An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation

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An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and
Legislation

• Jeremy Bentham

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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The sources

• Physical
• When a punishment or reward is caused by ones
  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

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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.

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Hedonic calculus

• Total Pleasure/Pain can be calculated using the
  following parameters
• Intensity How intense is the pleasure/pain?
• Duration How long does it last?
• Certainty How probable is it to occur?
• Propinquity Its nearness in time
• Fecundity How likely is it to generate more of
  the same?
• Purity How much pure pleasure, pure pain, or a
  mix of the two is it?
• Extent How many people are affected?

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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 Benthams 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.