The document discusses Jeremy Bentham's utilitarian philosophy and approach to political obligation. Some key points:
- Bentham proposed that the goal of government should be to maximize happiness or pleasure and minimize pain for the greatest number of people. He called this the principle of "the greatest good for the greatest number."
- Bentham believed pain and pleasure could be quantitatively measured and calculated to determine the moral rightness of actions. He developed a "felicific calculus" to perform these calculations.
- According to Bentham, people obey laws because the potential pain of disobedience outweighs the potential pleasure, ensuring obedience maximizes overall happiness.
- Bentham
In economics, the theory of the second best concerns the situation when one or more optimality conditions cannot be satisfied.
The economists Richard Lipsey and Kelvin Lancaster showed in 1956, that if one optimality condition in an economic model cannot be satisfied, it is possible that the next-best solution involves changing other variables away from the values that would otherwise be optimal.
Politically, the theory implies that if it is infeasible to remove a particular market distortion, introducing a second (or more) market distortion may partially counteract the first, and lead to a more efficient outcome.
In economics, the theory of the second best concerns the situation when one or more optimality conditions cannot be satisfied.
The economists Richard Lipsey and Kelvin Lancaster showed in 1956, that if one optimality condition in an economic model cannot be satisfied, it is possible that the next-best solution involves changing other variables away from the values that would otherwise be optimal.
Politically, the theory implies that if it is infeasible to remove a particular market distortion, introducing a second (or more) market distortion may partially counteract the first, and lead to a more efficient outcome.
The Patriot Act The primary function of the USA Patriot Act is sta.docxarnoldmeredith47041
The Patriot Act The primary function of the USA Patriot Act is stated in its full title: "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism." To this end, it has expanded "law enforcement investigatory tools," including surveillance of individuals.
Those in support of the Act often argue that the loss of privacy brought about by the collection of information on individuals that the Act allows is far preferable to even one terrorist attack on US soil. It is what best promotes the general welfare or well-being of the population affected by the Act. Do you agree?
For your convenience, here are some links where you can find additional information on the Patriot Act:
FinCEN USA PATRIOT Act
National security versus individual freedom: Surveillance and the Patriot Act
The Patriot Act and Consequences
For both those who argue in favor of the Patriot Act and those against it, a key matter is: What are the consequences of implementing the policy? Does this Act lead to better outcomes than alternative policies? If so, it is the right policy. If not, it is the wrong policy. That is a moral evaluation. It is dependent on the assessment of outcomes or consequences. Thinking about the rightness of actions in terms of the desirability or undesirability of their consequences for those whose lives are affected is characteristic of utilitarianism.
Many of you are familiar with the phrases “outcomes assessment” and “process and outcomes assessment.” They or their synonyms are used broadly today in education, business, government, engineering, health care, and the military, to name just a few areas. Whenever you hear of measurement of outcomes, you know that an issue is being approached in terms of the theory of utility, an extraordinarily influential theory of ethics. The point of the interaction section below is to bring to your attention important elements in how the two most significant proponents of the theory, Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, framed the theory and how it could be useful for case discussion.
Utilitarianism and Social Progress
We begin, with this module, our examination of the major approaches to ethical reflection, approaches that you will be expected to apply to cases. The module contents focus on providing you with commentary that is based on primary sources; that is, on the writings of the thinkers who articulated and developed the various moral theories we apply in cases. This is intended to complement the textbook presentation of major approaches to ethical reflection.
Welfare, well-being, the good, benefit, happiness are all going to be treated as near synonyms. They are what utility is. In line with 18th-century Enlightenment thinking, the utilitarians believed in the power of reason to overcome the dead weight of customs and prejudices. Their goal was not disruption for its own sake, but the improvement of the lot of humanity. Jeremy Bentham was a utilitarian wh.
Define Utilitarianism and tell me about Jeremy Bentham. Does the Un.docxvickeryr87
Define Utilitarianism and tell me about Jeremy Bentham. Does the United States military endorse this view of Ethical thinking? What are your feelings on the "Greater Good for Most" theory, do you agree with this theory? around 200-300 words.
Discussion
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Check it below for reference.
UTILITARIANISM
Utilitarianism
is the moral doctrine that we should always act to produce the greatest possible balance of good over bad for everyone affected by our actions. By “good,” utilitarians understand happiness or pleasure. Thus, the greatest happiness of all constitutes the standard that determines whether an action is right or wrong. Although the basic theme of utilitarianism is present in the writings of many earlier thinkers, Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) and John Stuart Mill (1806–1873) were the first to develop the theory explicitly and in detail. Both Bentham and Mill were philosophers with a strong interest in legal and social reform. They used the utilitarian standard to evaluate and criticize the social and political institutions of their day—for example, the prison system and the disenfranchisement of women. As a result, utilitarianism has long been associated with social improvement.
