Introduction to Philosophy
Psychological egoism is the idea that there is no such thing as a selfless act, so all human activity is performed out of one's own self interest. Whether one is thinking of another human being or not, the root of the activity is to better themselves in ways that are pleasing physically or emotionally. I do believe that this is a realistic view of human beings, for no matter what seemingly unselfish endeavor one is performing, such as volunteering at a soup kitchen, they always are benefiting from the good feelings obtained, causing a selfish want for these such emotions. Bentham tried to build upon these ideas by creating the concept that if people realized that bettering society would, in fact, better them, a social reform would occur. The self-interested side of us would cause an egotistic hook and prove that our own individual welfare is a part of the society welfare.
The Principle of Utility is how one should act always to cause the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. From this idea, the finest society would be produced. I prefer Kant's categorical imperative to Bentham's principle of utility, for Kant is proposing that everyone act as they would wanted to be treated, the golden rule. By enforcing Bentham's principle of utility and having the greatest happiness for the greatest amount of people, some must be hurt and not succeed in life.
In John Stuart Mill's philosophy, he explained that when determining pleasure, the quality of the pleasure is much more the quantity of pleasure. He also refuted Bentham's philosophy and explained how pleasure can not be measured by Hedonic Calculus, for there is no way in determining the different values and measuring different qu ...