It is widely accepted that Bentham was influenced by the thought of Helvétius. But the fact that Bentham copied some elements from Helvétius leads to the question of how he changed the Helvétian ideas, and in what respects he aspired to go further than Helvétius. Taking as a starting point Bentham's claim that Helvétius was the Bacon of moral science, whereas he himself was to be the Newton, I argue for the following. First, Bentham's theory can be understood as an attempt to work out in detail the theoretical programme that Helvétius outlined in order to reform moral philosophy. Second, in contrast to Helvétius, Bentham's theory is guided by considerations of feasibility, and this leads to claims that are more moderate than Helvétius's claims. Third, whereas Helvétius did not indicate how utilitarian principles should enter political decisions, in Bentham's approach the citizens, and especially philosophers, are considered active political agents.

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从理论到实践：边沁对赫尔维修斯的接受

人们普遍认为边沁受到了赫尔维修斯思想的影响。但是边沁从 Helvétius 那里复制了一些元素这一事实导致了一个问题，即他如何改变 Helvétius 的思想，以及在哪些方面他渴望比 Helvétius 走得更远。以边沁声称 Helvétius 是道德科学的培根，而他自己是牛顿的主张为起点，我主张以下观点。首先，边沁的理论可以被理解为试图详细制定赫尔维修斯为改革道德哲学而概述的理论纲领。其次，与 Helvétius 相比，Bentham 的理论以可行性考虑为指导，这导致了比 Helvétius 的主张更为温和的主张。第三，