Analysis Of Ethical Ideologies By Jeremy Bentham - 1748 Words

Analysis of Ethical Ideologies Throughout the ages, philosophers have debated among one another over the issue of morality. What determines the correct course of action to take when faced with a difficult dilemma? Jeremy Bentham, a philosopher of morality, came up with his own answer to this question. He determined that the correct course of action is always whichever one will satisfy the greatest amount of people. Bentham refers to this satisfaction as utility. Based on this idea, he constructed a policy of utilitarianism. In the ideal utilitarian community, every action taken is for the sole purpose of increasing the happiness of the citizens. This principle of utility disregards the unhappiness of the minority citizens in order to†¦show more content†¦Michael Sandel offers an analysis of the utilitarian concept in his book, Justice. In this book, Sandel offers an example of a situation that compares the two versions of utilitarianism: in a community, a large group of peop le is protesting against a certain religion that a smaller portion of that community practices. In this situation, Bentham would advocate abolishing that religion in order to enhance utility. However, Mill would argue that in the long run, it would be harmful towards that community to suppress any attempts of individuality. It would be a wiser course of action to respect the individual liberties of each person. Although Bentham’s policy is more consistent because it has a sturdier moral basis, Mill’s version of utilitarianism is more humane because it incorporates the aspect of individual liberties. Altogether, both ideas focus on the welfare of the society as a whole. The Libertarian theory is entirely based upon emphasizing the individual liberties of the people. The main policy of libertarianism is similar to John Mill’s central principle: everyone has the right to do what they desire with the resources they have, given that they respect the same rights of other people. Additionally, this policy rejects the authority of the government concerning matters of morality and taxation. According to Robert Nozick, a political philosopher, governmental power should be strictly â€Å"limited to