Benthams Utilitarianism in Victorian England :: European Europe History

Benthams Utilitarianism in Victorian England The school of thought of Utilitarianism influenced many of the mixer crystallizes in Great Britain during the early half of the nineteenth century. The name around frequently associated with Utilitarianism is that of Jeremy Bentham. Benthams philosophical principles extended into the realm of government. These principles have been associated with sev sequencel reform acts entered into English law such as the Factory Act of 1833, the unforesightful Law Amendment Act of 1834, the Prison Act of 1835, the Municipal Corporations Act of 1835, the delegation on Education in 1839,the Lunacy Act of 1845, and the Public health Act of 1845. In terms of their effect on Victorian era reform Benthams two most influential works appear to be An opening to the Principles of Morals and ordinance (1789) and Constitutional Code (1830-1841). Utilitarianism as a philosophy was also known as Benthamism or Philosophical Radicalism. Opponents to functiona l thought included Thomas Carlyle, John Ruskin, and Charles Dickens. Benthams basic premise to his philosophy arsehole be found in An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, disquiet and pleasure. It is for them alone to point out what we ought to do as wholesome as to determine what we shall do (225) 1. Along with this idea of pleasure and pain as sovereign masters Bentham introduced what he called the principle of utility. This principle can be summarized as the principle that every action should be judged skillful or wrong according to how far it tends to promote or impairment the happiness of the community (29),2 Bentham believed that human behavior was motivated by the impulse to obtain some pleasure and to avoid some pain. In Introduction to the Principles he states that it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of cover and wrong (229) 1. These prin ciples were intended by Bentham to be a precept communicate to the legislators, to those responsible for the management of society (27)2. Bentham hoped to affect some social modify rather than to merely influence intellectual beliefs. He even went so far as to suggest that legislators should regulate the ways in which individuals want their own happiness. The idea of punishment and reward were to be the means by which the legislator could control the peoples pursuit of happiness. Rewards were regarded as a less important system than punishments.