The 18th Conference of the International Society for Utilitarian Studies (ISUS Conference) is being held at the University of Macau (UM), with its opening ceremony held yesterday. The three-day event, which is scheduled to end tomorrow, marks the first time that the ISUS Conference has been held in China.
A UM statement yesterday noted that the International Society for Utilitarian Studies, based in University College London’s (UCL) Faculty of Laws, is the world’s leading academic organisation in the field of utilitarian studies. It promotes interdisciplinary research on the history, philosophy, and contemporary applications of utilitarianism, covering various fields such as philosophy, ethics, law, political science, and economics.
Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832), a British philosopher, jurist, and social reformer, is regarded as the founder of modern utilitarianism. The Bentham Project, based within UCL’s Faculty of Laws, has the principal aim of producing a new, authoritative edition of The Collected Works of Jeremy Bentham, making fully available for the first time the complete writings and correspondence of Bentham, according to the UCL website.
During the three-day conference on the UM campus, experts and scholars from China, the US, the UK, France, Italy, Japan, and Singapore are engaging in parallel sessions on a wide range of topics, including Bentham’s logic and the philosophy of language, John Stuart Mill’s philosophy, and utilitarian responses to 21st-century issues, according to the UM statement. Mill (1806–1873), a British philosopher, political economist, and politician, was a proponent of the utilitarianism of his predecessor, Bentham.
The UM statement noted that the ongoing conference, organised by the UM Faculty of Law, features plenary speeches from distinguished scholars, including: Philip Schofield, director of the Bentham Project at UCL’s Faculty of Laws and general editor of The Collected Works of Jeremy Bentham; Peter Singer, emeritus professor at Princeton University and VK Rajah Visiting Professor at the National University of Singapore; Li Qiang, professor in the School of Government at Peking University; Roger Crisp, professor of moral philosophy at the University of Oxford; and Melissa Schwartzberg, professor of politics at Princeton University.
Delivering a speech during yesterday’s opening ceremony, UM Rector Song Yonghua (aka Yonghua Song) said that utilitarianism is concerned with “the greatest happiness of the greatest number” (the core principle of utilitarianism) – a question that transcends cultures and ages and is relevant to every human being.
Song expressed hope that the conference will foster interdisciplinary academic exchange and provide valuable insights towards addressing the major challenges facing humanity today.
The UM statement noted that the 18th ISUS Conference also celebrates the publication of a new, authoritative edition of Essays on Logic, Ethics, and Universal Grammar, one of the volumes of The Collected Works of Jeremy Bentham. The publication, edited by Philip Schofield and published by UCL Press in 2025, is expected to renew scholarly interest in Bentham’s contributions to logic and the philosophy of language, the statement added.
Organised by the UM Faculty of Law, the 18th ISUS Conference is also supported by the UM Faculty of Arts and Humanities and the UM Institute of Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences.
The UM statement pointed out that previous ISUS Conferences were held at universities including UCL, Luiss University in Italy, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany, the Catholic University of Lille in France, Yokohama National University in Japan, and New York University.
Speaking to reporters after yesterday’s opening ceremony, Li Qing, a philosophy researcher at Fudan University in Shanghai, noted that utilitarianism seeks social progress by bringing the greatest happiness to the greatest number of people. Using AI as an example, he noted that the development of related industries must take ethics and safety into account, with utilitarianism forming a key component of those ethics.
Li further pointed out that the academic sector on the Chinese mainland has made significant strides in the research and promotion of utilitarianism in recent years, with published and translated works attracting international attention.
Li said that hosting the conference in Macau is expected to help elevate the international academic standing of UM.
Also speaking to reporters, Wang Qingjie, a professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at the UM Faculty of Arts and Humanities, said that utilitarian concepts can also be applied to Macau’s appropriate economic diversification drive, by considering all social strata in Macau and the future development of various causes and undertakings when formulating public policies.
* Utilitarianism is a consequentialist ethical theory asserting that the morality of an action is determined solely by its overall outcomes or consequences. Formulated in its modern form by the English philosopher and legal reformer Jeremy Bentham, the doctrine evaluates choices based on the principle of utility, which seeks to maximise happiness and minimise pain for the greatest number of people. Bentham introduced a quantitative framework known as the “felicific calculus”, arguing that pleasures and pains could be systematically measured to determine the most ethically sound course of action. Through this approach, Bentham explicitly bound utilitarian philosophy to practical social reform, establishing a rational and secular alternative to traditional theories based on divine command or natural rights. Born in London in 1748, Bentham was a child prodigy who entered the University of Oxford at just 12 years old before training as a barrister. Although qualified to practise law, Bentham quickly abandoned the courtroom to devote his life to legal theory, political philosophy, and institutional critique. As an advocate for individual liberty, free expression, equal rights for women, and animal welfare, he applied his utilitarian principles to challenge the rigid legal and political structures of 18th-century Britain. Before his death in 1832, Bentham requested that his preserved remains be displayed at University College London (UCL), where he remains an enduring symbol of radical reform and foundational utilitarian thought. – Gemini
UM Rector Song Yonghua (from left to right), Fudan University philosophy researcher Li Qing, and UM Faculty of Arts and Humanities Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies professor Wang Qingjie speak during yesterday’s 18th Conference of the International Society for Utilitarian Studies on the UM campus in Hengqin. – Photos: Tony Wong
