the gentleman, quite elated by coming so happily to his point. "That's it! You are never to fancy." "You are not, Cecilia Jupe," Thomas Gradgrind solemnly repeated, "to do anything of that kind." "Fact, Fact, Fact!" said

2291-468: Is the only thing they desire. Mill anticipates the objection that people desire other things such as virtue. He argues that whilst people might start desiring virtue as a means to happiness, eventually, it becomes part of someone's happiness and is then desired as an end in itself. The principle of utility does not mean that any given pleasure, as music, for instance, or any given exemption from pain, as for example health, are to be looked upon as means to

2370-408: Is the first, and remains the only, book-length treatment of the subject matter. Yet the alleged fallacies in the proof continue to attract scholarly attention in journal articles and book chapters. Hall (1949) and Popkin (1950) defend Mill against this accusation pointing out that he begins Chapter Four by asserting that "questions of ultimate ends do not admit of proof, in the ordinary acceptation of

2449-529: Is the highest human good. Augustine wrote that "all men agree in desiring the last end, which is happiness". The idea that conduct should to be judged by its consequences also existed within the ancient world. Consequentialist theories were first developed by the ancient Chinese philosopher Mozi, who proposed a system that sought to maximize benefit and eliminate harm. Mohist consequentialism advocated communitarian moral goods, including political stability , population growth , and wealth , but did not support

Gradgrind - Misplaced Pages Continue

2528-447: Is the proper or ultimate end of all our actions... each particular action may be said to have its proper and peculiar end…(but)…they still tend or ought to tend to something farther; as is evident from hence, viz. that a man may ask and expect a reason why either of them are pursued: now to ask the reason of any action or pursuit, is only to enquire into the end of it: but to expect a reason, i.e. an end, to be assigned for an ultimate end,

2607-462: Is to promote the happiness of the society, by punishing and rewarding.... In proportion as an act tends to disturb that happiness, in proportion as the tendency of it is pernicious, will be the demand it creates for punishment." Bentham's work opens with a statement of the principle of utility: 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.   ... By

2686-404: Is why Sidgwick sees a harmony between intuitionism and utilitarianism . There are also less general intuitive principles, like the duty to keep one's promises or to be just, but these principles are not universal and there are cases where different duties stand in conflict with each other. Sidgwick suggests that we resolve such conflicts in a utilitarian fashion by considering the consequences of

2765-526: The Principles of Morals and Legislation was printed in 1780 but not published until 1789. It is possible that Bentham was spurred on to publish after he saw the success of Paley's Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy . Though Bentham's book was not an immediate success, his ideas were spread further when Pierre Étienne Louis Dumont translated edited selections from a variety of Bentham's manuscripts into French. Traité de législation civile et pénale

2844-523: The act's fecundity, or the chance it has of being followed by sensations of the same kind and its purity, or the chance it has of not being followed by sensations of the opposite kind. Finally, it is necessary to consider the extent, or the number of people affected by the action. The question then arises as to when, if at all, it might be legitimate to break the law . This is considered in The Theory of Legislation , where Bentham distinguishes between evils of

2923-423: The average (and thus bring down the average), may still be intuitively well worth living. Creating a less-than-average life would become an immoral act. Furthermore, in a world where everyone was experiencing very bad lives that were not worth living, adding more people whose lives were also not worth living, but were less unpleasant than the lives of those who already existed, would raise the average, and appear to be

3002-426: The concept of utility in his work, Utilitarianism, is that people really do desire happiness, and since each individual desires their own happiness, it must follow that all of us desire the happiness of everyone, contributing to a larger social utility. Thus, an action that results in the greatest pleasure for the utility of society is the best action, or as Jeremy Bentham , the founder of early Utilitarianism put it, as

3081-464: The conflicting actions. Total utilitarianism Average and total utilitarianism (also called averagism and totalism ) are variants of utilitarianism that seek to maximize the average or total amount of utility ; following Henry Sidgwick 's question, "Is it total or average happiness that we seek to make a maximum?". They are theories of population ethics , a philosophical field that deals with problems arising when our actions affect

3160-519: The different principles are mutually consistent with each other and that there is expert consensus on them. According to Sidgwick, commonsense moral principles fail to pass this test, but there are some more abstract principles that pass it, like that "what is right for me must be right for all persons in precisely similar circumstances" or that "one should be equally concerned with all temporal parts of one's life". The most general principles arrived at this way are all compatible with utilitarianism , which

3239-475: The first and second order. Those of the first order are the more immediate consequences; those of the second are when the consequences spread through the community causing "alarm" and "danger". It is true there are cases in which, if we confine ourselves to the effects of the first order, the good will have an incontestable preponderance over the evil. Were the offence considered only under this point of view, it would not be easy to assign any good reasons to justify

