Abstract
The aim of this paper is threefold. First, it reappraises the major transformations which the utilitarian approach to human behavior has undergone in economics in search for a representation by utility functions and later by preference orders. Second, in the light of today’s behavioral and human sciences, an attempt is made to restore some elements of early utilitarianism that were abandoned in these transformations. Third, in line with the interest of the early utilitarians in both explaining behavior and elaborating on its moral assessment, the present paper also discusses some normative implications of the suggested restoration of utilitarian theory.
Highlights
In the early days of utilitarianism, utility was given a very concrete, sensory interpretation
The utilitarian approach to explaining economic behavior has been subject to a radical transformation
The original, naturalistic interpretation laid out by Bentham was gradually turned into an abstract theory of preferences
Summary
In the early days of utilitarianism, utility was given a very concrete, sensory interpretation This was the basis for explaining the reasons of human action and for deriving by implication what a ‘good life’ means. Some of these developments will be reviewed with the intention to show how a behavioral theory of utility can be formulated on this basis, a theory that rehabilitates in part the explanatory and normative impetus of early utilitarianism. They are relevant for a behavioral re-interpretation of utility theory, a re-interpretation that will turn out to restore the original utilitarian program in important respects.
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