An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation

Jeremy Bentham

Utilitarianism

• Contains three elements:– Hedonistic theory of well-being: pleasure is good

and pain is bad– Sum-totaling of well-being: pleasure and pain can

be aggregated.– Maximization of well-being: only that action that

produces the greatest balance of pleasure over pain is the morally correct action

The principle of utility

• When Bentham talks of the principle of utility, he means the principle which prefers the greatest balance of pleasure over pain.

• Bentham contends that as a matter of fact, people only (at bottom) pursue pleasure. This is a descriptive theory of hedonism.

• Bentham also contends that what is good for people is just pleasure and the absence of pain. This is a normative theory of hedonism.

Principles adverse to utility

• Bentham claims that a principle may be different from the principle of utility in two ways: – It could be opposed to it: like asceticism, the view

that pleasure is bad and pain is good– It could be no principle at all: like the “principles”

of sympathy and antipathy, where what is good or bad is just what strikes each person as good or bad.

Asceticism

• Bentham contends that asceticism is the result of a mistake: in observing that many pleasures, when overindulged, cause more pain than pleasure, ascetics conclude that all pleasure is bad

• Bentham contends that if only a tenth of being on earth really subscribed to asceticism even for a day, they would turn Earth into a hell.

Sympathy/Antipathy

• Bentham accuses politicians and popular figures of subscribing to this principle (my, how times change) rather than any consistent set of values.

• Sympathy/Antipathy are simply arbitrary, and are no good basis for morals or legislation.

Of the sources of pleasure and pain:

When good things happen for a reason, they are rewards, when bad things happen for a reason, they are punishments. When things happen for no determinate reason, it is called a calamity if bad, or fortune if good. What follows are four sources of reward or punishment.

The sources:

• Physical– When a punishment or reward is caused by one’s own

actions• Political– When punishment or reward is caused by the law

• Moral– When punishment or reward is socially inflicted (by

other people)• Religious– When punishment or reward is caused by God

Utility as a source of morals and legislation

• In outlining the previous, Bentham has a particular goal: to demonstrate that utility is the best principle to base morality and the law off of.

• It is better than asceticism or sympathy/antipathy, and can influence all human behavior through the sources of reward/punishment.

• What remains to be explained is how to apply the principle of utility. Bentham calls this the Hedonic Calculus.

Hedonic calculus:Total Pleasure/Pain can be calculated using the following

parameters:①Intensity: How intense is the pleasure/pain?②Duration: How long does it last?③Certainty: How probable is it to occur?④Propinquity: Its nearness in time⑤Fecundity: How likely is it to generate more of the

same?⑥Purity: How much pure pleasure, pure pain, or a mix

of the two is it?⑦Extent: How many people are affected?

Study Questions:

• Bentham says that a principle must either be diametrically opposed to the principle of utility or else completely arbitrary. Is he correct in this?

• What makes Bentham’s use of hedonism different from Epicurus’?

• Come up with a fictitious situation involving one person making a decision that will affect up to three other people. Do a hedonic calculus to make the decision.