Compare+contrast the political and moral viewpoint of Jeremy Bentham+Immanuel Kant.Which viewpoint do u like?

Answer 1

Kant's moral viewpoint is summed up in the categorical imperative. Thus, whenever you're trying to weigh the morality of a given situation, you should test it by seeing if it could be applied universally. In other words, if I want to kill a puppy, I should consider whether or not "killing puppies" should be universally imperative behavior. Bentham, on other hand, as the user above rightly notes is interested in utility. For Bentham, the means can justify the ends if the ends produce more pleasure than pain. For Kant, however, the means must be moral regardless of the outcome.

As far as I am concerned, I tend to gravitate more towards Kant simply because Bentham's moral philosophy potentially permits one to use other people as objects or as means for achieving a particular end. For this reason, one could use Bentham to potentially justify slavery (if it produces an excess of societal good).

That is not to say, of course, that Kant doesn't also have his drawbacks.

Answer 2

It's been so long since I read these guys.
Was Bentham the utilitarian--"Greatest good for the Greatest Number" ?

Kant was not very political, except that no law should be made unless the maker was also subject to it?

These principles are not automatically exclusive. I could like both.

But my vote would go to Kant, because "greatest number" is not good enough to make sure that minorities have at least SOME definite "Bill of Rights" kinds of things.

Majority Rule needs to be tempered with : "What if I were in THEIR shoes?"