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Jeremy Bentham London, to Etienne Dumont, Geneva. Private Letter Ao 1821
Extract.
Deontology private, or Morality made easy.
As there are but two persons in the world, I. Self. II Mr All-besides
so virtue has but two branches issuing immediately out of the trunk:
namely I. Self-regarding Prudence. II Effective Benevolence or say
Sympathetic Beneficence. Pity the two ladies instead of having each of
them a surname and a christian name, had each of them but one,
so as it were a good one. Benevolence alone will not do: for Benevolence
may be unsocial and nobody the better for it. Beneficence
will not do for in comparisons of the good that is done to all by
what each man does to himself, the good that is done to all by
what each man does to all others put together is as nothing. (Case of infancy out of the question)
To the above virtues all others that are not spurious are reducible
thus is that which was infinite rendered finite. Opposite to
Prudence is Imprudence, opposite to Beneficence is Maleficence.
Beneficence is I. Positive. II. Negative; negative is non-exercise of
Maleficence. Of the exercise of Positive Beneficence the limits are comparatively narrow even
in the case of the most powerful despot considered only as such,
only in our case, son of mine, are there no limits other than those
of the human race adding to it a portion of the non-human.
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jeremy bentham london, to etienne dumont, geneva. private letter ao 1821 extract |
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deontology private, or morality made easy |
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