Utilitarianism. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of utilitarianism
Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of utilitarianism
Jeremy Bentham first developed the idea of utilitarianism after reading the phrase ‘greatest good for the greatest number’ in Joseph Priestley’s Essay on Government. He had a desire to create a universal theory which would bring scientific certainty to ethics and eliminate moral disagreement.
Utilitarianism can be defined in several ways and the principle has changed slightly since its conception. The definition is effectively that an action is deemed morally correct if it produces more happiness of all affected by it than any other alternative and wrong if it does not.
Utilitarianism provides a clear method for deciding on a course of action that disregards personal confusion. Bentham’s aim was to achieve a specific scientific formula to calculate how much pleasure and pain is produced from each proposed action. From this Bentham proposed the hedonic calculus which had seven criteria; intensity, duration, purity, extent, certainty, fecundity and remoteness. These factors weigh up the potential amount of pleasure or pain which might arise from moral actions to decide which would be the best option to take. Ideally, this formula should determine which act has the best tendency and is therefore right. Bentham hoped this theory could be used for criminal law reform. Incorporating it into criminal law seemed almost too easy. Given a certain crime, it would be possible to work out the minimum penalty necessary for its prevention. Bentham argued that all human actions arise from the theory of hedonic calculus.