2nd Semester Political Science Major

Assignment
Submitted By- Suraj Shekhawat
Submitted to – Dr Gurjeet Kaur
Roll Number – 2001113
Section – A
Title – Theory of Morals and Legislation by Jeremy
Bentham

Introduction
Jeremy Bentham, a legal scholar and political reformer, is a philosopher with the closest name to the
foundational era of the modern utilitarian tradition. Early moralists published some important ideas and
distinctive terms in utilitarian philosophy, especially John Gay, Francis Hutchison, David Hume, Claude Adrian
Helvetimas, and Cesare Beccaria. It was Bentham who made it by recognizing it in a secular and systematic
way. It is an important tool for moral, legal, philosophical, political and social improvement. In 1776 he first
announced to the world his position as a supporter of utility as a guiding principle of action and law in the A
Fragment on Government. In An Introduction to Principles of Morals and Legislation (printed in 1780,
published in 1789), he detailed the basic elements of classical utilitarian theory as a preliminary step in
developing criminal law theory. Criminal law was the first of the Covenant Bars to constitute utilitarian sin, a
complete legal system based on the principles of utility, and its development made Bentham participate in
lifelong work, civil, procedural, and constitutional. .. As a by-product, in the niche between the subcodes of
this vast legislative body, Bentham's copyrights spanned ethics, ontology, logic, political economy, judicial
administration, criminal law, prison reform, international law, education, and religious beliefs and institutions.
Democracy Theory, Government and Administration. In all these fields, he continued to make great
contributions to utilitarianism, especially in discussions of moral, legal, economic and political forms. On top
of this hangs Bentham's reputation as one of the great thinkers of modern philosophy.

Jeremy Bentham's 'Introduction to the Principles of Morality and Legislation' (1789) talks about an ethical
theory that an action is right as long as it produces pleasure or averts pain, and civil or criminal law is the
amount of joy or happiness a society can enjoy is to maximize Bentham argued that if utility is defined as the
ability to produce happiness, then the legitimacy of an action is determined by its utility. Bentham also argues
that the principle of utility is the only correct principle of human behaviour if happiness is to be considered
only intrinsically good.

Doctrine of Psychological Hedonism

Bentham upholds the doctrine of psychological hedonism, that all human actions are motivated by the desire
to enjoy pleasure or to prevent pain, that the pleasure of pleasure or the avoidance of pain is the only rational
end of human action. He also advocates the doctrine of ethical hedonism, that the authenticity of an action is
determined by whether the action tends to promote happiness or unhappiness. If an action conforms to the
principle of utility (i.e., if the action tends to promote happiness or prevent unhappiness), then the action is
morally correct or at least not morally wrong. If an action does not comply with the principle of utility (i.e., if
the action tends to hinder happiness or promote unhappiness), the action is morally wrong, or at least morally
wrong.

Utility principle
Bentham argues that the utility principle is the only sufficient basis for determining whether an action is
morally right. The principles of sympathy and antipathy (i.e., instinctive sense of acceptance of the expected
consequences of an action) are not sufficient grounds for judging the moral authenticity of an action.
According to Bentham, the principles of compassion and antipathy are simply dispositioning that approve or
disapprove behaviour1, and there are no positive principles of moral behaviour. Bentham argues that the
principle of utility is the morally correct principle of conduct in all situations. He explains the principle of
maximum happiness in that the principle of utility is the only morally correct and appropriate goal of action,
in that it achieves the maximum happiness of all individuals whose interests are affected by that action. It
states that it can be done. Bentham rejects the notion that the law of the opposite sex is a sufficient principle
of morality. For Bentham, concepts like common sense, the law of correctness, the law of the opposite sex,
the law of nature are only theoretical sabyonjok principles and do not actually apply to all moral situations.

1
Jeremy Bentham (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). (2019, January 28). Stanford

Encyclopedia of Philosophy. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/bentham/

Joyful calculation
Bentham describes a quantitative method (or joyful calculation) that can calculate the moral good and evil of
an act according to the amount of joy and pain generated by the act. Bentham explains that the amount of
joy and pain can vary depending on the intensity, persistence, certainty or uncertainty, proximity,
polyacidity, and purity of joy and pain. Prolific joy and pain can be determined by the potential for the same
kind of joy and pain behind joy and pain. The purity of joy or pain can be determined by the possibility that
the opposite type of joy or pain will not follow after joy or pain.

