...Jeremy Bentham was born in London, England on the February 15, 1748. He was known for being a proponent in the utilitarian movement. Jeremy father was a Lawyer, having decided that Jeremy would follow his footsteps. At the age twelve, Jeremy attended Queens College, Oxford. After Jeremy graduated from Queens College he immediately entered Lincolns Inn to study law and found out his weakness to public speaking and left Lincoln Inn to concentrate on his writings (Jeremy Bentham). As Jeremy focused on his writings he wrote a number of books on philosophy, economics and politics. He began expressing his conservative political views, until he was exposed to Joseph Priestly. Joseph Priestly work impacted the views of Jeremy and later Jeremy changed his views according to his work. Jeremy published work like, Principles of International Law, A fragment of Government, Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, Catechism of Reformers, Constitutional Code and many more (Spartacus Educational). Fig. 1. A cartoon shows does the end justify the means (UTILITARIANISM). According to the Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, is where Jeremy articulates rational principles that would provide a basis and guide for legal, social and moral reform. Jeremy then developed fundamental moral principles on which laws should be set. Jeremy philosophy of utilitarianism stated, “The greatest happiness principle” or “the principle of utility”. These statements were...
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...Jeremy Bentham was born on February 15, 1748 in Houndsditch, England. He is the son of a lawyer from London. Jeremy was a lover of reading and by the time that he was ten years old he had learned some other languages including Latin, Greek and French. Due to his intelligence, Jeremy was able to attend some of the greatest schools like Westminster, Queen’s College, and Lincoln’s Inn. By the age of eighteen, Jeremy had received his degree of a Master of Arts and at nineteen he was able to take the bar exam in Oxford. Jeremy died in1832 and is remembered as a political theorist, jurist, and a philosopher. Jeremy is widely known for the abolition of slavery, an advocate of animal rights and the founder of utilitarianism (a philosophy advocating the greatest happiness of the greatest number). Jeremy Bentham was a social activist and firmly believed in equal right not only for slaves but all people and sexes, he fought for woman’s rights way before times we can even remember and fought to end the death penalty, while later on giving his example and ideology of the prison system. Jeremy did not care much for practicing law and often considered formal education a form of hypocrisy. This led him to focus on his true passion of morals and utilitarianism. In 1789’s Jeremy Introduced the Principles of Morals and Legislation in which utilitarianism was born. He added to his theory a means that will measure the actions that institutions and individuals make. Jeremy has spent a lot of time...
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...BIOGRAPHY OF JOHN STUART MILL Born in Pentonville, a suburb of London, in 1806, John Stuart Mill was one of the leading philosophical radicals who aimed to further the utilitarian philosophy of Jeremy Bentham. At the age of three he began to learn Greek and by the time he was eight he was learning Latin. By the age of fourteen he had done extensive work in logic and mathematics mastering the basics of economic theory. His father James Mill aimed to make John Stuart Mill a leader in views of the philosophical radicals. At fifteen John Stuart Mill undertook the study of Bentham’s research on the theory of legal evidence. This undertaking influenced him making this his life-long goal of reforming the world in the interest of human well-being. At eighteen he spent much time and effort editing manuscripts. Guided by his father he threw himself into the work of the philosophical radicals beginning his career. In 1823 he began working with his father. He rose in the ranks quickly and eventually took his father’s position as Chief Examiner in the East Indian Company. In 1826 John Stuart Mill went through a deep depression. He felt as though his intellect had been educated his feelings had not. He began to read poetry and met Gustave d’Eichtahl in 1828 pulling him out of the depression. He was introduced to the works of Auguste Comte and Jon Sterling who were disciples of Coleridge. (Wilson 2007) Through these great thinkers Mill came to appreciate social and cultural...
