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If Bentham posited a sense of guilt as pain that most would feel when doing wrong by others, then surely Utilitarianism would be unnecessary due to Bentham's own work on the motivation of human beings.

Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure. It is for them alone to point out what we ought to do, as well as to determine what we shall do.

If Bentham were to maintain this view whilst considering a sense of guilt as pain then wouldn't we naturally behave in a morally permissible way?

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    The point you have made is a good point. However, consider that guilt is not the only source of pain. If doing something that makes you feel guilty causes the least amount of pain and the most pleasure compared to other methods, Bentham would consider this method the moral one.
    – Cicero
    Jun 3, 2015 at 22:27
  • I never thought of including guilt as a pain. Perhaps this could change certain utilitarian calculations.
    – Cicero
    Jun 3, 2015 at 22:27

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