JEREMY BENTHAM
(1748-1832)
Bentham, as
I mentioned earlier, is a utilitarian. Utilitarians maintain that an action is
morally good if it maximizes happiness or minimizes unhappiness, and that an
action is morally bad if it maximizes unhappiness or minimizes happiness. As we
read a selection from Bentham, we’ll see why he thinks that utilitarianism is
correct and what he means by “maximizing happiness.”
Excerpts from An
Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation
CHAPTER I: ON
THE PRINCIPLE OF UTILITY
I.
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. On the one hand the standard of right and wrong,
on the other the chain of causes and effects, are fastened to their throne.
They govern us in all we do, in all we say, in all we think: every effort we
can make to throw off our subjection, will serve but to demonstrate and confirm
it. In words a man may pretend to abjure their empire: but in reality he will
remain subject to it all the while. The principle of utility recognizes this
subjection, and assumes it for the foundation of that system, the object of
which is to rear the fabric of felicity by the hands of reason and of law.
Systems which attempt to question it, deal in sounds instead of sense, in
caprice instead of reason, in darkness instead of light.
But
enough of metaphor and declamation: it is not by such means that moral science
is to be improved.
Bentham
writes “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.” In this way, he claims that
attaining pleasure (happiness) and avoiding pain (unhappiness) are the ultimate
objectives of everything we do, so any system of ethics should recognize that
fact.
Questions for Consideration:
·
Do
you agree with Bentham here? Why or why not?
·
How
might Bentham respond to the objection that we do many things (like going to
the dentist, or studying for exams) that we know will be unpleasant?
Later on in
this paragraph, Bentham says “…every effort we can make to throw off our
subjection [to pleasure and pain], will serve but to demonstrate and confirm
it. In words a man may pretend to abjure their empire: but in reality he will
remain subject to it all the while.” In other words, if we decide that we don’t
want to be governed by pain and
pleasure, and intentionally allow our actions to be governed by some other
objective, we’ll only succeed to showing ourselves to be governed by the
pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain after all!
Questions for Consideration:
·
Is
this right here? Why or why not?
II.
The principle of utility is the foundation of the present work: it will be
proper therefore at the outset to give an explicit and determinate account of
what is meant by it. By the principle of utility is meant that principle which
approves or disapproves of every action whatsoever, according to the tendency
which it appears to have to augment or diminish the happiness of the party
whose interest is in question: or, what is the same thing in other words, to promote
or to oppose that happiness. I say of every action whatsoever and therefore not
only of every action of a private individual, but of every measure of
government.
These are
important paragraphs, because in them Bentham gives us his Principle of
Utility. In paragraph II he writes, “By the principle of utility is meant that
principle which approves or disapproves of every action whatsoever, according
to the tendency which it appears to have to augment or diminish the happiness
of the party whose interest is in question: or, what is the same thing in other
words, to promote or to oppose that happiness.” In paragraph
Essentially,
then, the principle of utility says that an action is morally good if it
increases the average level happiness or decreases the average level
unhappiness among everyone affected by the action, and that an action is bad if
it decreases the average level of happiness or increases the average
unhappiness among everyone affected by the action. This is the central tenant
of utilitarianism, and is often expressed by the slogan “the greatest good for
the greatest number.”
Questions for Consideration:
·
Suppose
you have a choice between helping five of your friends move and staying at home
and watching T.V. You would get the most pleasure from staying home and
watching T.V., but your five friends would get the most pleasure from having
you help them. According to utilitarianism, what should you do? Why?
·
You
and I are going to a movie, but we disagree about what film to see. I would be
mildly disappointed to see the movie you prefer, but you would be very
disappointed to see the movie I prefer. According to utilitarianism, should we
see your movie or mine? Why?
·
Do
you like utilitarianism? Why or why not?
CHAPTER
IV: VALUE OF A
I.
Pleasures then, and the avoidance of pains, are the ends which the legislator
has in view: it behoves him therefore to understand their value. Pleasures and
pains are the instruments he has to work with: it behoves him therefore to
understand their force, which is again, in other words, their value.