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...ETHICS December 05, 2012 Capital punishment involves the deliberate killing of a supposed or actual offender for an offense. Is the death penalty morally justified? This is one of the most debated topics in todays Society and it seems that everyone have an opinion on this topic. The real issues at the heart of this matter are how do we answer the question of moral justification? Kant and Stuart Mill, from a philosophical point of view, place their prospective on this issue. Both the theories of Mills and that of Kant permit the death penalty to be a morally permissible punishment. They do this, however, according to very different reasoning. Kant believes that juridical punishment can never be administered merely as a means for promoting an other good but must, in all cases, be imposed only because the individual on whom it is inflicted has committed a crime. Kant was long considered to be an idealist of the retributivist theory of punishment. While he does claim that the only proper justification of punishment is guilt for a crime, he does not limit the usefulness of punishment to retributivist matters. Punishment can have, as its justification, only the guilt of the criminal. Criminals must pay for their crimes, otherwise an injustice has occurred. Retributivist theory holds not only that criminal guilt is required for punishment, but that the appropriate type and amount of punishment is also determined by the crime itself....
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...Douglas L. Kaye LS312: Ethics and the Legal Environment Unit 2 Prof. Craig July 16th, 2013 John Stuart Mill developed a systematic statement of utilitarian ethical theory, which is another ethical theory based on the consequences of actions. The application of this theory involves performing the action that produces the best results for the greatest number of people. Utilitarianism can be further reduced into two sub-categories, act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism. Followers of act utilitarianism think that in each ethical situation, an individual should perform the action that produces the best results for the majority of people. Rule utilitarianism requires people to construct and follow an established set of rules that should guarantee the best possible outcome for the majority of the people. Critics of both utilitarianism positions argue that it is extremely difficult to determine future consequences for other people. Another problem of utilitarianism is cost benefit analysis. Essentially, in the quest to please the majority, at what point do the minority’s interest become expendable? Assigning value to individuals in this manner, and using them as a means to an end may not always be considered moral behavior in some situations or circumstances (Kemerling, 2011). In the Palm Beach Post this week was a news article titled, "Royal Palm Beach woman charged with opening fake account, stealing $6,000 from bank" which was about a 50-year-old woman, Anna Papa...
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...Explain the issues of the claim to the right of a child. Some people see rights as gifts from god, as humans were made in God’s image, making humans sacred. Being sacred gives us rights. People hold this view, while others don’t. That argue that rights come from nature, simply because we hold more intrinsic value than other creatures. Other would even argue that rights come from the responsibilities and duties that we have towards others. Rights are then simply a result of being human; this has an impact on every part of society. This raises many issues in today’s society. The main question surrounding fertility treatment is “Is having a child by artificial means playing God?” Fertility treatment raises a few ethical issues, such as: “Who has the right to fertility treatment?” “When does life begin?” and “Do homosexual couples and single women have the right to fertility treatment?” People who follow the teachings of Christian ethics would say that life is a gift from God. This means that they would say tat nobody has the right to have a child if it involves having a child through artificial means by playing God. Christians believe in the sanctity of life. This means that all life holds intrinsic value and therefore life begins from contraception. This would mean that embryos cannot be used for fetal research, with uses such as IVF. And tr shouldn’t be disposed of if they are unwanted. Some Christians would argue that women have some rights as men, as far as being...
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...Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) Born February 15, 1748, Jeremy Bentham, was an English philosopher, economist and theoretical jurist, the earliest and chief expounder of utilitarianism. (Plamentaz, 2013) He was the first to produce a utilitarian justification for democracy with much to say about prison reform, religion, poor relief, international law and animal welfare. As a visionary well before his time he also advocated universal suffrage and the decimalization of homosexuality. (Plamentaz, 2013) At the early age of three Jeremy Bentham was a child prodigy, reading multi volumes on the history of England. The first school he attended was Westminster and from there went on to Queen’s college where he received his degree in 1763. He then studied law at Lincoln’s Inn. At Lincoln’s Inn he spent more time conducting chemical experiments than reading law book. Instead of practicing the law he decided to write about it; and he spent his life criticizing the existing law and suggesting ways for improvement. (Who was Jeremy Bentham?, 1999-2014) Mr. Bentham’s first, A Fragment on Government, appeared in 1776. (Plamentaz, 2013). His most important theoretical work is the Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (1789), in which most of his moral theory—which he said reflected “the greatest happiness principle” is described and developed. (Sweet) He targeted legal fictions. It was obvious when looking at his main criticisms of the law that his method was analytical...
