首页 >出版文学> Jeremy Bentham>第36章

第36章

  butinordertoansweritwerequireawholelogicalandpsychologicalapparatus。
  Benthamshowsthisapparatusatwork,butdoesnotexpounditsorigininanyseparatetreatise。Enoughinformation,however,isgivenastohismethodinthecuriouscollectionofthefragmentsconnectedwiththeChrestomathia。
  Alogicalmethoduponwhichheconstantlyinsistedisthatof’bipartition,’16*
  calledalsothe’dichotomous’or’bifurcate’method,andexemplifiedbythestalled’PorphyrianTree。’Theprincipleis,ofcourse,simple。Takeanygenus:divideitintotwoclasses,oneofwhichhasandtheotherhasnotacertainmark。Thetwoclassesmustbemutuallyexclusiveandtogetherexhaustive。
  Repeattheoperationuponeachoftheclassesandcontinuetheprocessaslongasdesired。17*Ateverystepyouthushaveacompleteenumerationofallthespecies,varieties,andsoon,eachofwhichexcludesalltheothers。Nomerelogic,indeed,cansecuretheaccuracyandstilllesstheutilityoftheprocedure。Thedifferencesmaybeinthemselvesambiguousorirrelevant。IfIclassifyplantsas’trees’and’nottrees,’thelogicalformissatisfied:butIhavestilltoaskwhether’tree’conveysadeterminatemeaning,andwhetherthedistinctioncorrespondstoadifferenceofanyimportance。
  Aperfectclassification,however,couldalwaysbestatedinthisform。Eachspecies,thatis,canbemarkedbythepresenceorabsenceofagivendifference,whetherwearedealingwithclassesofplantsoractions:andBenthamaimsatthatconsummationthoughheadmitsthatcenturiesmayberequiredfortheconstructionofanaccurateclassificationinethicalspeculations。18*
  Heexaggeratestheefficiencyofhismethod,andoverlooksthetendencyoftacitassumptionstosmugglethemselvesintowhataffectstobeamereenumerationofclasses。Butinanycase,noonecouldlabourmoreindustriouslytogeteveryobjectofhisthoughtarrangedandlabelledandputintotherightpigeon-holeofhismentalmuseum。Tocodify19*istoclassify,andBenthammightbedefinedasacodifyinganimal。
  ThingsthuspresentthemselvestoBentham’smindasalreadypreparedtofitintopigeon-holes。Thisisacharacteristicpoint,anditappearsinwhatwemustcallhismetaphysicalsystem。’Metaphysics,’indeed,accordingtohim,issimply’asprig,’andthatasmallone,ofthe’branchtermedLogic。’20*Itismerelytheexplanationofcertaingeneraltermssuchas’existence,’’necessity,’andsoforth。21*Underthiswouldapparentlyfalltheexplanationof’reality’whichleadstoadoctrineuponwhichheofteninsists,andwhichismostimplicitlygiveninthefragmentcalledOntology。Hetheredistinguishes’real’from’fictitiousentities,’adistinctionwhich,ashetellsus,22*hefirstlearnedfromd’Alembert’sphraseÊ;tresfictifs,andwhichheappliesinhisMoralsandLegislation。’Realentities,’
  accordingtohim,23*are’individualperceptions,’’impressions,’and’ideas。’
  Inthis,ofcourse,heisfollowingHume,thoughheappliestheJohnsonianargumenttoBerkeley’simmaterialism。24*A’fictitiousentity’isanamewhichdoesnot’raiseupinthemindanycorrespondentimages。’25*Suchnamesowetheirexistencetothenecessitiesoflanguage。Withoutemployingsuchfictions,however,’thelanguageofmancouldnothaverisenabovethelanguageofbrutes’;26*andheemphaticallydistinguishesthemfrom’unreal’
  or’fabulousentities。’A’fictitiousentity’isnota’nonentity。’27*
