Portrait of Jeremy Bentham, founder of Utilitarianism, with hands clasped, representing his reflective nature and influence on British radical thought.

Jeremy Bentham: The Radical Thinker Behind Utilitarianism and British Legal Reform

by History of Western philosophyPhilosophyWestern Philosophy

⚫Utilitarianism took root in practical British soil. Bentham aimed for happiness, not abstract ideals. It was ethics with boots on the ground.
⚫Two rules ruled Bentham’s world: cause and effect, and maximum happiness. Behavior could be guided; joy, maximized. Simple ideas, big impact.
⚫Bentham saw punishment as prevention, not vengeance. Laws should boost society, not crush it. Justice meant balancing deterrence with humanity.
⚫Utilitarianism’s ideas took root everywhere. Malthus inspired Darwin; Bentham nudged socialism. Bentham’s legacy: influence across fields.

Feature image of George Berkeley with tears and ethereal connections symbolizing his philosophy of phenomenalism, divine perception, and the rejection of materialism.

George Berkeley: Phenomenalism, God, and Our Senses

by History of Western philosophyPhilosophyThinkers

⚫Berkeley’s phenomenonlism posits that material objects exist only as perceptions in minds, rejecting their independent material existence.
God is the ultimate perceiver, ensuring that objects continue to exist even when humans are not able to perceive them.
⚫Perception is the immediate awareness of ideas within the mind, shaped by divine orchestration.
⚫Berkeley’s philosophy emphasises the interdependence of perception and reality, challenging materialist views of independent material substances.
⚫The coherence of perceived reality is maintained through God’s constant perception, underpinning Berkeley’s metaphysical and theological assertions.