Having given
us the principle of utility, which says that we should maximize pleasure and
minimize pain, Bentham realizes that this advice is worthless unless we know
what kinds of factors should we consider when deciding if pleasure is
maximized and pain is minimized. This isn’t as easy as it might seem at
first, because pleasures and pains aren’t all the same. Some are intense and
others are mild, for example. Some are short-term, others long-term. So, how
can we compare an intense short-term pleasure with a milder long-term one? In
the next few paragraphs, Bentham will tell us what to look for when measuring
pleasure and pain.
II.
To a person considered by himself, the value of a pleasure or pain considered
by itself, will be greater or less, according to the four following
circumstances:
1. Its intensity.
2. Its duration.
3. Its certainty or
uncertainty.
4. Its propinquity or
remoteness.
Bentham
wisely decides to start with the simplest case possible, discussing how to make
a decision if 1) we have only our own
pleasure and pain to consider, and 2) don’t need to factor in the actions which
bring about that pleasure and pain.
Let’s
suppose, for example, that you need to choose between cramming for an early
morning exam this evening, and going to a movie with your friends, and that you
have only to consider the pleasure or pain that each activity will give you.
You don’t need to take into account the future consequences of your actions and
you can ignore the impact of your decision on other people. You can focus on
the pleasure or pain itself. And to facilitate comparison, let’s rank
the pleasure and pain on a numerical scale, 1 to 10 for pleasures, with 1 being
mildly pleasurable and 10 being unadulterated ecstasy, and -1 to –10 for pains,
with –1 being slight pain and –10 being sheer torment.
We’ll
consider the effect of studying first, and I’ll assume that studying would give
you pain, rather than pleasure, that you wouldn’t enjoy the time you
spent studying for the exam. (I think this is a fair and not uncharitable
assumption. Learning can be quite pleasurable, but cramming for an
exam seldom is.) This means that the numbers assigned to studying will be
negative.
How intense
will your suffering be? Let’s assume that it’s relatively mild, maybe a
–2. How long will it last? Not very
long, just for a few hours, so let’s give duration a –1. How certain is
the pain? Pretty certain. Maybe you’ll have a good time studying, but it
isn’t likely. We’ll give that a –7. And, finally, how soon will this
suffering occur? Very soon. So let’s give a
–9 to propinquity. Adding all this together, we see that studying for
the exam has a “utility score” of –19. Not good.
|
|
Studying |
Movie |
|
Intensity |
-2 |
|
|
Duration |
-1 |
|
|
Certainty |
-7 |
|
|
Propinquity |
-9 |
|
|
Total |
-19 |
|
Now what
about going to the movie? I assume that you’d have good time doing this, so
let’s assign it positive numbers.
How intense
would your pleasure be, if you go to the movies? Let’s say about a 3. How long
will the pleasure last? Again, only for a few hours, so we’ll give it a 1. How
sure is it that you’ll get pleasure? Well, movies can be worse than one
expects, so I’ll give this only a 6. And finally, how soon will you get this
pleasure. Very soon, so it gets a 9. This gives going to the movie a utility
score of 19. Not bad.
|
|
Studying |
Movie |
|
Intensity |
-2 |
3 |
|
Duration |
-1 |
1 |
|
Certainty |
-7 |
6 |
|
Propinquity |
-9 |
9 |
|
Total |
-19 |
19 |
Clearly,
then, if this is all “maximizing happiness” means, utilitarianism would
advise you to go to the movie. It isn’t even a close call! But we know that the
decision to study or go to the movies isn’t this simple. For one thing, your
actions may have consequences for you even after the studying and movie are
over. For another thing, other people may be affected. Bentham is about to show
us how to take these considerations into account.
5.
Its fecundity, or the chance it has of being followed by sensations of the same
kind: that is, pleasures, if it be a pleasure: pains, if it be a pain.
6.
Its purity, or the chance it has of not being followed by sensations of the
opposite kind: that is, pains, if it be a pleasure: pleasures, if it be a pain.
