JB/015/169/001

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37

IV
Of Pleasure & Pain - their relation to Good & Evil

Every pleasure is prima facie good & it ought to be pursued. Every pain is
prima facie evil & ought to be avoided.

The fact that after experience of its enjoyment, a man pursues a pleasure is in
itself evidence of its goodness in the eyes of the pursuer

Every act whereby pleasure is reaped is, all consequences apart, good.

Every act by which pleasure is reaped, without any result of pain is pure
gain to happiness, – every act whose results of pain are less than the results
of pleasure, is good to the extent of the balance in favour of happiness.

Every person is not only the best, but the only proper judge of what
with reference to himself is pleasure, – and what pain.

To say that "If I do this – I shall get no balance of pleasure of pleasure
therefore if you do it, you will get no balance of pleasure – is mere
presumption and folly.

To say that "If I do this, I shall get no preponderant pleasure – but if you
do this you may yet get a preponderant pleasure – yet it is not proper you should
do it" is absurdity, – and if I apply evil in any shape to prevent the act it is
injustice and injury – and if I call in the powers of government to prevent the
act, – it is tyranny.

Keeping out of view future contingent consequences, the fact of the long
continuance of the free and habitual exercise of any act by an individual is evidence that
it is productive to him of pure or preponderant good & therefore fit & proper to be
pursued, ∏, by him – (meaning by the free exercise of the act that is not of a
character to be visited by reward or punishment from any extraneous source).

To warrant the assumption that any given act is an evil one it is incumbent
on him who impugns it to shew, not only that evil will be the result of it, but
that the sum of evil will be greater than the sum of good which it produces.

If by misrepresentation of consequences, – or erroneous reasoning, – & still more
of by fear of punishment whether physical, popular or moral, political or
religious, a man is prohibited from the enjoyment of any pleasure, – an injury
is inflicted on him equal in amount to the balance of pleasure of which
he is deprived.

The amount of delinquency of such an injury will depend on be graduated by the state of the delinquent's
mind with reference to the consequences of the act. Absence of evil consciousness
evil will diminish the offence tho' it will not diminish the injury. The offence
will be maximized when the mala fides is maximized in the breast of the offender.

The amount of injury done by the denying inhibition of a pleasure which might
have been enjoyed, is equal to the infliction of a pain to a similar amount, which
otherwise would not have been suffered.

Penal legislation throws its protection over property solely on the
ground that property is an instrument for the attainment of pleasure or
the avoidance of pain. Except where pleasure & pain are concerned, legislation

Identifier: | JB/015/169/001 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 15.
Date_1		Marginal Summary Numbering
Box	015	Main Headings	deontology
Folio number	169	Info in main headings field
Image	001	Titles	[[titles::chapter iv of pleasure & pain - their relation to good [...?]]]
Category	linking material	Number of Pages	1
Recto/Verso	recto	Page Numbering	f37
Penner	sir john bowring	Watermarks	m 1826
Marginals		Paper Producer
Corrections		Paper Produced in Year	1826
Notes public		ID Number	5385
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