Bentham Utilitarianism, Meaning, Theory, Greatest Happiness Principle, UPSC Notes!

Utilitarianism, as proposed by Jeremy Bentham, is a moral philosophy that evaluates actions based on their consequences, advocating behaviors that maximize happiness or pleasure and discourage actions that cause pain or unhappiness. Known as classical or hedonistic utilitarianism, Bentham’s approach centers on the principle of utility, which states that the right action is the one that produces the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. He emphasized that morality and law should focus on reducing suffering and increasing pleasure, applying this framework to social, economic, and political decision-making.

In this article, we explore the theory of Utilitarianism, a key concept in philosophy and ethics. It is an important topic for the UPSC IAS exam, as several questions on moral philosophy and ethical theories appear in the papers each year.

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What is Utilitarianism?

The larger family of ethical theories known as "consequentialism" includes Utilitarianism. It holds that the results of an action determine whether it is right or incorrect. A social reform movement and ethical philosophy known as Utilitarianism advocated that actions should only be evaluated in light of their outcomes. Thus, it was less of an ethical theory in the traditional sense and more of a political theory.

What are some of the Examples of Utilitarianism?

• Healthcare Decisions: During a health crisis, a hospital may use ventilators for patients who have the best chance of survival to save the most lives. This follows utilitarian ideas by maximizing overall happiness.
• Vaccination Programs: Governments vaccinate large populations to protect public health. Even if a few people have side effects, the action benefits the majority, increasing overall wellbeing.
• Environmental Laws: Laws that limit factory pollution might hurt some businesses but help the whole community breathe cleaner air and live healthier lives. This trade-off benefits the majority.
• Education Funding: The government invests more in public schools so many children can get education. Although other areas might get less money, helping more learners brings more happiness.
• Traffic Rules: Speed limits slow down drivers a little but reduce accidents and save lives. This helps most people stay safe, reflecting utilitarian thinking.
• Taxation for Welfare: Raising taxes funds social security programs for the poor. While taxpayers may have less money, the overall society benefits from reduced poverty and better support.
• Organ Donation Policies: Making organ donation automatic (unless opted out) saves more lives. This policy increases the total happiness by benefiting more patients.

Who was Jeremy Bentham?

Jeremy Bentham was an influential British philosopher, social reformer, and founder of modern utilitarianism. He is best known for his work on ethics, law, and political theory. Bentham’s ideas emphasized rational assessment of actions based on their consequences for human happiness, and he played a key role in advocating democratic rights, legal reforms, and the scientific approach to governance.

In essence, Utilitarianism is a British school of political thought. A group of writers, politicians, administrators, and social reformers made up this organisation. James Mill, John Stuart Mill, and Jeremy Bentham are the three most well-known members of the group. Their main theoretical focus was developing a set of political regulations that would result in a science of politics. In actuality, they emphasised the dire need for social and legal reform. It also supports the development of effective political institutions. Their impact, in general, attracted a significant amount of public support. It was appropriate for John Stuart Mill to praise Bentham as the founder of British innovation. Bentham was also seen as an outstanding critical thinker.

Bentham advocated for democratic reforms such as universal suffrage, Parliaments, and secret ballots. He also supported reforms of social and legal structures. He was the creator of a group known as the Philosophical Radicals. They rejected Burke's condemnation of the French Revolution. They promoted the idea that social structures should be evaluated according to the maxim of the greatest happiness of the greatest number. Any social custom that did not contribute to this happiness should be changed.

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What is the Jeremy Bentham Theory of Utilitarianism?

Bentham believed Utilitarianism was a descriptive and normative philosophy. It characterised and promoted human behaviour that maximises pleasure and minimises misery. According to the utility principle, the motivation behind all human conduct is the desire for pleasure. It is also known as the maximum happiness principle or the felicity principle.

• The joy of sense, riches, skill, power, benevolence, and malice was among the fourteen categories of simple pleasures Bentham enumerated in The Principle. There are twelve types of pain that people try to avoid, such as aches of the senses or a bad reputation. Reducing pain also implies increasing pleasure. 
• Individuals not only engage in this way, but they also label the actions that make them feel good or unpleasant using evaluative adjectives like good and negative. Now, this is a job that dates back to Hobbes. Bentham's assertion that Utilitarianism is a moral theory is novel, as is his support for such conduct. What makes us happy is good; what makes us unhappy is bad and should be avoided. Individuals can only advance human welfare if they enhance pleasure and avoid pain. 
• Bentham argues that Utilitarianism does not advocate pursuing one's own pleasure in response to the accusation that it is actually a theory of selfish psychological hedonism rather than a doctrine of morality. 
• The circle of people an action will affect depends on its circumstances. Thus, Utilitarianism is a moral theory because the individual is required to consider the happiness of people other than himself, while the government is concerned with the welfare of all of its citizens. 
• According to Bentham, human pleasure is based on the contributions that men make to one another. By establishing a set of rights and obligations, the government may guarantee these services.
• This is how Bentham made the shift from his Utilitarianism to his political philosophy: government is required to compel people to provide services to one another in order to maximise their pleasure. 

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Bentham’s moral philosophy centers around the Greatest Happiness Principle, which states that the rightness or wrongness of an action is determined by its tendency to produce pleasure or avoid pain—not just for the individual, but for the greatest number of people. According to Bentham, "nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure," and legislation should be crafted to maximize overall happiness.

Psychological and Ethical Hedonism

Bentham distinguished between two kinds of hedonism:

• Psychological Hedonism: This theory holds that all human actions are motivated by the desire to obtain pleasure and avoid pain.
• Ethical Hedonism: It claims that pleasure is the only intrinsic good, and actions are morally right if they tend to produce pleasure or minimize pain. Using his “hedonic calculus,” Bentham proposed measuring the intensity, duration, certainty, and extent of pleasure and pain to guide ethical judgment.

Bentham’s Legal Philosophy

Bentham’s legal thought emphasizes consequences and utility in lawmaking. He argued for clear, codified laws created by the sovereign government, rejecting the ambiguity of natural law. Bentham’s theory of punishment stressed that penalties should be proportionate to the harm caused by offences and sufficient to deter future wrongdoing. He championed legal positivism, the idea that laws should reflect the real interests of society, and advocated for reforms that increase the happiness of the greatest number.

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Some of the key drawbacks of utilitarianism include:

• It makes no allowance for undesirable repercussions.
• Utilitarian philosophy considers actions to be good or harmful based solely on the agent's perspective.
• A person's happiness is frequently achieved at the expense of someone else's happiness; e.g., getting a job means others were declined.
• It's subjective and simplistic; the line between good and bad is unclear.
• Judging every action’s consequences is time-consuming and often impractical.
• Predictions about outcomes may fail, especially during emergencies.

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Conclusion

Bentham supported equity. Since each adult is the best judge of his or her own interests, everyone's preferences should be treated equally. Any government's aim should be to maximise the happiness of the greatest number of its constituents.

Beginning with predetermined preferences, the government may calculate the universal interest by putting all people's pleasures and suffering on an equal footing. Unfortunately, the problem for Bentham's detractors is that, in their view of the world, a large laissez-faire economy combined with new forms of social control and power seems to lead to the great happiness of the greatest number. 

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