Jeremy Bentham is considered as the father of Utilitarianism. Jeremy Bentham was born in Houndsditch, London on 15 February 1748. Its general argument is that morality consists in bringing about the best state of affairs, and that the best state of affairs is the state with the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people. ed. The Abolitionist Project Jeremy Bentham (1748 1832), who lived in London during the Industrial Revolution, was a philosopher and social reformer who wished to alleviate the periods dreadful living conditions. He believed that with the gradual improvement in the level of education in society, people would be more likely to decide and vote on the basis of rational calculation of what would be for their own long-term benefit, and individual rational decision-making would therefore, in aggregate, increasingly tend to promote the greater general happiness. Classical Utilitarianism: Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) “Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure. In Bentham's theory, an action conforming to the principle of utility is right or at least not wrong; it ought to be done, or at least it is not the case that it ought not be done. In this long essay, Mill seeks to provide a definition for the moral philosophy of utilitarianism, which was originally developed by the philosopher Jeremy Bentham.As a philosophy, utilitarianism argues that a desire for happiness lies at the heart of all moral considerations. Wirehead Hedonism Being a social reformer means that. What we call moral duties and rights would require a moral legislator (a divine being presumably) but theological notions are outside the scope of his theory. Utilitarianism is a moral and legal theory, with origins in classical philosophy, that was famously propagated in the 18th and 19th centuries by Jeremy Bentham. Overview “Utilitarianism” is a philosophical essay written by English philosopher John Stuart Mill in 1863. Mill was raised by his father, James Mill, to be a strict utilitarian. SparkNotes is brought to you by Barnes & Noble. Mill's childhood was rigid and intellectual, and when, at twenty-one he began to question some of his beliefs, he suffered a nervous breakdown. In this long essay, Mill seeks to provide a definition for the moral philosophy of utilitarianism, which was originally developed by the philosopher Jeremy Bentham.As a philosophy, utilitarianism argues that a desire for happiness lies at the heart of all moral considerations. https://schoolworkhelper.net/jeremy-bentham-1748-1832-the-principle-of-utility A knowledge of Mill's own personal biography is integral to understanding the context for his essay. He also wrote a highly entertaining Handbook of Political Fallacies 1824, which deals with the logic and rhetoric of political debate. Jeremy Bentham also aided in Mill's upbringing, and Mill was deeply influenced by Bentham's writings. John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) was an English philosopher and economist. For Bentham, rights and duties are legal notions, linked with the notions of command and sanction. ", The Penguin Dictionary of Philosophy Poverty, disease, overcrowding, child labor, lack of sanitation, and miserable prison and factory conditions inspired Bentham to be an agent of social reform. He wrote one of his most famous essays, Utilitarianism, in 1861. Bentham was an English philosopher born in 1748 into a family of lawyers and lived during a time of major social, political and economic change. Bentham figured prominently among the small number of men who became known as phlosophical radicals, but his utilitarianism was not much discussed until the latter half of the nineteenth century. Critique of Brave New World Utilitarians is something that thinks morality is to give high level of happiness and pleasure and decrease bad things such as pain and unhappiness. But Bentham does not use the word 'duty' here. Jeremy Bentham (1748 – 1832), who lived in London during the Industrial Revolution, was a philosopher and social reformer who wished to alleviate the period’s dreadful living conditions.