The concept of “utility” in early utilitarianism XVII–XVIII centuries

Abstract

The relevance of the research topic is determined by the variety of interpretations of the concept of utility, according to which the problems of pleasure, good and happiness are solved. The English utilitarians of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were the first to conduct an in-depth analysis of utility and try to find common grounds that constitute this concept. The purpose of the article is to clarify the ways of using the concept of utility in the works of J. Berkeley, D. Hume and I. Bentham. The systematization of the views of the New Time, carried out by these thinkers, allowed us to approach the identification of the essence of utility. Proportionality and symmetry, the conditions of appointment and adaptation to the needs of man contributed to the removal of the beautiful and moral principles from the useful. The fact that the perfection of a thing is defined as an acceptable purpose for which it was created gave reason to conclude that the concept of ulitity in early utilitarianism is revealed through the rationality of goals and means, and the principle of utility through the dependence of individual interests from the level of social welfare.