SRM University, Haryana

PROJECT REPORT ON:

PRINCIPLE OF UTILITY

INTERPRETATION OF STATUTES

Submitted By: Submitted to:

Parbat Singh Ms. Rashmi Kinger

SRM University Faculty: Interpretation of statutes

8th Semester

Registration No. 46016210006

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to Ms. Rasmi Kinger, Faculty of
Interpretation of statutes, SRM University, for giving me a chance to work on this project and
for all his valuable suggestions and guidance that went towards the completion of this
project. Without him, the project would not have been able to take such a shape

I would also like to thank my family, without their love and support this project would not
have seen the light of day.

Parbat Singh

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 CONTENTS
CHAPTERS PAGE NO.
1. Introduction………………………………………………… 4

2. Principle of Utility…………………………………………. 4

3. Criticism of Bentham’s theory of Utility …………………… 5

4. Conclusion …………………………………………………... 6

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INTRODUCTION

Utilitarianism is an ethical as well as a political theory essentially English in character which

dominated the political thought in early 19th century in England. It is not a rigid dogmatic
theory presented by one philosopher but a movement which had been given intellectual
support by a great many philosophers.

Bentham who is regarded as the father of utilitarian school of thought made the largest
contribution to the moral and political theory in England. Bentham treated the political
problems and theories through a test on the touch stone of utility. Whatever came true on it
was accepted and whatever failed to come up to the criterion of utility was rejected.

PRINCIPLE OF UTILITY

Bentham's book 'The Theory of Legislation' is a masterpiece in the field of law. Bentham's
objective is to educate the legislators and to provide them with a sound philosophy broad-
based on the theory of Utilitarianism. Legislation is a science and an art. It is a science as it
contains certain basic principles to do good to the community and it is an art when it provides
for the various means to achieve the good.

The objective of the legislator mast be to do public good. He may base his reasons on general
utility. Utility is the basis of Bentham's theory. The principles of utility form the basis of his
reasoning,

On an analysis of the principles of utility, we find that all our ideas, judgements and
determinations spring from certain motives: pleasure and pain. It is the duty of the moralists
and the legislators to make a great study of these two concepts pleasure and pain.

Utility is an abstract term. It expresses some propensity or tendency of a thing to prevent

some evil or to do some good. Evil is pain or the cause of pain. Good is pleasure or the cause
of pleasure. Hence, anything which conforms to this utility, brings happiness to the
individual. The legislator must have the objective to augment the total sum of the happiness
of the individuals that form the community.

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Utility is the first principle-the first link in the chain. The legislators reasoning for making a
particular law, must be based on this principle. Utility has a commendable logic behind it. In
making law, the legislator must calculate or compare the pleasure or the pain that it brings
about. Here pleasure & pain are used in the ordinary meaning i.e., what everybody feels
when put in a situation it is the experience of the peasant and the prince, the unlearned and
the philosopher.

Utility as a principle has its essence in the virtue and the vice. Virtue is good as it brings
pleasures, vice is bad as it brings evil. Moral good is good as it brings pleasure to the man,
Moral evil is bad as it brings pain to the man.

The legislator who believes in the theory of utility, finds, in the process of law-making, a
number of these virtues and evils, that the proposed law may bring about. His objective must
be to bring more virtue, He must also distinguish pretended virtues and evils from the real
virtues and evils.

These are the facets of the concept of utility and based on this exposition Bentham develops
his philosophy of utilitarianism. His works 'the theory of legislation' and 'Introduction to the
principles of Morals and Legislation', form a manual of instructions to a legislator. A
knowledge of these, makes the legislator appreciate the moral and legal philosophies of
Bentham and also to get an insight into the sociology of law.

The principle of utility is the foundation of Bentham's censorial jurisprudence. A bit of

natural law, according to Bentham, becomes intelligible through the performance of actions
that tends to man's real happiness. The similarity between the law of nature and the principle
of utility is therefore remarkable. There seems to be a vivid similarity between his claims for
the utility principle which is an explicitly normative principle and the claims he makes for his
approved analysis of such descriptive terms such as legal rights and duties.

CRITICISM OF BENTHAM’S THEORY OF UTILITY

Friedman highlighted the following arguments against Bentham’s Theory

1. It is difficult to understand the transmission of subjective criterion of ‘pleasure and pain’

into objective one. As Pleasure connotes an emotional attitude of approval, pain of
disapproval judging an action according to the pleasure-pain criteria is possible by judging its
subjectively.

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2. The consequences of pleasure or pain of an action may well be indefinite in time or
unforeseeable; it may give rise to immediate pain with a promise of pleasure or vice versa.
These factors of time and uncertainty render assessment virtually impossible.

3. It is not easy to see how the happiness of the majority increases the happiness of society as
a whole.

4. In truth many actions are done unthinkingly or from habit and pleasure and pain come as
often incidents to other actions.

5. There exists a confused between causes of action and reason for action.

6. He seems to have assumed that laws could be made to operate on single principle of utility,
which as evident in modern times, is an unfounded belief.

7. He did not solve satisfactorily the problem of how such balancing of individual interest
with communal welfare can be achieved.

CONCLUSION

Bentham's contributed his best in the creation of a "Pannonian", a complete Utilitarian code
of law. Bentham not only proposed many legal and social reforms, but also expounded an
underlying moral principle on which they should be based. This philosophy, utilitarianism,
argued that the right act or policy was that which would cause "the greatest happiness of the
greatest number” often referred to as the principle of utility.

Though he supported the state interventions and reforms, he was a staunch supporter of
individualism and private property ownerships. Utilitarianism was revised and expanded by
Bentham's student, John Stuart Mill. Bentham's theory, unlike Mill's, faces several criticisms.