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...Utilitarianism Utilitarianism was founded by Jeremy Bentham and was adopted by John Stuart Mill, whose father was an associate of Jeremy Bentham. Utilitarianism is an ethical theory holding that the proper course of action is the one that maximizes the overall happiness or pleasure for all the people involved, by whatever means necessary. The moral worth of an action is determined only by its resulting outcome; therefore utilitarianism is only concerned with consequences and not with intentions of an action. Both philosophers believed that a morally good action will bring the greatest pleasure or happiness, and an immoral action will be the one that produces more pain. Therefore, everything we do and ought to do is driven by the pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain. The difference between the two philosophers was that Bentham believed that only the quantity of pleasure matters, whereas Mills argues that the quality of the pleasure matters more. Both, Mill and Bentham had very similar view on Utilitarianism, but yet Mill’s was distinguished from Bentham’s. Bentham was more concerned with the amount of pleasure that is generated from an action. He did not consider that some pleasures are higher and some lower. Because of that he was able to quantify the amount of pleasure or pain according to a single set of criteria. On the other hand, Mill believed that the quality of the pleasure matters more and that all pleasures cannot be so simply quantified. The following...
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...transparency in government contracting and enforcement of regulations, greedy politicians extorting taxpayer money, and power of lobbyists on influencing government policy. Though these concepts were of no concern during Mill’s life, the fundamental theme of institutional power and constraints on societal development can be utilized to weave abstract thinking into realistic interpretations. Thus, the aim of this paper is to ascertain the extent to which Mill’s 19th century economic ideas can be applied to issues of political corruption in 21st century Australia and possible reform. The Economic Philosophy of John Stuart Mill J.S. Mill was born in 1806 in Pentonville, France. He was the eldest son of James Mill, who was a major constituent of Jeremy Bentham’s radical utilitarianism (Wilson, 2014). James Mill was a significant influence on J.S. Mill’s economic theory as he stringently oversaw his son’s education. Completely immersed into his studies and sheltered from the reality of the world, J.S. Mill’s utilitarian education greatly influenced his interest of societal welfare. However, Mill suffered from acute depression in his late twenties as he became...
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...moral choices, we have to have some understanding of what will result from our choices. When we make choices which result in the correct consequences, then we are acting morally; when we make choices which result in the incorrect consequences, then we are acting immorally. A deontological approach is the opposite to this because it focuses on the act itself. Utilitarianism is an example of a teleological theory because an action's morality is based on whether its consequence brings the Greatest Happiness. This Greatest Happiness Principle or the Principle of Utility, or the ‘The greatest happiness for the greatest number’ is the main principle of a number of ethical theories that fall under the umbrella of ‘Utilitarianism’. It was Jeremy Bentham who first developed these general principles into fully articulated theory. It was he who introduced the principle of utility to refer only to individual actions by individuals, its simple mesHe defined ‘Good’ in terms of pleasure or happiness — so an act is right or wrong according to the good or bad that results from the act and the good act is the most pleasurable. Therefore, if an abortion brought more happiness than sadness, under Bentham’s thinking it would be the right thing to dosage being that the more...
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...------------------------------------------------- Top of Form Grading Summary These are the automatically computed results of your exam. Grades for essay questions, and comments from your instructor, are in the "Details" section below. | Date Taken: | 1/30/2015 | Time Spent: | 3 h , 16 secs | Points Received: | 17 / 20 (85%) | Number of Attempts: | 1 | | Question Type: | # Of Questions: | # Correct: | Multiple Choice | 20 | 17 | | | Grade Details - All Questions | Question 1. | Question : | What is Peter Singer’s point about performing vivisection on mentally disabled human infants? | | | Student Answer: | x | That if we say that it would be wrong to perform experiments on such humans but not on non-humans then we are showing bias based upon species alone | | | | That a good speciesist would not perform experiments on any being | | | | That we should test upon mentally disabled human infants because the results would be more reliable than tests on animals | | | | That anyone who would consider testing on a human infant is a monster | | Instructor Explanation: | The answer can be found on p. 6 of Peter Singer’s “All Animals are Equal.” | | | | Points Received: | 1 of 1 | | Comments: | | | | Question 2. | Question : | Peter Singer’s “basic principles of equality” applied to animals means: | | | Student Answer: | | Animals should be given all the same rights as human beings....
