Chapter 2: Principles opposing the principle of utility

Abstract

This excerpt from Jeremy Bentham’s Principles of Morals and Legislation presents his critique of various principles that oppose the principle of utility, which he argues is the only valid standard for judging right and wrong. Bentham identifies three main opposing principles: asceticism, which he describes as a perverse application of the principle of utility, favoring pain over pleasure; sympathy and antipathy, which bases judgments on arbitrary personal feelings rather than objective considerations of utility; and the theological principle, which he argues is ultimately reducible to one of the other three principles. He criticizes these opposing principles as being inconsistent, arbitrary, and potentially harmful. He argues that the principle of utility, in contrast, is consistent, rational, and beneficial for society. – AI-generated abstract