Brief History

Jeremy Bentham, the founder of the Utilitarian Philosophy, was inspired with the works
of Hobbes' account of human nature and Hume's account of social utility. From those he
learned the concept between pain and pleasure being the only innate sensations that bounds a
person in in his acts has long been affecting the decision making process. From this, Jeremy
Bentham formulated his principle on Utilitarianism based on utilities or happiness derived from
the choices. The principle seeks to gather the most utilities for the greatest amount of people
but soon after realizing that there are conflicts regarding the happiness whether it is based on
quality or quantity and whether it is derived from the consequences of the act itself or from
adhering to regulations and policies, Jeremy Bentham reduced it simply to the principle that
assesses and selects choice with the most utilities only.

James Mill, a philosopher who agrees supports the ideologies and principles of
Bentham, had a son, John Stuart Mill, who was educated and molded after the ideologies of
Bentham. John published his book, Utilitarianism, and in it he argued that decisions based on
pleasures of the spirit and intellect are far more favorable as they are of higher value than
physical pleasures. And to be able to judge decisions competently, one must be experienced in
both the higher and lower forms of pleasure. Mill believed that it is ‘“better to be a human being
dissatisfied than a pig satisfied”; means a pig may obtain happiness from eating and frolicking in
the mud but a human is capable as well but the latter could also appreciate higher forms of
pleasure whilst the former cannot. Basing from their principles, Bentham and Mill are both
considered hedonists mostly because their ideologies revolve around pursuing happiness.
Bentham and Mill’s principle is known today as classic utilitarianism and had been used
by other philosophers as inspiration in developing other concepts of consequentialism and it
branched out to more concepts following the idea that happiness itself does not revolve
between the dichotomy of pain and pleasure.

Mill, John Stuart. 'On Liberty' , ed. Himmelfarb. Penguin Classics, 1974, Ed.'s
introduction, p.11.
Mill, John Stuart. 'On Liberty' , ed. Himmelfarb. Penguin Classics, 1974, 'Introductory' of
main text, p.68.
Waldron, Jeremy. 'Rights' in A Companion to Contemporary Political Philosophy, ed.
Goodin, Robert E. and Pettit, Philip. Blackwell Publishing, 1995, p.581.
A Brief History of Utilitarianism. (2017, October 11). Retrieved from
https://gohighbrow.com/a-brief-history-of-
utilitarianism/?fbclid=IwAR1mGElXARulU9pgn3oWTYYefIK54e7Z3rZRwRIZbKUMW1-
GCNYt7ywrQ1Q
Driver, J. (2014, September 22). The History of Utilitarianism. Retrieved from
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/utilitarianism-history/

Explanation

Utilitarianism is a philosophical school of thought based on principles of

consequentialism that defines right and wrong through its consequences. This philosophy
revolves around the concept of happiness since its founder, Jeremy Bentham, sees happiness
as a pillar to the person’s experience and as a morality not based on religion as it is
experienced directly. Whether an act is ethical or not, Utilitarianism judges the act by the
happiness brought or caused by its consequences.

Rule Utilitarianism is a branch of Utilitarianism that is based on a general framework of

rules to be followed in order to maximize overall happiness. The morality is based on rules and
the judgement for actions as right or wrong is based on whether it adhered to the rules. These
rules seek to give the greatest happiness since they are based on the totality of goodness of
everyone or the ‘big picture’ rather than focusing on individual acts as opposed to Act
Utilitarianism. Rules are imposed with the implication that they bring good consequences when
followed as they act as generalized guidelines to be done as quick moral decisions rather than
to do acts based on personal judgement.

A Brief History of Utilitarianism. (2017, October 11). Retrieved from

https://gohighbrow.com/a-brief-history-of-
utilitarianism/?fbclid=IwAR1mGElXARulU9pgn3oWTYYefIK54e7Z3rZRwRIZbKUMW1-
GCNYt7ywrQ1Q

Lacewing, M. (n.d.). Rule Utilitarianism. Retrieved May 12, 2019, from

http://documents.routledge-
interactive.s3.amazonaws.com/9781138793934/A22014/ethical_theories/Rule
utilitarianism.pdf

Jeremy Bentham James Mill