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Bentham, Kant, And Why You Must Share Those Strawberries
An essay on fruit and philosophy that got a bit out of hand
Roaring Rivers
Torrents, Currents, and Ripples by Christyl Rivers, PhD
Drowning in our waste
The news this week is that a few rich people drowned and a lot of poor people drowned.
But I also want to talk about some strawberries that drowned.
Our duty, Kant, might say, and our utility, Bentham might say, are something we have to consider.
Among history’s most influential philosophers, Immanuel Kant gave us the categorical imperative. It’s a question each of us must ask ourselves as to whether the way we treat one another is as we should like to see a universal application of those rules for all.
It’s sort of like the golden rule we are all familiar with, but for Kant, the entire morality is to be based not on what “feels” just, but on reasoning that displays we understand this is to the benefit of everyone. It causes the least trouble, let’s say, because it is logical.
Jeremy Bentham was cool with that. But, he thought further about a universal rule that overall, decreased the suffering of the highest number of people. He…