The Theory of Utilitarianism - Essay Example

The founder of the theory of utilitarianism was Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832). Bentham saw the mechanism, which is the engine of human acts, in the human psyche, namely human feelings of pain and pleasure. “He famously held that humans were ruled by two sovereign masters — pleasure and pain.” (Driver, 2009). The usefulness of human actions gives a sense of satisfaction, identical to the concept of happiness. Usefulness is able to bring prosperity, profit, pleasure, goodness, and happiness (Driver, 2009). His successor, John Stuart Mill paid special attention to the justification of utilitarianism as an ethical theory (Beauchamp, 2013). According to Mill, ethical judgments should be based on the criterion of the usefulness of human acts. A person can determine whether his/her action is good or evil based on its usefulness. However, the utility is seen not primarily as an individual utility, but as a public utility.
Utilitarianism takes into account the fact that the act can be considered ethically justified if it promotes happiness or benefit for a large number of people. It is seen as “the ‘greatest happiness principle” (Beauchamp, 2013). Read More