Hedonic Calculus

Step 1

• Determine the amount of pleasure and pain brought to the person most directly affected by the action. Bentham has 4 things to measure:
• 1) The intensity of the pleasure/pain
• 2) The duration of the pleasure/pain
• 3) The certainty of the pleasure/pain
• 4) The remoteness of the pleasure/pain

Step 2

• Examine the effects of the pleasure/ pain including:
• 5) The fecundity* of the pleasure/pain
• 6) The purity** of the pleasure/pain
• *Fecundity means the tendency of the pleasure to produce other pleasures.
• **Purity means the tendency of pleasure to only produce pleasure (same for pain)

Step 3

• This step only comes when considering the effects on others
• 7) The extent of the pleasure/pain (no. of people affected by the action)

Step 4

• Calculate the total utility by using 1-7 to count up the amount of pleasure and pain brought by an action.

Step 5

• If a range of options are available then repeat steps 1-4 for all actions then choose which option produces the most pleasure over pain