  HeincludesamongsuchentitiesallAristotle’s’predicaments’exceptthefirst:’substance。’28*Quantity,quality,relation,time,placeareall’physicalfictitiousentities。’Thisisapparentlyequivalenttosayingthattheonly’physicalentities’areconcretethings——sticks,stones,bodies,andsoforth——the’reality’ofwhichhetakesforgrantedintheordinarycommon-sensemeaning。Itisalsoperfectlytruethatthingsarereallyrelated,havequantityandquality,andareintimeandspace。Butwecannotreallyconceivethequalityorrelationapartfromtheconcretethingssoqualifiedandrelated。Weareforcedbylanguagetousesubstantiveswhichintheirnaturehaveonlythesenseofadjectives。Hedoesnotsupposethatabodyisnotreallysquareorround;buthethinksitafictiontospeakofsquarenessorroundnessorspaceingeneralassomethingexistingapartfrommatterand,insomesense,alongsideofmatter。
  Thisdoctrine,whichbringsuswithinsightofmetaphysicalproblemsbeyondourimmediatepurpose,becomesimportanttohismoralspeculation。Hisspecialexampleofa’fictitiousentity’inpoliticsis’obligation。’29*Obligations,rights,andsimilarwordsare’fictitiousentities。’Obligationinparticularimpliesametaphor。Thestatementthatamanis’obliged’toperformanactmeanssimplythathewillsufferpainifhedoesnotperformit。Theuseofthewordobligation,asanounsubstantive,introducesthe’fictitiousentity’whichrepresentsnothingreallyseparablefromthepainorpleasure。
  Here,therefore,wehavethegroundofthedoctrinealreadynoticed。’Painsandpleasures’arereal。30*’Theirexistence,’hesays,31*’ismatterofuniversalandconstantexperience。’Butothervariousnamesreferringtothese:emotion,inclination,vice,virtue,etc。,areonly’psychologicalentities。’’Takeawaypleasuresandpains,notonlyhappinessbutjusticeanddutyandobligationandvirtue——allofwhichhavebeensoelaboratelyhelduptoviewasindependentofthem——aresomanyemptysounds。’32*
  Theultimatefacts,then,arepainsandpleasures。Theyarethesubstantivesofwhichtheseotherwordsareproperlytheadjectives。Apainorapleasuremayexistbyitself,thatiswithoutbeingvirtuousorvicious:butvirtueandvicecanonlyexistinsofaraspainandpleasureexists。
  Thisanalysisof’obligation’isacharacteristicdoctrineoftheUtilitarianschool。Weareunderan’obligation’sofarasweareaffectedbya’sanction。’
  ItappearedtoBenthamsoobviousastoneednodemonstration,onlyanexpositionoftheemptinessofanyverbalcontradiction。Suchmetaphysicalbasisasheneededissimplytheattempttoexpressthecorrespondingconceptionofrealitywhich,inhisopinion,onlyrequirestobeexpressedtocarryconviction。
  II。SPRINGSOFACTION
  Ourpathisnowclear。Painsandpleasuresgiveuswhatmathematicianscallthe’independentvariable。’OurunitsareinBentham’sphrase’lots’
  ofpainorpleasure。Wehavetointerpretallthefactsintermsofpainorpleasure,andweshallhavethematerialsforwhathassincebeencalleda’felicificcalculus。’Toconstructthiswithaviewtolegislationishisimmediatepurpose。Thetheorywillfallintotwoparts:the’pathological,’
  oranaccountofallthepainsandpleasureswhicharetheprimarydata;
  andthe’dynamical,’oranaccountofthevariousmodesofconductdeterminedbyexpectationsofpainandpleasure。Thisgivesthetheoryof’springsofaction,’consideredinthemselves,andof’motives,’thatis,ofthespringsasinfluencingconduct。33*The’pathology’contains,inthefirstplace,adiscussionofthemeasureofpainandpleasureingeneral;secondly,adiscussionofthevariousspeciesofpainandpleasure;andthirdly,adiscussionofthevaryingsensibilitiesofdifferentindividualstopainandpleasure。34*
  Thusunderthefirsthead,wearetoldthatthevalueofapleasure,consideredbyitself,dependsuponitsintensity,duration,certainty,andpropinquity;
