Jeremy Bentham and James Mill

For his entry to History of Political Thought, Timothy Fuller turns to two philosophers heavily connected with the foundation of one of the most important ethical systems in the modern era. The philosophers in question are Jeremy Bentham and James Mill. Despite the name of both men being in the title, Fuller spends very little time discussing Mill; instead spending most of the essay discussing Bentham’s views and only bringing up Mill at the end.

Still, one of the most important elements of Bentham’s thought to keep in mind is that he grounds his conception of morality in whether or not the consequences of that action are good or bad, with the conception of “good” being grounded in pleasure and the conception of ‘bad” being grounded in pain. As a result of this, morality becomes rooted in improvement of conditions through knowledge. By focusing on the development of knowledge, Bentham attempted to develop a scientific conception of morality, which means the actions of humans may be subjected to calculation and then have moral worth placed on those actions.

Bentham’s focus on science also has major implications on Bentham’s attitude toward legislation. Legislation based on tradition and custom is to be disregarded in favor of legislation based on scientific principles as these principles can best reveal what is pleasurable, and thus what is good. Here Bentham is displaying a clear influence of the Cartesian method as this method would enable him to step away from everything except for the pure principles that he wanted. Perhaps not surprisingly, this also caused him to reject the English common law tradition as for Bentham, this was a tradition based on an ignorance of scientific principles. Nor that those principles had been established, the English common law tradition in Bentham’s view could be done away with and replaced with a new, more scientific method of creating law.

Though the highly situational nature of Bentham’s theory has caused many to see both him and utilitarianism as an example of moral relativism, it is important to point out that while what is moral or immoral can change greatly depending upon the particular conditions, at the heart of his theory is an attempt to establish an universal basis for all moral decision making. What’s more, according to Bentham, historical conditions can still be taken into account, but these considerations cannot veto scientific morality.

Still, it is true particular conditions are highly important for Bentham as poor conditions can distract from a person’s individual will. The importance of conditions also factors into Bentham’s conception of happiness as happiness is not seen as being something in the abstract, but is rather deeply rooted in conditions. Despite Bentham’s focus on pleasure, happiness, and individualism, it should be noted that goodness is not seen as an absolute or left up to individuals. Rather, goodness for Bentham is grounded in what is good for the greatest number. Because of this, society becomes defined by the conflict between the rights of the individuals and the needs of the community. In order to help alleviate some of this conflict, Bentham also proposes a new justice system that focuses on rewards for doing right rather than on punishment for doing wrong.

Considering the importance of utilitarian thought on 19^th century liberalism, it is unsurprising that economic liberalism, intellectual freedom, and religious tolerance are all seen as essential for a utilitarian order. Utilitarianism also reflects another 19^th century liberal goal as Bentham hoped to create a long lasting balance between liberty and order through his theory. Bentham’s theory is still detached from society as Bentham sees this as essential to being able to understand what is truly the greatest good for the greatest number. Utilitarianism then presents itself as a neutral framework. In order to achieve this, Bentham suggests a radical reconstructuring of society in order to put it more in tune with utilitarian ethical principles as it was only though this that society would be able to fully understand utility. For Bentham, utility means that there is a greater focus on current conditions than on abstract principles in order to establish the moral worth of an action. Cooperation also plays a major role in Bentham’s theory as this is seen as key in avoiding both anarchy and despotism. It also helps us avoid a self-centered conception of the greater good. Though cooperation, utility could be fully incorporated into moral decision making. One of the major implications cooperation has is that the incensement of pleasure and the reduction of pain are seen as the chief moral drives, particularly for the legislature.

It is now that Fuller turns to Bentham’s chief disciple, James Mill. For Mill, his chief goal was to put Bentham’s theory in practice and as a result of this desire, proposed a series of reforms. Mill rejected the old democracy/ aristocracy/ monarchy categories of government as he found them all to be severely lacking. He ultimately proposes that a mixed government be used, but even here there is a very real danger of the aristocratic and monarchial elements of this mixed regime conspiring against the democratic elements. Thus, for Mill, the proper government should be grounded in democracy while monarchy and aristocracy are used to keep democratic excesses in check. One of the checks Mill proposes here is the use of voter qualifications. Still, monarchy and aristocracy are to be used for purely utilitarian ends and have no real value in and of themselves. This restrained form of democracy is to be used as it is seen as being best able to conceptualize the greatest good and also be rooted in scientific calculation, thus creating the most pleasurable outcome for the greatest number of people.