Gradgrind - Misplaced Pages Continue

3318-419: The fool, the dunce, or the rascal is better satisfied with his lot than they are with theirs. ... A being of higher faculties requires more to make him happy, is capable probably of more acute suffering, and certainly accessible to it at more points, than one of an inferior type; but in spite of these liabilities, he can never really wish to sink into what he feels to be a lower grade of existence. ... It

3397-572: The general human preference for life. Average utilitarianism is treated as being so obvious that it does not need any explanation in Garrett Hardin 's essay The Tragedy of the Commons , where he points out that Jeremy Bentham 's goal of "the greatest good for the greatest number" is impossible. Here he is saying that it is impossible to maximize both population (not total happiness) and 'good' (which he takes as meaning per capita happiness), although

3476-444: The gentleman. And "Fact, Fact, Fact!" repeated Thomas Gradgrind. [REDACTED]  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain :  Wood, James , ed. (1907). " Gradgrind ". The Nuttall Encyclopædia . London and New York: Frederick Warne. Gradgrind , a character in "Hard Times," who weighs and measures everything by a hard and fast rule and makes no allowances. This article about

3555-659: The greatest chance of having them fully satisfied; and a highly-endowed being will always feel that any happiness which he can look for, as the world is constitute, is imperfect." Mill also thinks that "intellectual pursuits have value out of proportion to the amount of contentment or pleasure (the mental state) that they produce." Mill also says that people should pursue these grand ideals, because if they choose to have gratification from petty pleasures, "some displeasure will eventually creep in. We will become bored and depressed." Mill claims that gratification from petty pleasures only gives short-term happiness and, subsequently, worsens

3634-536: The greatest good for the greatest number. Although different varieties of utilitarianism admit different characterizations, the basic idea behind all of them is, in some sense, to maximize utility , which is often defined in terms of well-being or related concepts. For instance, Jeremy Bentham , the founder of utilitarianism, described utility as the capacity of actions or objects to produce benefits, such as pleasure, happiness, and good, or to prevent harm, such as pain and unhappiness, to those affected. Utilitarianism

3713-545: The greatest happiness because they "appear'd useless, and were disagreeable to some readers," Bentham contends that there is nothing novel or unwarranted about his method, for "in all this there is nothing but what the practice of mankind, wheresoever they have a clear view of their own interest, is perfectly conformable to." Rosen (2003) warns that descriptions of utilitarianism can bear "little resemblance historically to utilitarians like Bentham and J. S. Mill " and can be more "a crude version of act utilitarianism conceived in

3792-485: The greatest happiness of the greatest number. Mill not only viewed actions as a core part of utility, but as the directive rule of moral human conduct. The rule being that we should only be committing actions that provide pleasure to society. This view of pleasure was hedonistic, as it pursued the thought that pleasure is the highest good in life. This concept was adopted by Bentham and can be seen in his works. According to Mill, good actions result in pleasure, and that there

3871-602: The greatest numbers, and the worst is the one that causes the most misery. In the first three editions of the book, Hutcheson included various mathematical algorithms "to compute the Morality of any Actions." In doing so, he pre-figured the hedonic calculus of Bentham. Some claim that John Gay developed the first systematic theory of utilitarian ethics. In Concerning the Fundamental Principle of Virtue or Morality (1731), Gay argues that: happiness, private happiness,

3950-460: The hand of the assassin would be very useful.   ... The true answer is this; that these actions, after all, are not useful, and for that reason, and that alone, are not right. To see this point perfectly, it must be observed that the bad consequences of actions are twofold, particular and general. The particular bad consequence of an action, is the mischief which that single action directly and immediately occasions. The general bad consequence is,

4029-419: The happiness of mankind. In An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (1751), David Hume writes: In all determinations of morality , this circumstance of public utility is ever principally in view; and wherever disputes arise, either in philosophy or common life, concerning the bounds of duty, the question cannot, by any means, be decided with greater certainty, than by ascertaining, on any side,

SECTION 50

#1733085435515

4108-436: The importance of avoiding existential risks to humanity. Benthamism , the utilitarian philosophy founded by Jeremy Bentham , was substantially modified by his successor John Stuart Mill , who popularized the term utilitarianism . In 1861, Mill acknowledged in a footnote that, though Bentham believed "himself to be the first person who brought the word 'utilitarian' into use, he did not invent it. Rather, he adopted it from

4187-575: The inculcation of it; to the love of power, or the love of excitement, both of which do really enter into and contribute to it: but its most appropriate appellation is a sense of dignity, which all humans beings possess in one form or other, and in some, though by no means in exact, proportion to their higher faculties, and which is so essential a part of the happiness of those in whom it is strong, that nothing which conflicts with it could be, otherwise than momentarily, an object of desire to them. Sidgwick's book The Methods of Ethics has been referred to as