Behavioural Motivation
Bentham also provides a classification of behavioural motivations. But many parts of his claim to the theory
that synchronization is morally neutral dislikes not only in the wrong direction, but also morally. For example,
he argues that there is no difference between the goal of telling the truth and trying to avoid punishment and
the goal of telling a lie to avoid punishment. Because in both cases it is to avoid punishment. He argues that
there is no difference between the purpose of protecting oneself from the danger of helping others and the
purpose of protecting oneself from the danger of not helping others. He argues that there is no difference
between the purpose of being kind to the person and gaining the favor of the person and the purpose of being
cruel to the enemy of the person and gaining the favor of the person. To get the favor of others.

According to Bentham, joy is inherently good and pain is inherently evil. Motives that an individual may have
in their actions are good or evil only if they result in good or evil. Motives can be inherently good or evil, and
the results can vary depending on each situation and each person's susceptibility to joy and pain. Bentham
seeks to justify the oppression of women by men by arguing that women may be sensitive to small pleasures
and pains, and thus may have low 'hardness of mind' in women, acting on the principles of sympathy and
antipathy, and Their actions are less likely to conform to the principle of practicality: if bad intentions are
motivated by a motive, that motive can be expressed as bad. The good or bad of the purpose of performing a
particular action depends on the substance outcome of that action. The material consequences of an action
are the sensations of joy and pain produced by that action. Good behavior creates fun, and bad behaviour
creates pain. According to Bentham, synchronization creates intent, and the sum of individual intents can
generate trends if they perform or do not perform a particular action. Whether an individual performs a
particular action depends on the particular circumstances in which he or she can influence his or her tendency
to perform that action and the expression of that tendency.

Bentham divides motives into two kinds:

1) seducing (or corrupting)

2) tutelary (or preservatory).

Seducing motives may cause an individual to perform wrongful acts, while tutelary motives may cause an
individual not to perform wrongful acts. Tutelary motives may be either standing (i.e. constant) or
occasional. Standing tutelary motives may govern an individual’s conduct in most (or all) situations, but
occasional tutelary motives may govern an individual’s conduct in only some situations.

According to Bentham, the weaker the temptation that is required for an individual to perform a wrongful
act, the more that performance of this wrongful act may testify to the corruption of the individual’s
disposition. The stronger the temptation that is required for an individual to perform a wrongful act, the less
that performance of this wrongful act may testify to the corruption of the individual’s disposition. The
wrongfulness of an act may be determined by calculating how much pain is gained and how much pleasure is
lost as a consequence of the act.. 2

2
Ethics
Bentham defines ethics as a technique that produces the greatest happiness possible for oneself and others.
Ethics (to be cautious) is both a technique that fulfills one's obligations and one that fulfills one's obligations.
Others (by showing honesty and goodness). If private ethics is concerned with the personal well-being of an
individual, public ethics and legislative skills are concerned with the well-being of all individuals. If the
legislative act adheres to the principle of utility, it tends to increase the overall well-being of all individuals.

Bentham lists five classes of illegal crimes against society

1) private crimes against individuals

2) anti-public crimes against groups of individuals

3) crimes with respect for individual rights

4) against the community

5) Offenses against public offenses by fraudulent acts or breach of trust.

Bentham argues that private offenses against individuals likely include: 1), 2) property 3) reputation 4) status
(by breach of duty), 5) person and property 6) person and reputation. Anti-public crimes may include illegal
acts that endanger the well-being and safety of individuals of a particular class or group. Public crimes may
include illegal acts at the risk of public security, justice, general well-being, social harmony, economic
prosperity, or national sovereignty.

Bentham argues that the punishment of illegal crimes against society is proportional to the amount of harm
caused by these crimes. The punishment of the crime is not justified if it is disadvantageous or unnecessary
the amount of the penalty for a crime must be sufficient to deter further crime, but must not be construed as
unreasonable or arbitrary. Bentham also asserts that any penalties for violations of civil or criminal law must
comply with the principle of utility. A penalty imposed on a problematic individual must have sufficient
grounds to inflict suffering on that individual. The purpose of punishing illegal crimes against society is not
only to prevent similar or further crimes, but also to provide satisfaction to the injured and to discipline and
reform criminals.

References
i. Jeremy Bentham (Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy). (2019, January 28). Stanford

Encyclopaedia of Philosophy. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/bentham/

ii. Jeremy Bentham, The Principles of Morals and Legislation (Amherst: Prometheus Books,

1988), p. 1.

iii.