Happiness and Religion: Joseph Priestley's "Theological Utilitarianism"

Abstract

Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) was one of the most prominent English thinkers in the late eighteenth century. The main purposes of the present paper are to show his idea of utilitarianism (theological utilitarianism), which differs from that of Jeremy Bentham (secular utilitarianism), and to incorporate Priestley into a theological utilitarian. The difference between Priestley and Bentham stems from the disparity in their understanding of "happiness." Priestley's concept of "happiness" implies that human beings can keep endeavoring to attain "higher happiness" in the future, guided by divine providence. In short, to Priestley, "happiness" means the "perfection" of human nature, or the ability by which the greatest good is accomplished. It is thus possible to say that Priestley developed theological utilitarianism, which is based on his Christian belief in God. This paper also attempts to clarify that Priestley's utilitarianism follows and subscribes to the ideas of Francis Hutcheson and David Hartley.