4266-436: The individual who may feel that his life lacks happiness, since the happiness is transient. Whereas, intellectual pursuits give long-term happiness because they provide the individual with constant opportunities throughout the years to improve his life, by benefiting from accruing knowledge. Mill views intellectual pursuits as "capable of incorporating the 'finer things' in life" while petty pursuits do not achieve this goal. Mill

4345-411: The intellect are intrinsically superior to physical pleasures. Few human creatures would consent to be changed into any of the lower animals, for a promise of the fullest allowance of a beast's pleasures; no intelligent human being would consent to be a fool, no instructed person would be an ignoramus, no person of feeling and conscience would be selfish and base, even though they should be persuaded that

4424-478: The long run. Alternatively, average utilitarianism may be bolstered by a "life worth living" threshold. This threshold would be placed very low ( intense suffering ) and it is only once a person drops below this threshold that we begin to consider their execution. This obtains the intuition that a generally lower 'average utility' is to be endured provided there are no individuals who would be "better off dead". This would also allow average utilitarianism to acknowledge

4503-635: The maximization of the average utility among a group's members. So a group of 100 people each with 100 hedons (or "happiness points") is judged as preferable to a group of 1,000 people with 99 hedons each. More counter intuitively still, average utilitarianism evaluates the existence of a single person with 100 hedons more favorably than an outcome in which a million people have an average utility of 99 hedons. Average utilitarianism may lead to repugnant conclusions if practiced strictly. Aspects of Parfit's mere addition paradox are still relevant here: Even though "Parfit's repugnant conclusion" (mentioned above)

4582-414: The means of their happiness: therefore that my behaviour, as far as it may be a means of the happiness of mankind, should be such...thus the will of God is the immediate criterion of Virtue, and the happiness of mankind the criterion of the will of God; and therefore the happiness of mankind may be said to be the criterion of virtue, but once removed…(and)…I am to do whatever lies in my power towards promoting

4661-407: The monster's maw. It is also exemplified when Nozick writes: Maximizing the average utility allows a person to kill everyone else if that would make him ecstatic, and so happier than average. Parfit himself provided another similar criticism. Average utilitarianism seems to reject what Parfit calls "mere addition": the addition or creation of new lives that, although they may not be as happy as

4740-430: The number or identity of individuals born in the future. Total utilitarianism is a method of applying utilitarianism to a group to work out what the best set of outcomes would be. It assumes that the target utility is the maximum utility across the population based on adding all the separate utilities of each individual together. The main problem for total utilitarianism is the " mere addition paradox ", which argues that

4819-417: The other," then it is legitimate to regard that pleasure as being superior in quality. Mill recognizes that these "competent judges" will not always agree, and states that, in cases of disagreement, the judgment of the majority is to be accepted as final. Mill also acknowledges that "many who are capable of the higher pleasures, occasionally, under the influence of temptation, postpone them to the lower. But this

SECTION 60

#1733085435515

4898-405: The peak or culmination of classical utilitarianism. His main goal in this book is to ground utilitarianism in the principles of common-sense morality and thereby dispense with the doubts of his predecessors that these two are at odds with each other. For Sidgwick, ethics is about which actions are objectively right. Our knowledge of right and wrong arises from common-sense morality, which lacks

4977-480: The pleasure and pain following from the action. Hedonism is subdivided into egoistic hedonism , which only takes the agent's own well-being into account, and universal hedonism or utilitarianism , which is concerned with everyone's well-being. Intuitionism holds that we have intuitive, i.e. non-inferential, knowledge of moral principles, which are self-evident to the knower. The criteria for this type of knowledge include that they are expressed in clear terms, that

5056-436: The predominant tendency is to produce bad conduct. In the last chapter of Utilitarianism, Mill concludes that justice, as a classifying factor of our actions (being just or unjust) is one of the certain moral requirements, and when the requirements are all regarded collectively, they are viewed as greater according to this scale of "social utility" as Mill puts it. He also notes that, contrary to what its critics might say, there

5135-482: The principle of utility is meant that principle which approves or disapproves of every action whatsoever according to the tendency it appears to have to augment or diminish the happiness of the party whose interest is in question: or, what is the same thing in other words to promote or to oppose that happiness. I say of every action whatsoever, and therefore not only of every action of a private individual, but of every measure of government. In Chapter IV, Bentham introduces

5214-399: The principle of utility: The only proof capable of being given that an object is visible, is that people actually see it. The only proof that a sound is audible, is that people hear it.   ... In like manner, I apprehend, the sole evidence it is possible to produce that anything is desirable, is that people do actually desire it.   ... No reason can be given why the general happiness

