felicific calculus

English

Etymology

Widely attributed to British philosopher Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832), but apparently used only by his successors.

Noun

felicific calculus

1. (historical, philosophy, economics) A quasi-mathematical technique proposed by 19th-century utilitarian ethical theorists for determining the net amount of happiness, pleasure, or utility resulting from an action, sometimes regarded as a precursor of cost-benefit analysis.
   • 1918, Wesley C. Mitchell, “Bentham's Felicific Calculus”, in Political Science Quarterly, volume 33, number 2, page 164:

     Bentham's way of becoming the Newton of the moral world was to develop the "felicific calculus."

Synonyms

• hedonic calculus, hedonistic calculus, moral arithmetic, utility calculus