Utilitarianism: The Principle Of Utility, By Jeremy Bentham

There are many moral theories that allow a society or group of people to determine what is considered right and wrong. Being named as the originator of utilitarianism, Jeremy Bentham explains how this moral theory should be used. My argument will be as to why utilitarianism, more specifically the Principle of Utility, should not be used to decipher the rightness or wrongness of actions in situations. In this essay, I will define and explain utilitarianism and Bentham’s spin on the theory, argue that this theory cannot be practical in most cases, and finally consider why my argument could be seen as fallible.

1. Utilitarianism- The Principle of Utility

Utilitarianism can be defined as the theory in which human welfare or happiness alone is
These ideas state that the person performing an action must account for every single person or object that could possibly be affected and should be considered equally. To do this, one must first be able to measure the pain or pleasure a specific action may cause by using the following criteria explained by Timmons
However, the idea of utilitarianism is to find and perform an action that maximizes the amount of happiness for most people, not necessarily all of those being affected. Although it would be great to make everyone happy and feel a sense of pleasure, that is not a realistic scenario. As long as most of the people being affected experience a sense of pleasure, then the purpose that utilitarianism was created for has been served. Also, there are many different means, such as surveys, that can help find out what pleases or causes pain to those in a rather large group. If a questionnaire comes back with responses that state levels of the pleasure or pain felt, one can use those to factor into the Principle of Utility and the Utilitarian