Key terms and concepts

The Hedonic Calculus is a pseudo-mathematical process proposed by Bentham for calculating the sum total of pleasure or pain that would result from any action. The first four criteria [intensity; duration; certainty or uncertainty; propinquity or remoteness] are properties of the pleasure or pain. The next two [fecundity and purity] are properties of the action and are concerned with its tendency to produce more of the same or more of the opposite. The final criterion [extent] is not just a matter of counting up the number of people who are affected positively and negatively. Bentham says the first six criteria should be used to calculate the balance of pleasure and pain and that this process should then be applied to each person affected in order to arrive at the general tendency of the act whether for good or ill. Bentham says that ‘it is not to be expected that this process should be strictly pursued previously to every moral judgment, or to every legislative or judicial operation’ but should always kept in view.