Explain Benthams Utilitarianism

Explain Benthams Utiliarianism (30 marks) The theory of utilitarianism was put forward entierly by Jeremy Bentham, who wrote virtually Ethics and Politics. He was a companionable reformer keen to improve the lives of the working class. some(prenominal) of the improvements made in the treatments of criminals in the 18th and nineteenth centuries were the responses of Benthems ethics. Bentham believed that which is good is that which equals the superlative sum of entertainment and the least sum of suffering. (Hedonism). We can divide his theory into one-third parts His view on what drove adult male beings, and what goodness and badness was all about. ( The motivating of valet de chambre beings)The principle of utility, which is his moral ruleThe voluptuous calculus, which is his system for measuring stick how good or bad the consequence is.The motivation of human beingsBentham maintained that human beings were motivated by fun and cark, and so he can be called a hedonist. He said, in principles of morals and legislation, reputation has placed mankind underthe governance of two monarch butterfly masters, hurting and merriment. It is for them alone to point out what we ought to do, as well as to determine what we shall do The principle of utilityOnce Bentham had set up that pleasure and distress were important qualities for determining what was moral, he developed the utility principle. The rightness or unworthiness of an natural process is determined by its utility or usefulness, return refers to the amound of pleasure or happiness caused by the twistion hence it is a teleogical ethical theory which determines a good act by the ends it brings about. The theory is know as the greatest happiness principle, or a theory of usefulness.An action is right if it produces th greatest good for the greatest number, where the greatest good is the greatest pleasure or happiness and the least pain or sadness, and the greatest number are the mass of pil e. When faced with a moral dilemma, Bentham argued that one should chose an act in such a way that brings about the maximum possible happiness for the most people. withal the possible consequences of different possible actions must be measured clearly to establish which option generates he most pleasure and the least pain. To measure the results, Bentham proposed the hedonic calculus This calculus wassupposed to measure the amounts of pleasure and pain according to seven factors. The seven factors1. chroma How intense is the pleasure or pain? 2. continuation How long does the pleasure or pain subsist? 3. Certainty What is the luck that the pleasure or pain will occur? 4. Propinquity or farawayness How far off in the future is the pleasure or pain? 5. Fecundity What is the probability that the pleasure will lead to other pleasures 6. Purity What is the probability that the pain will lead to other diligence 7. Extent How many persons are affected by the pleasure?In the hedonic ca lculus. Benthem considers how strong the pain or pleasure is, whether it is short lived or intent long and how likely it is that there will be pain or pleasure. He considers how immediate the pain or pleasure is and how likely it is to lead to more(prenominal) of the same, the extent to which there might be a combination of pains and pleasures, and lastly the number of people affected. The balance of pleasures and pains is compared with those of other options and the best result determined. The action that leads to this best consequence is the morally check one to pursue.