The Socrates Café — Philosophers Quotes Edition - Oba 7th floor.

This is a new edition of the Socrates cafe with a new format.

In this edition, the moderator will pick a specific quote, topic or question from a known philosophers (example; Voltaire, Kant, Marcus Aurelius, Hypatia of Alexandria, Rousseau, Machiavelli, Descartes, Plato and others).

A summary around a page will be provided in the event (See below - The topic of this Session)

Please take the time to read.

The Moderator will read the summary and give an introduction of the topic. Then, we will have an open discussion, and a final round when everyone will give their conclusions.

The topic of this Session
Jeremy Bentham - It is vain to talk of the interest of the community, without understanding what is the interest of the individual

Meaning
This quote captures a core idea of utilitarianism, the philosophy developed by Jeremy Bentham.

The quote by Jeremy Bentham means that you cannot talk about what is good for society as a whole without first understanding what is good for each individual within it.
In other words, the “interest of the community” is simply the sum of individual interests. Bentham is emphasizing that policies or moral decisions should be grounded in how they affect real people, not abstract ideas of society.

Deeper meaning
Bentham is arguing that “society” is not something separate from individuals. It’s simply a collection of people. So when we talk about the “interest of the community,” we’re really talking about the combined interests (pleasure, happiness, well-being) of each person.

Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) was an English philosopher, jurist, and social reformer widely recognized as the founder of modern utilitarianism. He defined the core principle of his ethical and legal philosophy as "the greatest happiness of the greatest number," arguing that actions and laws should be judged by their ability to promote pleasure and minimize pain for the greatest number of people.

What is Utilitarianism?
Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that asserts that right and wrong are best determined by focusing on outcomes of actions and choices.

About the Philosopher
https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Jeremy+Bentham

RULES

1. Please be on time! We will start at 19:00 so if you arrive late, please join quietly. If you are a first timer, make sure you take extra time for finding the location.
2. If something unexpected happens, please cancel as soon as possible. There's lovely people on the waiting list
3. If you repeatedly sign up and don’t show up, you can expect to be moved to the waitlist next time.
4. You may disagree with others, but please do so respectfully without personal attacks.
5. Please keep your attendance to one event per week to ensure everyone has an opportunity to attend.
6. Just to meet expectations, this is a Philosophy event to discuss Philosophy and this event's PRIMARY function is NOT focused on Self Help/Psychology or Theology. Though those topics can be a point of discussion from time to time. Please take that into consideration when signing up!

See you soon!