  and,consideredwithregardtomodesofobtainingit,uponitsfecundityortendencytoproduceotherpainsandpleasuresanditspurityorfreedomfromadmixtureofotherpainsandpleasures。Thepainorpleasureisthusregardedasanentitywhichiscapableofbeinginsomesenseweighedandmeasured。35*Thenextstepistoclassifypainsandpleasures,whichthoughcommensurableaspsychologicalforces,haveobviouslyverydifferentqualities。
  Benthamgivestheresultofhisclassificationwithouttheanalysisuponwhichitdepends。Heassuresusthathehasobtainedan’exhaustive’listof’simplepleasures。’Itmustbeconfessedthatthelistdoesnotcommenditselfeitherasexhaustiveorascomposedof’simplepleasures。’Hedoesnotexplaintheprincipleofhisanalysisbecausehesays,itwasof’toometaphysicalacast,’36*buthethoughtitsoimportantthathepublishedit,editedwithconsiderablemodificationsbyJamesMill,in1817,asaTableoftheSpringsofAction。37*
  J。S。MillremarksthatthistableshouldbestudiedbyanyonewhowouldunderstandBentham’sphilosophy。Suchastudywouldsuggestsomeunfavourableconclusions。Benthamseemstohavemadeouthistablewithouttheslightestreferencetoanypreviouspsychologist。Itissimplyconstructedtomeettherequirementsofhislegislativetheories。Aspsychologyitwouldbeclearlyabsurd,especiallyiftakenasgivingtheelementaryor’simple’feelings。
  Noonecansuppose,forexample,thatthepleasuresof’wealth’or’power’
  are’simple’pleasures。Theclassesthereforearenotreallydistinct,andtheyareasfarfrombeingexhaustive。Allthatcanbesaidforthelististhatitgivesasufficientlylongenumerationtocallattentionfromhisownpointofviewtomostoftheordinarypleasuresandpains;andcontains。
  asmuchpsychologyashecouldreallyturntoaccountforhispurpose。
  Theomissionswithwhichhisgreatestdisciplechargeshimarecertainlysignificant。Wefind,saysMill,noreferenceto’Conscience,’’Principle,’
  ’MoralRectitude,’or’MoralDuty’amongthe’springsofaction,’unlessamongthesynonymsofa’loveofreputation,’orinsofaras’Conscience’
  and’Principle’aresometimessynonymouswiththe’religious’motiveorthemotiveof’sympathy。’Sothesenseof’honour,’theloveofbeauty,andoforder,ofpowerexceptinthenarrowsenseofpoweroverourfellowsandofactioningeneralareallomitted。WemayconjecturewhatreplyBenthamwouldhavemadetothiscriticism。TheomissionoftheloveofbeautyandaestheticpleasuresmaysurpriseuswhenwerememberthatBenthamlovedmusic,ifhecarednothingforpoetry。Butheapparentlyregardedtheseas’complexpleasures,’38*andthereforenotadmissibleintohistable,ifitbeunderstoodasananalysisintothesimplepleasuresalone。Thepleasuresofactionaredeliberatelyomitted,forBenthampointedlygivesthe’pains’oflabourasaclasswithoutcorrespondingpleasure;andthis,thoughindicative,Ithink,ofaveryseriouserror,ischaracteristicratherofhismethodofanalysisthanofhisrealestimateofpleasure。NobodycouldhavefoundmorepleasurethanBenthaminintellectuallabour,butheseparatedthepleasurefromthelabour。Hethereforethought’labour,’assuch,apureevil,andclassifiedthepleasureasapleasureof’curiosity。’Butthemaincriticismismoreremarkable。MillcertainlyheldhimselftobeasoundUtilitarian;andyetheseemstobecondemningBenthamforconsistentUtilitarianism。Bentham,byadmittingthe’conscience’intohissimplespringsofaction,wouldhavefallenintotheverycirclefromwhichhewasstrugglingtoemerge。If,infact,thepleasuresofconsciencearesimplepleasures,wehavetheobjectionable’moralsense’intrudedasanultimatefactorofhumannature。Togetridofthat’fictitiousentity’ispreciselyBentham’saim。Themoraljudgmentistobepreciselyequivalenttothejudgment:’thisorthatkindofconductincreasesordiminishesthesumofhumanpainsorpleasures。’Onceallowthatamongthepainsandpleasuresthemselvesisanultimateconscience