As an American society statues and laws are placed before us to set a standard of morality and justice. But what truly determines whether an action is moral or immoral? As I analyze the works of Jeremy Bentham, in his "Principle of Utility," Alongside John Stuart Mill, on "Utilitarianism," we will better understand what the foundations of morality are in accordance to their writings. Furthermore, through their standards of utility I will analyze the situation proposed as to whether cheating on your income taxes can be justified as morally right or wrong in the eyes of the utilitarian.
In his Work, Jeremy Bentham states Utilitarianism as "that principle which approves or disproves of every action whatsoever, according to the tendency which it appears to have augmented or diminished the happiness of the party whose interest is in question." Plainly stated, Bentham defines utilitarianism as the ethical rightness or wrongness of an action directly related to the utility of that action. Utility is more specifically defined as a measure of the goodness or badness of the consequences of an action. J.S Mill later expands Bentham's definition of the term by saying utility "holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to promote the reverse of happiness." Mill defines happiness as "the absence of pain." Mill further states that there are different levels of pleasures. He states that "some pleasures are of higher quality than others and thus more desirable." Mill states that, if all pleasures are equal and the only difference is in their quantities then human beings and lesser beings (such as a "pig" ) would receive gratification from the same sources of pleasure. Whereas Bentha ...