Given this historical context, it is understandable that Bentham used reason and science to explain human behaviour. His ethical system was an attempt to quantify happiness and the good so they would meet the conditions of the scientific method. Ethics had to be empirical, quantifiable, verifiable, and reproducible across time and space. Just as science was beginning to understand the workings of cause and effect in the body, so ethics would explain the causal relationships of the mind. Bentham rejected religious authority and wrote a rebuttal to the Declaration of Independence in which he railed against natural rights as “rhetorical nonsense, nonsense upon stilts." Instead, the fundamental unit of human action for him was utility-solid, certain, and factual.
What is utility? Bentham's fundamental axiom, which underlies utilitarianism, was that all social morals and government legislation should aim for producing the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. Utilitarianism, therefore, emphasizes the consequences or ultimate purpose of an act rather than the character of the actor, the actor's motivation, or the particular circumstances surrounding the act. It has these characteristics: (1) universality, because it applies to all acts of human behaviour, even those that appear to be done from altruistic motives; (2) objectivity, meaning it operates beyond individual thought, desire, and perspective; (3) rationality, because it is not based in metaphysics or theology; and (4) quantifiability in its reliance on utility. (353 words)
(Extracted from Michael Quinn, “Jeremy Bentham, “The Psychology of Economic Man,' and Behavioural Economics,” Oeconomia 6, no. 1 (2016): 3–32)
Examining Bentham's Foundation for Human Action
The question asks us to identify what Jeremy Bentham considered the fundamental unit of human action, serving as a replacement for concepts like natural rights. The provided text gives us historical context and insight into Bentham's philosophical approach.
Historical Context and Bentham's Approach
The text highlights that Bentham lived during a period of significant change, marked by revolutions in America and France, the publication of The Communist Manifesto, and the transformative effects of the Industrial Revolution. This era saw a growing emphasis on reason and science.
Inspired by this scientific mindset, Bentham aimed to apply reason and science to understand human behavior and ethics. He sought to quantify concepts like happiness and goodness, making ethics verifiable and measurable, much like the scientific method was revealing cause-and-effect relationships in the physical world.
Rejection of Natural Rights
Bentham was critical of traditional authorities, including religious doctrine. He famously dismissed the idea of natural rights, calling them "rhetorical nonsense, nonsense upon stilts." This rejection paved the way for him to establish a different foundation for understanding human actions and societal principles.
Identifying Utility as the Fundamental Unit
The text explicitly states: "Instead, the fundamental unit of human action for him was utility-solid, certain, and factual." This clearly identifies 'utility' as the core concept Bentham proposed to replace abstract notions like natural rights.
Understanding Utilitarianism
Bentham's core principle, which forms the basis of utilitarianism, is that societal morals and government laws should be designed to achieve "the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people."
Utilitarianism focuses on the outcomes or consequences of actions, rather than the actor's intentions or character. Key characteristics of this ethical system include:
- Universality: It applies to all human actions.
- Objectivity: It operates independently of individual perspectives.
- Rationality: It is grounded in reason, not metaphysics or theology.
- Quantifiability: It relies on the measurable concept of utility.
Therefore, according to the text, Bentham considered Utility to be the fundamental unit of human action, emphasizing its practical, measurable nature over the philosophical concept of natural rights.
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