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E thics Also called the utility calculus or felicity calculus, a device for calculating quantities of pleasure and pain , appealed to by Jeremy Bentham . When we need to choose between alternative courses of action , we should calculate the amount of pleasure or pain that each action can produce for all the people affected. The right action in the circumstances is the action that can contribute most to the sum of happiness. The criteria which one needs to consider in calculating the amount of pleasure include intensity, duration, certainty (or uncertainty), propinquity (or remoteness), fecundity (their tendency to promote or lead to more pleasure), purity (not mixed up with or followed by unappealing feelings), and extent (the number of persons who are affected by it). Bentham made it clear that he does not expect this process to be strictly pursued before every moral judgment or judicial operation, but these factors should always be kept in view. Bentham also described the implications of the hedonistic calculus on legal reform. However, this calculus is widely criticized because it is hard to compare different types of pleasure, a problem that has led to a reassessment of the nature of pleasure. “Bentham devised what is called the ‘Hedonistic calculus’ for calculating the amount of pleasure or pain that would occur as a result of one's actions.” Hospers, Human Conduct ... log in or subscribe to read full text