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...Explain how a utilitarian might use the hedonic calculus in making moral decisions. Introduction Utilitarianism is an ethical theory, introduced by Bentham, in guiding people on how to make moral decisions, based on the outcome of your actions. Does the action that you are going to do, bring pleasure to the majority of people? This is the whole basis of utilitarianism. The hedonic calculus is a part of the decision making process in utilitarianism, it is a guide with 7 measures, which help the utilitarian make a moral decision. This essay will look at the ethical issue of death penalty and how a utilitarian will use the hedonic calculus in making a moral decision. 1st paragraph Death penalty * What is it? * Controversial debate * Talk about how modern society compensation, people want pay back for the loss * Many are in favour some aren’t believe life is valuable 2nd paragraph * A terrorist * Death penalty favourable great happiness * Looking at the hedonic calculus 7 measures how they fit in category? Benefit society how? * Summarise back to the question yes utilitarian then see its good moral decision say it’s good considering all views 3rd paragraph Counter argument * However, doesn’t look at the minority? * How can utilitarian use the hedonic calculus to make a decision? It doesn’t look what else can happen from the action u do. More death threats for the country etc. * Subjective * Summarise back to...
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...Utilitarianism John Stuart Mill’s ethical theory is known as Utilitarianism. Utilitarianism, according to Mill, is about judging the moral rightness/wrongness of an action by looking at if the outcomes produce the best balance of good over bad for all concerned. Mill develops his theory of Utilitarianism through five major tenets; the greatest happiness principle, the definition of happiness, the hierarchy of pleasures, and the impartial spectator. The foundation of Utilitarianism lays in Mill’s definition of happiness and the Greatest Happiness Principle. Mill defines happiness as the promotion of pleasure and the avoidance of pain. After defining happiness, Mill provides what he calls the “creed” of the foundation of Utilitarianism, the Greatest Happiness Principle. The Greatest Happiness Principle holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. The Greatest Happiness Principle uses an utilitarian standard; for that standard is not the agent’s own greatest happiness, but the greatest amount of happiness altogether; and if it may possibly be doubted whether a noble character is always the happier for its nobleness, there can be no doubt that it makes other people happier, and that the world in general is immensely a gainer by it (Mill 516). Mill states that humans are able to experience a higher level of pleasure than animals in the statement: “To suppose that life has (as they express...
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...be terrible and horrendous. When the first redevelopment plan was introduced, the Pleasant Ridge community opposed it. Yet, the city councilmen continued to overlook the opposition by striving to pass the redevelopment program. Also, Mills believed that if a persons’ rights are violated than the act or actions could be considered unjust (Shaw 50). The mayor of Charlestown used shadowy tactics such as citations to persuade people to leave their homes. However, these tactics did not violate people’s rights to stay in their homes, thus they can be considered just. Mills considered that rights are valid only if society validates them. Society has created laws and rules that tell people what they can and cannot do Even though both Mills and Bentham have opposing views about pleasures, they believe that pleasure is the ultimate determinant of true happiness. Furthermore, they believed that happiness is directly related to a community’s well- being as well as the well-being of each individual member in the community (Shaw 50). The city councilmen truly believed they were doing best for everyone. The program will bring about positive changes such as boosting the economy and creating a better living environment. The homes in Pleasant Ridge were not meant to be long-lasting residences. They were meant for army soldiers in World War 2 whom worked at a local ammunition plant in Charlestown. However, most of the homes been there for more than seventy years (Davey)! It was obvious that the...
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...Jeremy Bentham is one of the foremost characters in the reform of corrections and rehabilitation of prisoners. He designed the famous panopticon style prison consisting of several cell blocks interconnected by a main administrative block. His design never really caught on in Europe, several prototype prisons were built, but only in America were any panopticon like prisons built. He was an advocate for prisoners’ rights, their education and health. Bentham defined the term “utilitarianism” meaning that everything should try to get “the greatest happiness of the greatest number”. He brought about change in British law trying to composing more humane, and compassionate prison laws. His views, though compassionate, often dealt with criminals as...
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