Born on February 15, 1748 in Spitalfields, London, Jeremy Bentham is the creator of Utililtarianism. Utilitarianism is the economic philosophy that the actions of the politicians should be geared toward creating and sustaining the happiness of the largest amount of people. Although Bentham was schooled in the law and even called to the bar, as he got older he had an increasing distaste for the law. (Patrick) "Every law is an infraction of liberty," Bentham said and he turned to writing about his criticisms of the law. (Bentham 3) After his father died in 1792, Bentham was left in a financially secure state that allowed him to devote all his time to writing. He wrote ten to twenty pages a day right up until his eighties before his death. (Patrick)
As with many philosophies, Utilitarianism is the absolute correct for its proponents and the absolute incorrect for its opponents. There are no ethical principles, which can be agreed on by everyone.
Portrait of Bentham by the studio of Thomas Frye, ...
Jeremy Bentham's "Auto-Icon" at University College...
Jeremy BenthamHowever, many can agree on what is right and what is wrong in clear-cut examples. One of the more universally agreed upon is a good thing makes people happy and a bad thing makes people sad. Also, bad things can be broken down into categories such a rape can be considered much worse than stealing. (Patrick)
Bentham's theory of Utilitarianism differs from what could be the original brand of Utilitarianism created by Epicurus, a Greek philosopher. Bentham believed that whatever brings the most happiness to everyone is what's best. While Epicurus believed you should do whatever makes you happy. (Patrick)
Bentham saw Utilitarianism as a reform for the current law, at the time. He believed that it was scientifically possible to determine what was morally justifiable after applying a principle of utility. He wrote that actions were correct if...