These
two last, however, are in strictness scarcely to be deemed properties of the
pleasure or the pain itself; they are not, therefore, in strictness to be take
into the account of the value of that pleasure or that pain. They are in
strictness to be deemed properties only of the act, or other event, by which
such pleasure or pain has been produced; and accordingly are only to be taken
into the account of the tendency of such act or such event.
In paragraph
One type of
future consequence is what Bentham calls “fecundity.” Fecundity is the tendency
of an action to continue produce to sensations of the same kind that it
produced during its performance even after the action has been
completed. It’s a “more of the same” thing. For example, if an action is painful,
its fecundity is the tendency of that action to continue to bring about pain
after it’s over. Thus, the fecundity of a painful action will be a negative
number. If an action is pleasurable, its fecundity is the tendency of that
action to continue to generate pleasure after it’s over. Thus, the fecundity of
a pleasurable action will be a positive number.
For example,
what’s the fecundity of studying for the exam? How likely are you to experience
even more pain as a result of studying, after you’re done studying? Not
likely, I think, so we’ll give that 0.
What’s the
fecundity of going to the movies with friends? How likely are you to experience
even more pleasure as a result of going to the movie, after you’ve gone?
Again, I don’t think you’re very likely, so we’ll give that a 0 too.
In addition
to fecundity, Bentham advises us to consider the purity of an action.
Purity is the tendency of an action to not produce to sensations of the opposite
kind that it produced during its performance, after the action has been
completed. Personally, I find this unnecessarily complex and propose that we
think about impurity rather than purity, where impurity is the tendency
of an action to produce the opposite kind of sensation upon its
completion. For example, if an action is painful but tends produce pleasure
later, the action is impure in its painfulness. Because impurity in
painful actions is a good thing, or a type of pleasure, we’ll measure it in positive
numbers. On the other hand, if an action is pleasurable in its performance
but tends to bring about pain later, the action is impure in its
pleasure. Because impurity in pleasurable actions is bad thing, or a
type of pain, we’ll measure it in negative numbers.
So, how
impure is the pain you’d get from studying? I’d say it’s pretty darn impure!
Although studying itself might not feel terrific, the good grades that result
usually do. Let’s give studying a 9 for impurity.
How impure
is the pleasure you’d get from going to the movies? Again, I’d say that it’s
relatively impure. You’d enjoy the movie, but afterwards, you’d either have to
study even harder – to make up for lost time – or you’d have to suffer the pain
of a bad grade. I’ll give going to the movie a –10 for impurity
|
|
Studying |
Movie |
|
Intensity |
-2 |
3 |
|
Duration |
-1 |
1 |
|
Certainty |
-7 |
6 |
|
Propinquity |
-9 |
9 |
|
Fecundity |
0 |
0 |
|
Impurity |
9 |
-10 |
|
Total |
-10 |
9 |
We can see
that taking fecundity and impurity into account narrows the gap between
studying for the exam and going to the movies. Utility would still
advise you to the movies, of course, but not by such a wide margin.
However, utilitarianism doesn’t tell us to
maximize our own immediate and future happiness. It tells us to maximize
the happiness for the greatest number of people, and you wouldn’t be the
only one affected by your decision to study or go to the movies. Your friends
and family have some stake in your decision. In the next paragraph, Bentham
shows us how to consider this fact.
IV.
To a number of persons, with reference to each of whom the value of pleasure or
a pain is considered, it will be greater or less, according to seven
circumstances: to wit, the six preceding ones; viz.
1. Its intensity.
2. Its duration.
3. Its certainty or
uncertainty.
4. Its propinquity or
remoteness.
5. Its fecundity.
6. Its purity.
And
one other; to wit:
7.
Its extent; that is, the number of persons to whom it extends; or (in other words)
who are affected by it....
In order to
accommodate the fact that we should consider the impact of your decision upon
all people affected by it, we’ll need to fill out a chart like the one we’ve
just completed for you for everyone involved, and then add up
everybody’s totals.
