I'm having trouble understanding and remembering the Utilitarianism Felicific calculus, can you help me remember it?

First of all, don't panic. Every philosopher gets their head into a spin with theories, and if they don't they probably aren't understanding it all...
So Bentham's Utilitarianism can be broken down really simply. Jeremy Bentham came up with it because he wanted a tool or a system to judge our actions by which quantified pleasure. He decided that the best course of action in an ethical situation is the greatest good for the greatest number. He invented the Felicific Calculus: you can measure an action's ethical value by the Intensity, Duration, Certainty, Remoteness, Repeatability, Purity and Extent of the pleasure received. Now HOW do you remember such a long list of words well enough to regurgitate in an exam and examine critically?
As a dyslexic, I understand how daunting this might feel. That's why it's best to use little tricks to help you. So, here's an easy way to remember the components of the calculus. DR PRICE. Each letter stands for a word in the Felicific Calculus. All you have to do is learn the words, remember DR PRICE and then you've basically got enough knowledge of the theory to start criticising! Mills' system is exactly the same, except instead of pleasure it's about happiness/higher pleasure resulting from each ethical decision!

Answered by Lorna T. Philosophy tutor

3206 Views

See similar Philosophy GCSE tutors

Related Philosophy GCSE answers

All answers ▸

What is the problem of evil? And how have people sometimes tried to answer it?


What is the difference between rationalism and empiricism?


Evaluate the Ontological Argument for the Existence of God


If there is an omnibenevolent God, why is there suffering?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact usWhatsapp logoMessage us on Whatsapptelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo
Cookie Preferences