In an Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation Jeremy Bentham puts forward his principle of ethics. Bentham Believes that mankind is governed by pain and pleasure and views his principle of utility as the superior moral principle and puts forward alternatives to his principle, one that is opposed to utility for the sake of being opposed to utility and another which is opposed for another reason, in Bentham’s view inferior to the principle of utility never the less Bentham manages to critique and put forward his objections at the same time highlighting the benefits of utilitarianism.
Utilitarianism, a philosophy put forward by Jeremy Bentham in the late 18th century, in hopes to simplify British law, …show more content…
In other words, any opposition to utility is merely a misunderstanding of the principle. Bentham puts forward two option in in the case of rejecting the principle of utility. Rejecting the principle all together with no alternative principles or rejecting it with some other principle. Rejecting with no other principle leads to anarchy and further chaos. The other option is using some other principle, if that is the case than we will have caprice. Approval and disapproval as a principle. if member of society is granted this principle than that would mean there are as many rights and wrongs as men this has the consequence of endless views of morally and would lead to chaos and anarchy. On the other hand, if only certain members are granted this principle then that would lead to …show more content…
Unlike utility, the principle of asceticism approves of any action that diminishes happiness. Asceticism can be divided by two kinds the psychological(moralists) and the religious. The former holds the more moderate view in which they don’t view pain as necessarily bad. This theory was reached with evidence that some pleasures such as sexual pleasures and physical pleasures produce pain, as a result they condemned pleasure all together. The latter is the somewhat more radical view that not only views pain as “not necessarily bad”, the religious go even further by claiming that pain is actually good. this view cultivates pain. Bentham used Buddhist monks as an example, harming one’s self for the sake of pleasing a god in hopes of reward. Although this seeks pain it does view does not completely give up on the principle of utility it merely postpones it to a next life.
The objection Bentham has to the religious asceticism view is that, for one, we are proponing our pleasure for another life that cannot be verified without a doubt. This only further complicates things. The other problem with this view is, in way, a defense of a just god. no deity of infinite benevolent would wish self-harm on its