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What is
Utilitarianism ?
Utilitarianism is an ethical theory,
that is associated with Jeremy
Bentham and John Stuart Mill.It holds
that an action is right if it tends to
promote happiness and wrong if it
tends to produce sadness,or the
reverse of happiness- not just the
happiness of the actor,but that of
everyone affected by it
 Jeremy Bentham,

E ngl i s h phi l os ophe r,

e c onom i s t , an d t he or e t i c a l
j ur i s t , t he ea r l i e s t a nd ch i e f
e xpound e r of
uti litar iani sm Be nt ham de f i ne d
t he pri nc i pl e of ut i l i t y a s "t ha t
pr i nc i pl e whi c h a ppr ove s or
di s appr ove s of ev er y a c t i on
wha t soe ve r, a c c or di ng t o t he
t e nde nc y whi c h i t a ppe a r s t o
ha ve t o a ugm e nt or di m i ni s h
t he ha ppi ne s s of t he pa rt y
i nt e r e s t whos e i nt e r e st i s i n
qu es t i on
John Stuart
Mill

was an influential philosopher, economist, politician, and senior official in the

East India Company.He comcined economics with philosophy,and he believed
Utilitarianism.He is best known for his principles of political economy which
became a leading book in economy.“… the Greatest Happiness Principle, holds
that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as
they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.”~John Stuart Mill
 The 3 Generally Accepted
Principles of Utilitarianism
The 3 Generally Accepted Principles of Utilitarianism State
ThatPleasure, or happiness, is the only thing that has
intrinsic value. To say that something has intrinsic value
means that it is simply good in itself. Intrinsic value
contrasts with instrumental value. Something has
instrumental value when it is a means to some end.Actions
are right if they promote happiness, and wrong if they
promote unhappiness.This principle is quite controversial,
since it involves that the moral quality of an action is
decided by the size of its consequences. So long as an
action produces maximum benefits for the greatest number
of people, utilitarianism does not care whether the results
are driven by immoral motives. However, this principle can
be refuted since most people would agree that the moral
quality of an action depends on the motive or intention
behind it.
Everyone's happiness counts equally.
Although this axiom may seem quite
obvious, this principle of equality was
radical and progressive in Bentham's time.
By then, it was commonly accepted that
some lives and some people's happiness
were simply more important and valuable
than others. Betham's principle of equality
makes the government responsible for
creating policies that would benefit all
equally, not just the elite.
Utilitarianism and the
Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution created a great deal of change in

society. For utiltirinsm, factory owners and mine owners
admired this ideology, as for them it made them happy. This
approach made the upper and middle class have a luxury
life, however, the lower class lived in a bad conditions.
According to this period, these classes controled the
Workers' lives who worked long hours for low pay. Fearful
of losing their jops, the workers never complianed about
their bad conditions and low pay. To make more benefits,
owners realized that they could pay women and children
less than men. In fact, child labor increased in this period as
it kept the costs of production low and the profits high.
 The characters of hard times, utilitarianism and Social Class

• All of the utilitarian characters in hard times are all members of the upper
class(Bounderby, Gradgrind etc.) They are greedy and self absorbed and end
up broken by the philosophy they have followed.
• The non-utilitarian characters are all memebers of the working class (Sissy
Jupe, Blackpool, sleary etc.) they maintain their kindness and turn out to be the

most genuine characters in the book.

The Miserables :
 Hanan Mohamed Abd elkhalekNada
 Alaa Rashed
 Nourhan Mohammed ElDsokey
 Menna Mohsen Salem
 Asmaa Mohamed El shahat
 Merna Reda Abd El-ghany
 Rana ELsaeed Elbadrawy
 Hamsa Hesham Assal
 Saher Elsayed Shalan
 Mariam Mahmoud Eladl
 Alyaa Faisal El Bassioun
 Sabreen Mohamed Fahmy Nwareg
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