Utilitarianism tells us to bring about the most happiness for everyone affected by our actions.
Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill were important early utilitarians.
Bentham viewed a community as no more than the individual persons that it comprises. The interests of the community are simply the sum of the interests of its members. An action promotes the interests of an individual when it adds to the individual’s pleasure or diminishes the person’s pain. Correspondingly, an action augments the happiness of a community only insofar as it increases the total amount of individual happiness. This is what Bentham had in mind when he argued for the utilitarian principle that actions are right if they promote the greatest human welfare, wrong if they do not.
For Bentham, pleasure and pain are merely types of sensations. He offered a “hedonic calculus” of six criteria for evaluating pleasure and pain exclusively by their quantitative differences—in particular, by their intensity and duration. This calculus, he believed, makes possible an objective determination of the morality of anyone’s conduct, individual or collective, on any occasion.
Bentham rejected any distinctions based on the type of pleasure except insofar as they might indicate differences in quantity. Thus, if equal amounts of pleasure are involved, throwing darts is as good as writing poetry and baking a cake as good as composing a symphony; watching Shakespeare’s
Hamlet
has no more value than watching
Jersey Shore.
Although he himself was an intelligent, cultivated man, Bentham maintained that there is nothing intrinsically better about refined and intellectual pleasures than about crude or prosaic ones. The only issue is which yields the greater amount of enjoyment.
John Stuart Mi.
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Dear Dr. Kornbluth and Mr. Gorenberg,
The US House of Representatives is deeply concerned by ongoing and pervasive acts of antisemitic
harassment and intimidation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Failing to act decisively to ensure a safe learning environment for all students would be a grave dereliction of your responsibilities as President of MIT and Chair of the MIT Corporation.
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• The Committee on Education and the Workforce has been investigating your institution since December 7, 2023. The Committee has broad jurisdiction over postsecondary education, including its compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, campus safety concerns over disruptions to the learning environment, and the awarding of federal student aid under the Higher Education Act.
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Prepare a presentation or a paper using research, basic comparative analysis, data organization and application of economic information. You will make an informed assessment of an economic climate outside of the United States to accomplish an entertainment industry objective.
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2. • Utilitarianism is a moral and ethical philosophy in political theory. Though
the traces can be finding even in ancient Greek philosophy it was
popularized because of contributions made by Jeremy Bentham and J.S.Mill.
• This concept has played an important role in the first half of the
Nineteenth century.
Utilitarianism is a theory mainly based on the principle greatest happiness
to the greatest member
3. • Utilitarianism became a core principle for all most all Nations in their political,
economic, social functioning today.
• Though Bentham and J.S.Mill are the strong supporters of Utilitarian concept there
are some differences between their approaches.
• Bentham strongly said that men's life always lies between two different masters like
Pain and Pleasure.
• Moreover Bentham said that pain and pleasure can be measured through
arithmetical method and there is a possibility for quantitative difference between
pain and pleasure.
4. • J.S.Mill is the strong supporter of the utilitarianism and individualism. Mill in
his explanation he pawed a mid-way between utilitarianism and individualism
on modern bases. Mill explained that the difference between pain and
pleasure can be measured through quality measures.
• Utilitarianism is an English philosophy. It is a theory of morality.
• It is a tradition of ethical philosophy. It advocates actions that foster
happiness or pleasure and opposes actions that cause unhappiness or harm,
when directed toward making social, economic, or political decisions
5. • Utilitarianism considers the interests of all humans equally. Though Utilitarianism is
one of the most powerful and persuasive approaches to normative ethics in the
history of philosophy. But this concept was not articulated until the 19th Century.
• Utilitarianism means the doctrine, expounded by Jeremy Bentham, that the moral
and political rightness of an action is determined by its utility, defined as its
contribution to the greatest good of the greatest number.
• Utilitarian approach to political obligation means the habitual obedience of the
people to the laws of the State because of its utility to promote the general
happiness of the greatest number of people.
6. • Objectives of the State according to Utilitarianism
In the utilitarian State, political obligation depends upon the objectives of
the State. When the State sought to promote general welfare of the people,
the people are obliged to obey the laws made by the State.
The State exists for the individual. But the individual does not exist for
the State.
