Jeremy Betham

) This pleasure and pain principle led to the establishment of the theory of Unitarianism, which is "the rejection of the doctrine of original sin and eternal punishment replacing it with a belief in individual conscience and reason as a guide to right action" (Spartacus Education, 2000).
             An act such as the ones mentioned that strive toward pleasure is one that warrants a reward. A reward according to Bentham is " a portion of the matter of good, which.is bestowed on some one, in the intent that he may benefit thereby." (Gill, 2000) An act worthy of a reward is a virtuous act, which someone is not bound to do by his or her job or by law. Bentham lists the following as extraordinary services, worthy of reward: Services rendered to the whole community by new inventions, services rendered in times of war, bringing about useful alliances, important discoveries for national wealth or sciences and noble actions.
             Bentham was especially convinced that all too often people, who acted with virtue, went without reward when they deserved one. In his work, The Rationale of Reward, Bentham gave a summary definition of virtue, which is as follows. "Virtue is sometimes considered as an act, sometimes as a disposition: when it is exhibited by a positive act it confers service; when it is considered a disposition, it is a chance of services" (Gill, 2000). Basically an act of virtue is one, which brings benefit to another through an act, which one would not normally commit. These acts are not always miracles or amazing feats but rather small thoughtful gestures made by many people at many points in their lives. Bentham is of the belief that people should receive a suitable reward for their act of virtue, the size or amount of which would depend on the act of virtue itself.
             A critic of Bentham and the utilitarian view might ask how it would be possible to find and reward every person who commits an act of virtue.