PHIL 251 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Jeremy Bentham, French Revolution
2 Apr 2016
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Document Summary
Ideals in philosophy are rarely seen by anyone outside the philosophical community. The french revolution gave rise to new ideas of freedom and equality that were accepted into the american constitution. The principle of utility states that actions or behaviors are right in so far as they promote happiness or pleasure, wrong as they tend to produce unhappiness or pain. Benthamite argument: morality is making the world as happy as possible. The benthamite argument left out all religious ties to morality. It did not limit people from having fun as long as they didn"t encroach upon someone else"s happiness. Matthew donnelly was a physicist who constantly worked with x-rays and hence contracted cancer. As a result of his disease, he lost several parts of his body and was in extreme constant pain. He did not continue to wish to live.