Therefore, the State cannot absorb the individual. That means it is not purely
supports individualism and idealism.
7. • The main object of the utilitarianism is enlightened benevolence.
• Enlightened Benevolence
Everyone seeks pleasure and avoids pain.
• Utilitarianism has an ethical appeal.
• Utilitarian approach to political obligation does not separate individual from the
society.
• It blends the individual happiness with the happiness of others. This is called the
philosophy of enlightened benevolence
8. • Bentham made his explanations in his famous work Fragmentation of Government and
Introduction to the principles of moral and legislation. He said that the true end of the
State was to promote the greatest happiness of the greatest number. In his theory the
following issues are the most important. They are:
• Mankind placed between two sovereign masters
According to Bentham, Nature itself has placed mankind under the governance of two
sovereign masters, namely Pain and Pleasure. So, he said that it is the duty of the State or the
State is necessary to the individual to maximize his pleasure and minimize his pain. More
over according to him utility is the property in any object whereby it tends to produce
benefit, advantage, pleasure, good, happiness or to prevent happening of mischief, pain, evil
or unhappiness
9. • Sanction
According to Utilitarianism the business of the government is to promote the happiness of
the society. If there is any disturbance the State has every power to punish the culprits.
Bentham distinguished four sanctions like physical/natural, religious, moral and political.
• The Physical or Natural Sanction comprises the pains and pleasures which we may experience or
expect, in the ordinary course of nature, not purposely modified by any human interposition
• The Moral Sanction comprises such pains and pleasures as we experience or expect at the
hands of our fellows, prompted by the feeling of hatred or good will, or contempt or
regard; in a word, according to the spontaneous disposition of each individual. The sanction
may also be styled popular; the sanction of public opinion or of honour, or the sanction of
the pains and pleasures of sympathy
10. • The Political Sanction comprises such pains and pleasures as may experience or expect,
at the hands of the magistracy, acting under law. This might, with equal propriety, be
termed the legal sanction.
• The Religious Sanction comprises such pains and pleasure as we may experience or
expect, in virtue of the forebodings and promises of religion.
Here, Bentham said that men obey the laws of the State because the probable
mischief of obedience is less than the probable mischief of disobedience.
11. • Pain and Pleasure could be calculated on Felicific Calculus
According to Bentham there are two kinds of pleasures and pains are there. They
are:
• Simple pleasures or those which cannot be resolved into other (as the pleasures of senses,
wealth, skill, amity, good name, power, piety, benevolence, malevolence, memory,
imagination, expectation, assistance and relief etc.) and
• Complex pleasures are those which can be resolved into various simple ones.
•
Simple pains are privation, awkwardness, enmity, ill-repute, benevolence,
malevolence, memory, imagination, expectation and association.
Complex pains are those which can be resolve into simple ones
12. • According to Bentham, pleasure or pain could be arithmetically calculated by taking into
account seven factors, namely:
• Intensity (more or less efficaciousness)
• Duration (longer or shorter life)
• Certainty (consideration of definiteness or indefiniteness)
• Propinquity (consideration of nearness or remoteness of time)
• Purity (accompaniment of all pleasure or pain)
• Fecundity (capacity of being productive or barren) and
• Extensiveness (the number of persons fallen under influence)
13. • Utilitarianism rejects Natural rights and Social Contract theory
• Bentham utilitarianism rejected the dogma of natural rights. He regarded the
natural rights as ‘rhetorical nonsense upon stilt'. Rights are created not by
nature, but by law (men made law). Need not the contract, is the basis of
state. People obey law because it aims at four ends, viz., security, substance,
abundance and equality. Government exists because they promote happiness
of the people, but not because of any social contract
14. • The greatest good of the greatest number
• This is the most important formula of Bentham Utilitarianism. It is the central idea
of this theory. Each government is obliged to adopt such policies which could give
the greatest good of the greatest number. A government which works for the good
of a few numbers is not at all a good government. It is tyranny and unjustifiable
government. Thus the principle of ‘the greatest good of the greatest number' is
benevolent and universalistic shape.
15. • Bentham regarded State as law-making agency. According to him, the State is a
group of persons organized for the promotion and maintenance of happiness; but
for this end, it acts through law. By means of law, the State rewards or punishes so
that the happiness is increased and the pain decreased.
According to him, the law should take cognizance of bad actions and inflict
punishment on the people so that the net balance of pleasure is increased and that
of pain decreased. Mere morality is not sufficient and unless law comes into
operation, bad things cannot be out of place. Only law being the command of the
sovereign can secure habitual obedience of the people.