Advantage Quote by Jeremy Bentham
“By utility is meant that property is any object, whereby it tends to produce benefit, advantage, pleasure, good, or happiness(all this in the present case come to the same thing) or (what comes again to the same thing) to prevent the happening of mischief, pain, evil or unhappiness to the party who whose is considered: if that party be the community in general, then the happiness of the community; if a particular individual; then the happiness of that individual”
About This Quote
Source Treatise: An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, 1789
Utility means actions that produce happiness and prevent suffering for individuals or the community.
In simple terms: Utility seeks greatest happiness, avoiding pain.
Key Takeaway
Promote actions that maximize overall well‑being.
Themes
ethics
utilitarianism
happiness
pain prevention
Mood
analytical
philosophical
Type
ethical
theoretical
When to use this quote
- policy making
- personal decisions
- community planning
Key Concepts
consequentialism
social welfare
Questions to Reflect On
- What balances individual rights with collective happiness?
- How to measure happiness objectively?
A Different Perspective
May ignore minority rights if overall happiness is prioritized.
![“The order of nature [is] that individual happiness shall be inseparable from the practice of virtue.” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b81/thomas-jefferson-43_character_the-order-of-nature-is-that-individual-h_1022487.jpg)
![“Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then [these?], any man might instantly use what another had invented; so that the inventor had no special advantage from his own invention. The patent system changed this…” quote by Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/449/abraham-lincoln-88_adoption_next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in_1828.jpg)
