Understanding the Idea of Pleasure and Misery

The question asks about the philosopher who stated that nature has placed mankind under the dominion of two sovereign masters: pleasure and pain (or misery). This is a foundational idea in a specific school of thought.

Let's analyze the core concept: human beings are primarily motivated and governed by the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain. This idea is central to ethical hedonism and, more famously, to Utilitarianism as proposed by certain philosophers.

Analyzing the Options

We are given four options:

1. Aristotle
2. Mahatma Gandhi
3. Bentham
4. Marx

Let's consider each option:

• Aristotle: Ancient Greek philosopher known for virtue ethics. His focus was on achieving eudaimonia (flourishing or living well) through the development of virtues, rather than solely the pursuit of pleasure or avoidance of pain as the primary drivers.
• Mahatma Gandhi: Indian leader known for his philosophy of non-violent resistance (Satyagraha) and truth. His focus was on moral principles, self-discipline, and social justice, not a theory based purely on pleasure and pain.
• Bentham: Jeremy Bentham was an English philosopher and social reformer. He is considered the founder of modern Utilitarianism. His work, "An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation," explicitly states that nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure. He developed the "hedonistic calculus" or "felicific calculus" to measure the amount of pleasure or pain resulting from an action, which is central to his ethical theory.
• Marx: Karl Marx was a philosopher, economist, and sociologist known for his theories on communism and historical materialism. His focus was on economic structures, class struggle, and social revolution, not a psychological or ethical theory based on individual pleasure and pain.

Identifying the Correct Philosopher

Based on the analysis, the idea that nature has placed mankind in subjection to two masters, pleasure and misery (or pain), is a direct quote or a paraphrasing of a core principle articulated by Jeremy Bentham in his formulation of Utilitarianism. He argued that these two forces determine what humans ought to do and what they will do.

Therefore, the idea is attributed to Bentham.

Revision Table: Philosophers and Core Ideas

Additional Information on Bentham's Utilitarianism

Jeremy Bentham's Utilitarianism is a consequentialist ethical theory. This means that the morality of an action is judged by its outcome or consequence. The ultimate goal, according to Bentham, is to achieve the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people.

His principle of utility, also known as the greatest happiness principle, states that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. He defined happiness in terms of pleasure and the absence of pain.

The quote about pleasure and pain being sovereign masters highlights the psychological and ethical starting point for his theory. He believed these were the fundamental sensations that determined human motivation and provided the standard for judging the moral value of actions and policies.

The "hedonistic calculus" was Bentham's method for calculating the total amount of pleasure or pain resulting from an action, considering factors like intensity, duration, certainty, propinquity, fecundity, purity, and extent.