What is the principle of utility? What kinds of actions does it recommend? (ch 1). What kind of proof can be given for the principle of utility, according to Bentham? What kinds of considerations does he offer to convince those who might doubt it? (ch 1). How is the value of a pleasure determined, according to Bentham? Can there be pleasures that cannot be compared? (ch 4)
Jeremy Bentham’s principle of utility is meant to govern every and any action according to how much it diminishes or augments pleasure. This principle is not meant to evaluate what has already been done but is supposed to act as a guide towards the “right” choice. Bentham states that human beings dictate their actions in pursuit of pleasure and aversion to pain. Obtaining the highest amount of pleasure and success for a community demands that we understand and fulfill the pleasures of the individuals that make up the body; “It is in vain to talk of the interest of the community, without understanding what is the interest of the individual” (pp. 15).
The principle is applicable at both an individual and collective level, though the necessitation of sacrifice is implied. While what Bentham is describing is aiming to benefit the individual and the community, it can also be extremely harmful if it means it benefits more people. An individual may be forced to sacrifice their pleasure for the collective pleasure of their community if the individual’s pleasure would result in pain for everyone else. Pain or pleasure that is felt by more than one person is automatically more valuable than pain or pleasure felt by the individual.
The value of a pleasure is determined based on these four conditions: its intensity, duration, certainty/ uncertainty, and propinquity (interpersonal attraction)/ remoteness. Measuring the value is different from determining whether or not the action should be pursued based on how much pain or pleasure is estimated to come from it. Fecundity, “the chance it has of being followed by sensations of the same kind,” and purity, “the chance it has of not being followed by sensations of the opposite kind,” (pp. 31) can be taken into account depending on the circumstances of the act. Extent is also something to be considered when measuring the value of a pleasure; how many other persons are being affected?
Bentham’s notion of utilitarianism is entirely dependent on the ability to compare pleasures, this is why Bentham provides several factors to take into account when measuring the value of a pleasure. Everything must be comparable in at least one of those aspects, if not all, so that the action that furthers a civilian’s quality of life can be chosen.
There is no proof that directly demonstrates the functionality of this principle as according to Bentham “that which is used to prove everything else, cannot itself be proved,” implying that the principle is the foundation for any possible proofs making them redundant. To further explicate his claim, Betham asserts that men naturally apply the principle of utility when following their instinctive wants or needs (see XII pp. 16). He is essentially proving that his principle does not require proof of its adequacy because of how close it is in structure to the human thought process.
Works Cited
Bentham, Jeremy. McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought, 1781st ed., Kitchener: Batoche Books, 2000, pp. 15–31, https://historyofeconomicthought.mcmaster.ca/bentham/index.html. Accessed 2024.
