John Stuart Mill’s theory of higher and lower pleasures is his idea that mental and moral pleasures are of higher value than physical pleasure. I agree, but not for the same reason I think that people under torture are probably going to say whatever they believe will get them out of the terrifying situation.ģ. By simply torturing an individual, it would not actually create pleasure for anyone even if there were the possibility that information could be attained. Bentham would not have recommended the use of torture as a last resort in a national security crisis because that would invade their sphere of personal inviolability. The calculus attempts to place precise measures on aspects of human nature that are of a subjective nature.Ģ. For example, it is not easy to place an exact measure on the “Intensity” of the pleasure being assessed. The inherent problem with the the calculus is that some of the criteria are difficult to quantify. An advantage of using the calculus is tries to provide the best results for the most people. An example of how to use this theory is for legislators to create laws that would cause more suffering and pain to criminals than the pleasure their crime provided. The function of Bentham’s hedonistic calculus is to provide a moral theory of what is right and wrong, based on the idea that what gives the most pleasure and happiness and the least pain to the world is the correct action.
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