You cannot predict the future so the calculations cannot always be accurate. It is also natural to consider the consequences of our actions when deciding on what to do. It is reasonable to link morality with the pursuit of happiness and the avoidance of pain and misery. Extent (how many people will be affected by it) Purity (how likely the pleasures/pains will be followed by the opposite types of pleasures/pains)ħ. Fecundity (how likely the pleasures/pains will be followed by similar pleasures/pains)Ħ. how much they will affect you personally)ĥ. Propinquity (how near to you the pleasures/pains will be - i.e. Certainty (how likely certain outcomes are)Ĥ. Duration (how long the pleasures/pains will last)ģ. Intensity (how great the pleasures/pains will be)Ģ. He said we need to consider seven different factors, his Hedonic Calculus or the Felicific Calculus.ġ. It is for them alone to point out what we ought to do as well as to determine what we shall do.' (Bentham, Introduction to the Principles of Moral Legislation, 1789)īentham said that we need to look at the possible things we might do and the various outcomes and calculate how much pleasure and pain they might create, finally choosing the one that best maximises pleasure and minimises pain. 'Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure. Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) stated that naturally we are ruled by two key things - pleasure and pain - two basic instincts.
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