5293-559: The readers and spellers of William McGuffey and Noah Webster in the elementary schools." Schneewind (1977) writes that "utilitarianism first became widely known in England through the work of William Paley." The now-forgotten significance of Paley can be judged from the title of Thomas Rawson Birks 's 1874 work Modern Utilitarianism or the Systems of Paley, Bentham and Mill Examined and Compared . Apart from restating that happiness as an end

5372-497: The rigid and insistent pedagogue : "The speaker's obstinate carriage, square coat, square legs, square shoulders - nay, his very neckcloth, trained to take him by the throat..." In a famous passage, a visiting official asks one of Gradgrind's students, "Suppose you were going to carpet a room. Would you use a carpet having a representation of flowers upon it?" The character Sissy Jupe replies, ingenuously, that she would because, "If you please, Sir, I am very fond of flowers." "And

5451-402: The rigour of the laws. Every thing depends upon the evil of the second order; it is this which gives to such actions the character of crime, and which makes punishment necessary. Let us take, for example, the physical desire of satisfying hunger. Let a beggar, pressed by hunger, steal from a rich man's house a loaf, which perhaps saves him from starving, can it be possible to compare the good which

5530-491: The term" and that this is "common to all first principles". Therefore, according to Hall and Popkin, Mill does not attempt to "establish that what people do desire is desirable but merely attempts to make the principles acceptable." The type of "proof" Mill is offering "consists only of some considerations which, Mill thought, might induce an honest and reasonable man to accept utilitarianism." Having claimed that people do, in fact, desire happiness, Mill now has to show that it

5609-403: The thief acquires for himself, with the evil which the rich man suffers?... It is not on account of the evil of the first order that it is necessary to erect these actions into offences, but on account of the evil of the second order. Mill was brought up as a Benthamite with the explicit intention that he would carry on the cause of utilitarianism. Mill's book Utilitarianism first appeared as

5688-407: The true interests of mankind. If any false opinion, embraced from appearances, has been found to prevail; as soon as farther experience and sounder reasoning have given us juster notions of human affairs, we retract our first sentiment, and adjust anew the boundaries of moral good and evil. Gay's theological utilitarianism was developed and popularized by William Paley . It has been claimed that Paley

5767-405: The twentieth century as a straw man to be attacked and rejected." It is a mistake to think that Bentham is not concerned with rules. His seminal work is concerned with the principles of legislation and the hedonic calculus is introduced with the words "Pleasures then, and the avoidance of pains, are the ends that the legislator has in view." In Chapter VII, Bentham says: "The business of government

5846-399: The utilitarian notion of maximizing individual happiness. Utilitarian ideas can also be found in the work of medieval philosophers. In medieval India, the 8th-century Indian philosopher Śāntideva wrote that we ought "to stop all the present and future pain and suffering of all sentient beings, and to bring about all present and future pleasure and happiness." In medieval Europe, happiness

5925-443: The violation of some necessary or useful general rule.   ... You cannot permit one action and forbid another, without showing a difference between them. Consequently, the same sort of actions must be generally permitted or generally forbidden. Where, therefore, the general permission of them would be pernicious, it becomes necessary to lay down and support the rule which generally forbids them. Bentham's book An Introduction to

6004-404: The work of the medieval Indian philosopher Shantideva . The tradition of modern utilitarianism began with Jeremy Bentham , and continued with such philosophers as John Stuart Mill , Henry Sidgwick , R. M. Hare , and Peter Singer . The concept has been applied towards social welfare economics , questions of justice , the crisis of global poverty , the ethics of raising animals for food , and

6083-524: Was explored in depth by Thomas Aquinas , in his Summa Theologica . During the Renaissance, consequentialist ideas are present in the work of political philosophy of Niccolò Machiavelli . Utilitarianism as a distinct ethical position only emerged in the 18th century, and although it is usually thought to have begun with Jeremy Bentham , there were earlier writers who presented theories that were strikingly similar. Francis Hutcheson first introduced

6162-478: Was not a very original thinker and that the philosophies in his treatise on ethics is "an assemblage of ideas developed by others and is presented to be learned by students rather than debated by colleagues." Nevertheless, his book The Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy (1785) was a required text at Cambridge and Smith (1954) says that Paley's writings were "once as well known in American colleges as were

6241-412: Was published in 1802 and then later retranslated back into English by Hildreth as The Theory of Legislation , although by this time significant portions of Dumont's work had already been retranslated and incorporated into Sir John Bowring 's edition of Bentham's works, which was issued in parts between 1838 and 1843. Perhaps aware that Francis Hutcheson eventually removed his algorithms for calculating

#514485