A toilet seat lifting and lowering device for pivoting the seat to its raised position and for pivoting it back to its horizontal position without having to touch the seat. A first lever arm is rigidly attached at one end to a first part of a torque transfer mechanism and at its other end to a foot pedal and a second lever arm is rigidly attached at one end to a second part of the torque transfer mechanism and at its other end to the toilet seat. With the toilet seat in its horizontal position, a downward force on the pedal produces a rotation of the first part of the torque transfer mechanism which produces an opposite rotation of the second part of the torque transfer mechanism causing the toilet seat to pivot to its raised position. Lifting the pedal, preferably by providing an upward force under the pedal, lowers the seat to the horizontal position. In a preferred embodiment, a counterweight positionable on the first lever arm is provided to provide a constant torque to partially oppose the torque produced by the weight of the toilet seat about its pivot axis. In a preferred embodiment, the first and second parts of the torque transfer mechanism are both cams.