The Principle of Utility: Notes on Jeremy Bentham's Philosophy
Jeremy Bentham and Modern Utilitarianism
Pioneer: Jeremy Bentham () is recognized as the father of modern Utilitarianism.
Influence: A leading political philosopher of his era, his seminal work, The Principles of Morals and Legislation, is considered a classic in moral and political philosophy.
The Principle of Utility
Core Definition: According to Bentham's "principle of utility," actions are deemed right if they increase happiness and diminish misery, and wrong if they produce the opposite effect.
Meaning of "Utility": It refers to the property of any object or action to produce pleasure or happiness in conscious beings, or, conversely, to prevent mischief, pain, evil, or unhappiness. In essence, benefit, advantage, pleasure, good, or happiness are all synonymous with utility in this context.
Ethical Imperative: We should consistently perform actions that tend to maximize overall happiness.
Hedonistic Utilitarianism: Bentham is specifically identified as a "hedonistic utilitarian," meaning that the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain are the primary objectives.
Sovereignty of Pain and Pleasure
Human Governance: Bentham posits that humanity is governed by two "sovereign masters": pain and pleasure. These alone dictate what we ought to do and what we will do.
Foundation of Morals: They serve as the "standard of right and wrong" and the "chain of causes and effects," influencing all our actions, words, and thoughts.
Inescapability: Any attempt to resist their dominion only serves to confirm it. The principle of utility acknowledges this fundamental subjection and uses it as the basis for a system designed to achieve felicity through reason and law.
Critique of Alternatives: Systems that challenge this principle are described as dealing in "sounds instead of sense," "caprice instead of reason," and "darkness instead of light."
Application of the Principle
Scope: The principle applies to "every action whatsoever," encompassing both the actions of private individuals and all measures of government.
Interest of the Community: This is defined as the sum total of the interests of all individual members that compose the community. To understand the community's interest, one must first understand the individual's interest.
Interest of the Individual: An action promotes an individual's interest if it tends to increase the sum total of their pleasures or diminish the sum total of their pains.
Conformity: An action or government measure is conformable to the principle of utility if its tendency to augment the happiness of the community is greater than any tendency it has to diminish it.
"Laws or Dictates of Utility": For convenience in discourse, an action conforming to the principle can be said to conform to a "law or dictate of utility."
Partisan of Utility: A person is a partisan of utility if their approval or disapproval of an action or measure is determined by and proportional to its tendency to augment or diminish the community's happiness.
Meaning of Moral Terms
Clarity through Utility: Words like "ought," "right," and "wrong" acquire meaning only when interpreted in the context of the principle of utility. Without this reference, they are considered meaningless.
Proving the Principle of Utility
Unprovable Yet Self-Evident: Bentham concedes that the principle of utility cannot be directly proven. He argues that it serves as the foundation for proving everything else, and a chain of proofs must begin somewhere.
Implicit Acceptance: He asserts that most people implicitly accept and act upon this principle daily, even if unconsciously. It is a natural constitution of the human frame.
Critique of Challengers: Bentham suggests that any alternative principle would be "despotical, and hostile to all the rest of the human race." He also believes that those who attempt to combat the principle of utility often draw their reasons, unwittingly, from that very principle itself. Their arguments, if they prove anything, demonstrate a misapplication rather than an inherent flaw in the principle.
Addressing Dissent or Doubt
For someone who struggles to accept the principle, Bentham proposes a series of reflective questions:
Discarding the Principle: Would they wish to discard it entirely? If so, what do their reasonings (especially in politics) amount to without it?
Alternative Principles: Would they judge and act without any principle, or do they have another principle in mind?
Validity of Alternative: Is their alternative truly a separate, intelligible principle, or merely an articulation of their unfounded sentiments (i.e., caprice)?
Sentiment as Standard: If personal sentiment (without regard to consequences) is a sufficient foundation, is it a universal standard for everyone, or does every person's sentiment have equal privilege?
Universal Sentiment: If universal, is it not "despotical, and hostile to all the rest of human race"?
Individual Sentiment: If individual, is it not "anarchical," leading to as many standards as there are people, or even the same thing being right one day and wrong the next for the same person? In such cases, does all argument cease when people merely state "I like this" or "I don't like it"?
Grounded Sentiment: If their sentiment must be grounded on reflection, what are the particulars of that reflection? If they relate to the utility of the act, are they inadvertently borrowing from the principle of utility? If not, what other particulars?
Compromise: If they compound their own principle with utility, how far will they adopt utility? And how do they justify stopping at that point?
Motive for Alternative: If any other principle is admitted as right, what motive would a man have to pursue its dictates, and how does it distinguish from motives enforcing utility's dictates? If no such motive exists, what good is this other principle?
Evaluating Pleasures and Pains (Felicific Calculus)
Bentham outlines specific circumstances to evaluate the "value" of pleasures and pains, essential for a legislator:
For a Person Considered Individually
Factors for a pleasure or pain considered by itself:
Intensity: How strong is the pleasure or pain?
Duration: How long does it last?
Certainty or Uncertainty: How likely is it to occur?
Propinquity or Remoteness: How near or far in time is it?
For Estimating the Tendency of an Act (Individual Level)
Two additional circumstances, which are properties of the act rather than the pleasure/pain itself:
Fecundity: The chance it has of being followed by sensations of the same kind (e.g., a pleasure leading to more pleasures, or a pain leading to more pains).
Purity: The chance it has of not being followed by sensations of the opposite kind (e.g., a pleasure not leading to pains, or a pain not leading to pleasures).
For a Number of Persons (Community Level)
All six preceding circumstances, plus one more:
Extent: The number of persons to whom the pleasure or pain extends, or who are affected by it.
Detailed Process for Assessing an Act's General Tendency (Felicific Calculus for Community)
To calculate the overall tendency of an act affecting a community's interests:
Individual Pleasure (First Instance): Calculate the value of each distinct pleasure produced initially in one person.
Individual Pain (First Instance): Calculate the value of each pain produced initially in the same person.
Subsequent Pleasure: Calculate the value of each pleasure produced after the first. This contributes to the fecundity of the first pleasure and the impurity of the first pain.
Subsequent Pain: Calculate the value of each pain produced after the first. This contributes to the fecundity of the first pain and the impurity of the first pleasure.
Individual Balance: Sum all pleasure values and all pain values for that individual. The balance (pleasure minus pain) indicates the act's good or bad tendency for that person.
Community Balance: Identify all persons whose interests are concerned. Repeat steps for each individual. Sum the positive balances (good tendency) across all individuals and sum the negative balances (bad tendency) across all individuals. The final overall balance indicates the general good or evil tendency of the act for the entire community.
Practical Application Notes
Ideal vs. Reality: This process is not expected to be strictly followed before every moral judgment or legislative act, but it should always be kept in view as an ideal for exactness.
Universal Terms: The process applies to pleasure and pain regardless of their specific names (e.g., "good," "profit," "convenience," "advantage," "benefit," "emolument," "happiness" for pleasure; "evil," "mischief," "inconvenience," "disadvantage," "loss," "unhappiness" for pain).
Real-World Conformity: Bentham argues this isn't a novel theory but reflects common human practice. For example, the value of property is understood to rise or fall based on duration of possession, certainty of acquisition, and propinquity of possession ( land value). While intensity, fecundity, and purity are not typically calculated for property itself, they are implicitly considered when evaluating the specific pleasures or pains the property enables.