Volume-XI, Issue-IV, July 2025 |
বেন্থামের উপযোগিতাবাদে সুখের প্রকৃতি: পরিমাণ ও গুণের দ্বৈত বিশ্লেষণ রাজিবুল ইসলাম, দুর্গাপুর উইমেন্স কলেজ, দুর্গাপুর, পশ্চিম বর্ধমান, পশ্চিমবঙ্গ, ভারত |
Received: 03.07.2025 | Accepted: 12.07.2025 | Published Online: 31.07.2025 | Page No: | ||||
DOI: 10.29032/ijhsss.vol.11.issue.04W.097 | |||||||
The Nature of Happiness in Bentham's Utilitarianism: A Dual Analysis of Quantity and Quality Rajibul Islam, Durgapur Women’s College, Durgapur, Paschim Bardhaman, West Bengal, India | ||
ABSTRACT | ||
Jeremy Bentham’s theory of utilitarianism states that the right action is the one that brings the greatest happiness to the greatest number. He believed that pleasure (happiness) and pain are the two main factors that guide human behavior. To assess how good or bad an action is, Bentham proposed seven points or "criteria"—such as how intense the pleasure is, how long it lasts, how certain it is, and how many people are affected. This is known as the “hedonistic calculus.” Many people think Bentham only emphasized the quantity of pleasure, but this is not entirely true. Some of his points—like purity (how free the pleasure is from pain) and fecundity (whether it leads to more pleasure later)—also indicate that he cared about the quality of pleasure. This means Bentham didn’t just believe that more pleasure is better, but that better kinds of pleasure also matter. So, Bentham was not simply a numbers-based thinker; he was a thoughtful philosopher who understood human emotions and experience. His ideas remain significant today when considering justice, fairness, and societal decision-making. Keywords: Utilitarianism, Happiness, Pain, Hedonistic Calculus, Ethics |