Question

Explain the differences between bentham and mill's utilitarianism

Answer 1

Bentham's form of Utilitarianism focused on the individual and the pleasure the individual experiences.  It is usually called Hedonistic Utilitarianism because of that focus.  His utilitarianism is probably best characterized by the statement "That act is best which brings about the greatest amount of pleasure."

Mill felt there were some modifications that needed to be made to Bentham's approach.  For one, he felt that the focus on the individual failed to take into account the effects of one's acts on others.  Mill thought that any good brought about by an act had to be offset by any displeasure that was felt, and this calculation had to be made for all people immediately affected by the act.  He would alter Bentham's formulation by stating that "That act is best which brings about the greatest amount of pleasure, on balance, for the greatest number."

Second, Mill felt that it was impractical to expect everyone to try to determine the balance of pleasure and pain for every act we perform, but rather that we should act on those principles which tend to bring about the greatest good for the greatest number on balance (i.e., in general).  The difference has been characterized since Mill as Act Utilitarianism (Bentham, where we must evaluate each act) and Rule Utilitarianism (Mill, where we conform to rules that have shown overall to bring about the greatest amount of good).