Final answer:
Jeremy Bentham claimed that people's actions are based on the utility principle, seeking the greatest happiness for the most people.
Step-by-step explanation:
Jeremy Bentham believed that people decided to act based on the principle of utility, which determines that actions are moral if they tend to promote the greatest happiness for the greatest number. This is an essential aspect of his moral philosophy of utilitarianism, where the moral rightness of an action is judged by its consequences. Bentham, along with John Stuart Mill, emphasized that an action's morality is specifically connected to its ability to produce happiness and minimize pain and that the interests of all affected should be accounted for impartially.