1. 3. The Hedonic Calculus
When facing a moral dilemma it is difficult to weigh up all possible actions and decide which will create the most utility. Thus, Bentham created the hedonic calculus to aid individuals in making moral decisions.
The calculus weighs up the pain and pleasure that could be produced by the available moral actions and finds the best option. It considers the seven factors:
What is the hedonic calculus? Record this information on your worksheet.

2. Bentham’s hedonic calculus
Read the Hedonic Calculus information sheet and note down the seven dimensions of the calculus in your book.
P.R.R.I.C.E.D = acronym.
Purity – how free from pain is it?
Remoteness – how near is it?
Richness or Succession– to what extent will it lead to other pleasures?
Intensity – how powerful is it?
Certainty – how likely it is to result in pleasure?
Extent – how many people does it affect?
Duration – how long will it last?
7 November 2018
philosophicalinvestigations.co.uk

3. Apply the Hedonic Calculus to this situation:
I’ve wanted these trainers for ages. I’ve saved up my pocket money but still can’t afford them. I’ve stolen some money from my mum’s cookie jar (she hides money there) and she won’t find out it’s gone for ages. I plan to get the trainers this weekend and then I can wear them next weekend when I go to my friend’s birthday. I can’t wait!!!

4. Application of the Hedonic Calculus
Read through the following case studies
For each scenario try to work out what a utilitarian would decide to do.
For each explanation you must refer to at least two aspects of the hedonic calculus.
Bentham argues that humans are motivated by pleasure and pain. Bentham was a hedonist (greek for pleasure).
They want to maximise pleasure and minimise pain.

5. Case study
What should a utilitarian do in this scenario? Refer to the hedonic calculus
You are a poor, homeless man in need of food and shelter. A rich man passes you on the street and accidentally drops his wallet. You pick it up and find £100 inside. Should you return it to him?
In this situation a utilitarian should not return the wallet, as keeping the wallet will produce the most amount of happiness for the most amount of people. When consulting the hedonic calculus this becomes apparent. Keeping the wallet will produce pleasure for the homeless man and little pain for the rich man as he does not need the money. Additionally, the happiness for the poor man will last longer than the potential pain caused for the rich man, as the poor man may be able to feed himself for several days. Finally, it is certain that keeping the wallet will cause pleasure for the poor man, however it is uncertain whether the rich man will experience any pain at all from losing his wallet.
You and 4 friends are in a car when it is hijacked at some traffic lights. The group have guns and insist that you shoot one of your friends, if you do not shoot one of them then the hijackers will shoot all of you.
What should a utilitarian do?
A group of people are in a hot air balloon that is damaged. It is approaching the ground, and fast. If you could only lighten it somehow chances are you can make it to a safe landing. The group have thrown all unnecessary materials overboard, all that remains is the 10 of them, but the air balloon can only carry 8 safely.
Should you pick 2 people
to throw overboard?
A passenger liner is wrecked at sea and there is only one lifeboat left which can hold five people. You are on board with your mum, dad, brother and sister and a scientist who is on the cusp of discovering the cure for cancer. Who should be left behind?
CANABILISM JUSTICE CLIP

6. Roger Crisp (1960-), Professor of Philosophy at Oxford, has put the problem with Bentham’s hedonic calculus as follows:
‘There is, of course, a serious question about whether such calculations are possible. But there is a yet deeper problem, arising out of the very assumptions on which this model of calculation is based. Imagine that you are a soul, awaiting to be allocated a life. You are offered either the life of the composer, Joseph Haydn, or than of an oyster. Haydn’s life is quite long, involving great success and enjoyment. The life of the oyster consists only in the most simple and primitive pleasurable experience possible. Of course, you ask for the life of Haydn; but you are then told that the life of the oyster can be as long as you like – millions of years, if you so desire.
‘According to Bentham’s view, since all pleasures are measurable on a single scale, there must come a point at which the oyster life becomes more worthy of choice than that of the composer. Many people will feel unhappy about this implication, thinking that what one would lose by not choosing Haydn’s life could never be compensated for by any number of years of primitive pleasure.’

7. Is the Hedonic Calculus practical?
YES: 1. 2.
NO: 1. 2.

8. 1. The Motivation of Human Beings 3. The principle of Utility
2. The Hedonic Calculus
Jeremy Bentham
John Stuart Mill
Rule Utilitarianism
Act Utilitarianism
Bentham argues that humans are motivated by pleasure and pain. Bentham was a hedonist (greek for pleasure).
They want to maximise pleasure and minimise pain.
Preference Utilitarianism

9. Exam Practice:
Do now:
Look back at the structure sheets in your book, how do you structure an answer to an 8 mark question?

10. Exam Practice 8 marks:

11. Explore the key concepts of Bentham’s Act Utilitarianism (8)
What is act utilitarianism?
What kind of ethical theory is this?
What are the key features of Bentham’s utilitarianism?
Answer questions as a class
Give students 10 minutes to write their answer.

12. Explore the key concepts of Bentham’s Act Utilitarianism (8)
Did you include?
Ethical theory developed against the social, economic and cultural background of the Industrial Revolution and Enlightenment.
Developed by Jeremy Bentham, observing that humans are motivated by, and thus seek, happiness which is pleasure without pain.
Act Utilitarianism is a normative, teleological (consequentialist) approach to ethical decision making, based on predicted outcomes.
Based on actions and ends, rather than on inherent moral principles, such as duty.
Based on the principle of utility, which determines the usefulness of the action so far as it is likely to bring about its desired outcome.
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