Bentham explains why we need to consider the consequences of our actions, and offers a tool for making dicisions. The estimation of pleasures and pains is called Hedonic calculus.He outlines 7 features, such as intensity, duration, and extent, which can affect the calculations.

18th C. Britain had a very brutal and unjust legal code. Bentham thought that the people who created laws and punishments needed to be guided by a rational principle, not by personal whims or biases. He proposed that we consider the utility of the laws and punishments for creating the greatest happiness and least pain for the community and its members. The principle of Utilitarianism should be the basis of our ethical, moral, and legal systems.

Episode One: Here is a quick view of the topics that will be covered in this course of lectures. I will touch on three major approaches to ethics: Utilitarianism, Deontologicalism, and Virtue Ethics.

This podacst series will examine various philosophers and philosophic theories primarily on questions of ethics and metaphysics. Plato and Aristotle will be the initial focus, but Bentham, Mill, Kant, and many others will appear as well.