Utilitarianism Aspects Of Theory
Utilitarianism: Bentham – Hedonic Calculus
Bentham was a hedonist – he believed that pleasure is good in itself, and other things are good in so far as they bring about pleasure and the absence of pain.
“Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure.” You could work out which action to perform by calculating which option brought about the greatest amount of pleasure:
Duration – how long does the pleasure last?
Remoteness – how distant is the pleasure?
Purity – how free from pain is it?
Richness – will it lead to other pleasures?
Intensity – how powerful is the pleasure
Certainty – how likely is it that pleasure will result?
Extent – how many people will experience pleasure?
Utilitarianism: Principle of Utility
The right course of action is the one that brings about the greatest good for the greatest number. This is the principle of utility, on which all forms of utilitarianism are based. Utility means usefulness, “that property in any object, whereby it tends to produce benefit, advantage, pleasure, good, or happiness.” Bentham was clear that every person’s pleasure had equal value: "each to count for one, and none for more than one". Utilitarians differ in what they consider intrinsically valuable or good (pleasure, happiness, fulfillment of preferences), but agree that we ought to bring about as much good as possible.
Utilitarianism: Act Utilitarianism
Bentham is generally considered to have been an Act
Utilitarian – he would judge each situation differently, doing that action that led to the greatest good. Act
Utilitarianism is considered one of the purest forms of utilitarianism, as it allows the individual complete freedom to choose whatever leads to the greater good. Bentham did talk about a ‘rule of thumb’, saying we could be guided by similar cases in the past rather than doing a complete calculation in every new situation. However, this was just to help, and if the current situation requires a different
Bentham was a hedonist – he believed that pleasure is good in itself, and other things are good in so far as they bring about pleasure and the absence of pain.
“Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure.” You could work out which action to perform by calculating which option brought about the greatest amount of pleasure:
Duration – how long does the pleasure last?
Remoteness – how distant is the pleasure?
Purity – how free from pain is it?
Richness – will it lead to other pleasures?
Intensity – how powerful is the pleasure
Certainty – how likely is it that pleasure will result?
Extent – how many people will experience pleasure?
Utilitarianism: Principle of Utility
The right course of action is the one that brings about the greatest good for the greatest number. This is the principle of utility, on which all forms of utilitarianism are based. Utility means usefulness, “that property in any object, whereby it tends to produce benefit, advantage, pleasure, good, or happiness.” Bentham was clear that every person’s pleasure had equal value: "each to count for one, and none for more than one". Utilitarians differ in what they consider intrinsically valuable or good (pleasure, happiness, fulfillment of preferences), but agree that we ought to bring about as much good as possible.
Utilitarianism: Act Utilitarianism
Bentham is generally considered to have been an Act
Utilitarian – he would judge each situation differently, doing that action that led to the greatest good. Act
Utilitarianism is considered one of the purest forms of utilitarianism, as it allows the individual complete freedom to choose whatever leads to the greater good. Bentham did talk about a ‘rule of thumb’, saying we could be guided by similar cases in the past rather than doing a complete calculation in every new situation. However, this was just to help, and if the current situation requires a different