Utilitarianism Influence By John Stuart Mill And Jeremy Bentham

Utilitarianism was a movement in the 18th century that soon would become one of the paramount ethical philosophies the world would contemplate. The basic principle of Utilitarianism involves calculation of happiness, in which actions are deemed good if they tend to produce pleasure and evil if they promote pain. A fairly simple concept, it would coined by the English philosopher Jeremy Bentham. Influence by Bentham, another philosopher, John Stuart Mill would follow with a very similar, yet ideologically distinct revised theory of Utilitarianism that would regard not only the end product of happiness, but also consider the motive of actions and the extent to which happiness can be created not just the individual, but for society as a whole.
Jeremy Bentham's original philosophy centered of the quantification of morality according to its outcomes, and how useful the actions were. Bentham's theory was reliant on the assumption that it is the results of human actions that count in determining their value and that the only outcome that matters in terms of human happiness is the achievement of pleasure and avoidance of pain. Bentham argued that the value of any human action is calculable by considering how intensely its pleasure is, how long that pleasure lasts, and how likely it is to create collateral benefits. Taking matters into account, Bentham claims we can calculate a net value of each action for anyone affected by it. Bentham supposed that all that remained was to consider the extent of this individual pleasure, alleging that the happiness of the community was nothing more than the sum of individual interests.
It can be seen that Bentham's principle of utility defined the meaning of moral obligation by the pursuance of the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. Bentham also supposed that social policies be evaluated in accordance with their effect on the general well-being of the populace they involve. Government action, like laws such as those effecting criminals are a good example of utility theory, wherein the promise of punishment and likelihood of future pain serve to outweigh the immediate gain of committing the crime. He states that the punishment must fit the crime by changing the perception of value of committing
it. Years later utilitarianism would find it most effective advocate in John Stuart Mill. Raised by his father James Mill on Bentham's principles, Mill devoted his life to the promotion of the public good. Mill's Utilitarianism published in 1861 is an extended explanation of the moral utilitarian theory. In responding to criticisms of the doctrine, Mill argued in favor of the basic principles of Jeremy Bentham's theory while also offering significant improvements to its meaning, application and structure. Mills' changes in his understanding and application of the Utility theory would allow it to become a more mainstream and popular social and ethical theory. While Mill fully accepted Bentham's adherence to his greatest happiness principle as the foundation of utilitarian theory, Mill argued that consequences of human choices greatly affect their moral value. Mills' greatest leap in theoretical conception is that he did not agree with Bentham that all measures of pleasure can be quantified.
In Mill's view, some forms of pleasure experienced by human beings differ from others in distinct, qualitative ways, and that only those who have experienced pleasure in both forms can be a competent judge of their corresponding quality. He went on to establish the moral worth of promoting higher (largely intellectual) pleasures among people even when their immediate intensity may be less than those of the lower, and largely hedonistic pleasures. Mill argued that the achievement of happiness can often be difficult, so we are often justified morally in seeking to reduce the amount of pain experienced by people affected by our actions. Pain, as well as the sacrifice of pleasure, is warranted in Mill's view primarily when it directly results in a greater good for
all. In response to the cold and calculating nature of Bentham's original theory, Mill's again stepped away from his predecessor. While Bentham had relied on a strict Punishment system to create a clear promise of pain for those who broke the law, Mills supposed that people allow our choices to be guided in many situations by moral rules. In response to criticism that people do not have the time to accurately calculate effects of their actions in every instance, Mills pointed out that ingrained moral principles perform an important function by providing guidance for everyday situations. Unlike Bentham, Mill would not restrict his theory to the socially defined external imposition of punishment and blame, which serve to make the consequences of illegal action more obviously painful. In Mill's view, human beings can also be legitimately motivated by internal and often intangible factors such as conscience, guilt, and self-esteem. Because most people have social concerns on the behalf of others the unselfish wish for the greater good is often a reliable enough reason to encourage us to act morally.