How did David Hume influence Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill?

David Hume was a significant influence on the development of utilitarianism, a moral theory that evaluates conduct based on the usefulness of its consequences.1

For Jeremy Bentham, Hume’s work was a foundational inspiration. Bentham explicitly identified Hume as one of the key thinkers whose writings led him to discover the principle of utility. Specifically, Bentham was moved toward utilitarianism by Book III of Hume’s Treatise, where Hume analyzed the origin of virtues in terms of their contribution to utility.21

John Stuart Mill was also deeply influenced by Hume’s philosophical legacy. While Bentham utilized utility primarily as a tool for legislation and social reform, Mill later expanded upon these ideas, defending utilitarianism as a comprehensive ethical framework for both individual behavior and public policy. Hume’s broader approach to philosophy as an inductive science of human nature provided a critical backdrop for the development of these classical English utilitarian traditions.123