Various Thoughts on Bentham and Mill

Eddie Guggenbiller

Philosophy 202

11/28/2005

Bentham/Mill Quiz

1. When Bentham speaks of the Ð''principle of utility', he is talking of an idea that can be considered along with every action. However, Bentham is not just referring to the usefulness of things or actions, but to the extent to which these things or actions promote the general happiness that is, something's utility. The utility of an object is the property that allows for it to produce pleasure and prevent pain. Thus, happiness is considered in its ability to maximize our pleasure and limit our pain. As Bentham clearly states:

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. (Bentham, Pg 9)

Basically for Bentham, what is morally obligatory is the action that produces the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people. Bentham and Mill both feel that pain and pleasure are the things that govern us in our moral lives. As Bentham states, "Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure. It is for the alone to point out what we ought to do, as well as to determine what we shall do" (Bentham, Pg 8). We try in every situation to maximize our pleasure while limiting our pain, and this is what the principle of utility is all about. The utility principle is based on the values of creating pleasure and refuting pain. This is the type of thing that should and does drive us in our lives and that is why the utility principle is what Mill and Bentham believe to be the correct driving force in out lives.

2. It is nice to see that Bentham indeed has a method to his madness when he talks about the principle of utility. Bentham feels that to effectively implement the GHP into all aspects of life, one must consider seven separate circumstances with every situation. Bentham breaks his seven circumstances up into two groups though. First he talks about what needs to be considered if we look at pain and pleasure in an individual sense. The value of pain and pleasure in a individual sense relies on these four circumstances:

1. Its intensity Ð'- How great the pleasure being produced is and how painful the pain being produced is.

2. Its duration Ð'- How long the pleasure or pain is going to last.

3. Its certainty or uncertainty Ð'- How good an action is at actually producing pleasure or pain. Or how good something is at stopping pleasure or pain.

4. Its propinquity or remoteness Ð'- How long it would take an action to reach pleasure or pain, or how long it would take to stop pain or pleasure.

Bentham then goes on to talk about what we need to consider in addition to the above circumstances when talking about the utility of a group. These next three circumstances are:

5. Its fecundity - The chance that the action has of being followed by the same kind of sensation it produces. That is, its chance of reproducing pain if the initial reaction was pain and pleasure if the initial reaction was pleasure.

6. Its purity - The chance that the action has of not being followed by the opposite kind of sensation it produces. That is, its chance of something not reproducing pleasure if the initial reaction was pain and pleasure if the initial reaction was pain.

7. Its extent Ð'- How many people are being affected in a particular situation.

3. Mill believes that we as people have two types of pleasures that we work towards gaining throughout life. He simply titles these as higher, mental pleasures and lower pleasures or bodily pleasures. Things like reading literature and poetry, studying, and even playing chess would all be considered as higher pleasures for Mill. Pretty much anything that works the mind in some type of way that would allow for an outcome of pleasure are higher pleasures. He sees bodily pleasures as the lower pleasures in life, which are commonly associated with things like drinking and having promiscuous sex. Lower pleasures are things equated with our animal instincts. Mill thinks that once someone has an understanding of what the higher pleasures are, they will avoid they're animal instincts to an extent and search for fulfillment