Britannica
Sources used in this answer
Which factors did Jeremy Bentham think should be considered when measuring pleasure and pain?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Utilitarianism
English philosopher and economist Jeremy Bentham's preserved skeleton in his own clothes and surmounted by a wax head, at University College London.
Jeremy Bentham, the founder of modern utilitarianism, proposed that the morality of an action should be determined by its ability to increase the net surplus of pleasure over pain. To measure these consequences, he suggested a hedonic calculus that accounts for the pleasures and pains of everyone affected on an equal basis.1
When evaluating the value of these feelings, Bentham identified several key factors to consider:
- Intensity: How strong the pleasure or pain is.1
- Duration: How long the pleasure or pain lasts.1
- Certainty or Uncertainty: How likely it is that the pleasure or pain will occur.1
- Propinquity or Remoteness: How soon the pleasure or pain will occur.1
- Fecundity: Whether the feeling tends to give rise to further sensations of the same kind (e.g., pleasure leading to more pleasure).1
- Purity: Whether the feeling tends to give rise to sensations of the opposite kind.1
- Extent: The number of people affected by the action.1
Bentham did not distinguish between the qualitative value of different pleasures, arguing that "quantity of pleasure being equal, pushpin is as good as poetry".1