For the sake
of simplicity, let’s say that only one of your friends, Pat, would be affected
by your decision to study or go to the movie, that only one of your family
members, your mom, would be affected.
We’ll start
by noting that the chart we’ve just completed is, in fact, for you.
|
You |
Studying |
Movie |
|
Intensity |
-2 |
3 |
|
Duration |
-1 |
1 |
|
Certainty |
-7 |
6 |
|
Propinquity |
-9 |
9 |
|
Fecundity |
0 |
0 |
|
Impurity |
9 |
-10 |
|
Total |
-10 |
9 |
Now we can
start to think about the impact that each choice would have for other people.
How, for example, would Pat be affected by your decision? Let’s say that
although he would enjoy your company at the movie, he wouldn’t really miss you
if you weren’t there. Consequently, he would get no pain or pleasure at all,
either now or in the future, from your decision to study, so we’ll give that
0’s all the way down.
But because
Pat would enjoy it if you went along to the movie, he would get some
immediate pleasure from your decision to do so, perhaps at an intensity of
about 2, which would last only for a few hours (duration of 1), have a
certainty of 6 (because maybe you’ll talk during the movie and annoy him), a
very high propinquity (let’s say a 9) and virtually no subsequent pain or
pleasure. This gives us the following chart for Pat.
|
Pat |
Studying |
Movie |
|
Intensity |
0 |
2 |
|
Duration |
0 |
1 |
|
Certainty |
0 |
6 |
|
Propinquity |
0 |
9 |
|
Fecundity |
0 |
0 |
|
Impurity |
0 |
0 |
|
Total |
0 |
17 |
Now, what
about your mom? I have been given to understand that parents like it
when their children study, so when you study, your mother will experience
pleasure, of intensity 5, for as long as you study (duration 1), and this
pleasure is absolutely guaranteed, and will happen very soon, for certainty and
propinquity scores of 9. Your studying would also give your mother fairly fecund
pleasure, insofar as it increases her future chances to reflect on, and brag
about, her studious offspring. I’ll put an 8 in fecundity. And I’ll put a 0 in
impurity because I can’t see a plausible downside in this for your mom.
What about
your decision to go to the movie? Since your mother probably thinks you should
be studying, this would give her some pain, but probably not very much.
I’ll say –2, which would last for a short time (duration –1). This pain would
be fairly certain – although perhaps not quite a certain as her pleasure would
be if you studied - and very soon. I’ll put down a –6 for certainty and –9 for
propinquity. Now to fecundity. Will your decision to go to the movies instead
of studying cause your mother even more pain in the future? Oh yes. Wait until
the grades come in. I’ll give your decision to go to the movies a –9 in
fecundity for your mother. And since I don’t see any real pleasure that
lies at the end of this particular road for her, I’ll give it a 0 for impurity.
|
Mom |
Studying |
Movie |
|
Intensity |
5 |
-2 |
|
Duration |
1 |
-1 |
|
Certainty |
9 |
-6 |
|
Propinquity |
9 |
-9 |
|
Fecundity |
0 |
-9 |
|
Impurity |
0 |
0 |
|
Total |
24 |
-27 |
Now that
we’ve calculated the utility of each of your options for everyone involved, we
can merge all these charts into one and add up all the totals, like this:
|
You |
Studying |
Movie |
|
Intensity |
-2 |
3 |
|
Duration |
-1 |
1 |
|
Certainty |
-7 |
6 |
|
Propinquity |
-9 |
9 |
|
Fecundity |
0 |
0 |
|
Impurity |
9 |
-10 |
|
Total |
-10 |
9 |
|
Pat |
Studying |
Movie |
|
Intensity |
0 |
2 |
|
Duration |
0 |
1 |
|
Certainty |
0 |
6 |
|
Propinquity |
0 |
9 |
|
Fecundity |
0 |
0 |
|
Impurity |
0 |
0 |
|
Total |
0 |
17 |
|
Mom |
Studying |
Movie |