Jeremy Bentham

quote about pain and pleasure

“Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure. It is for them alone to point out what we ought to do, as well as to determine what we shall do”

-Jeremy Bentham

the hedonistic/felicific calculus

1. intensity - how intense is the pleasure or pain?

2. duration - how long does the pleasure or pain last?

3. certainty - what is the probability that the pleasure or pain will occur?

4. propinquity - how far off in the future is the pleasure or pain?

5. fecundity - what is the probability that the pleasure will lead to other pleasures?

6. purity - what is the probability that the pain will lead to other pains?

7. extent - how many persons are affected by the pleasure

d

d

d

d