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Mill's Utilitarianism

            
             Imagine a society where the main focus is the maximum happiness of its people on a grand scale; in other words the greatest good for the greatest amount of people. In its basic form this is Jeremy Benthams" definition of utilitarianism. You cannot talk about utilitarianism without mentioning Bentham. He went even further to say that some good actions are better then other good actions. Realizing that this would be hard to prove he developed a formula that measures pleasure and pain. The conclusive definition of Benthams version on utilitarianism is that it focuses upon an action's relevance depending fully on the value of its consequences. This is called act-utilitarianism. While Bentham was credited to be the father of utilitarianism, John Stuart Mill was considered the heart and soul of it. Mill's version of utilitarianism focuses on rule-utilitarianism. In this paper I will discuss Mill's version of utilitarianism and what kinds of objections are raised against it. .
             John Stuart Mill was a student of Benthams and picked up where Bentham left off. He saw the flaws of act-utilitarianism and introduced his theory to overcome the weaknesses. The new theory was called rule-utilitarianism. Instead of looking at the consequences of a particular act Mill's version of utilitarianism focused on value of the consequences of following a particular rule. The rule, which produces the best overall consequences, is the one that should be followed. To understand rule-utilitarianism, a society must accept that certain rules must be followed. For instance, if stealing is wrong then a rule-utilitarian society would avoid this problem by adopting this rule even if by doing so there is a sacrifice to pleasure. This is true for lying or torturing little animals. Human beings prefer pleasure than pain; as a result, people desire to act in order to achieve the maximum happiness. Mill also saw that there is quality in every type of pleasure.


Essays Related to Mill's Utilitarianism

1. Stuart John Mills and Utilitarianism

... person committing the action is a victim of the act of the causality of the actions committed by the victim (Rachels and Stuart, 2012). The other connection between terrorism and the utilitarianism theory lies in the fact that. Just like in terrorism where people from different cultural are enticed and short-changed to join different terror groups. The ... utilitarianism theory also argues that people can be changed into animals by promising them some allowances that make them happy in order to disturb the happiness of the society (Rachels and Stuart, 2012). John mills strongly advocate...

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2. Ethics and Utilitarianism

... schools, we would still see the female population unable to vote and homosexual individuals would still "suffer from a mental affliction ". When dealing within the realm of Utilitarianism, "the purpose of morality is to guide people's actions in such a way as to produce a better world. " (Bednar) The Utilitarian method believes that ... it will derive much greater results that will benefit everyone. This differs from Mill who stated that man is not to become an animal. Mills believes that humanity is valuable, that it is credible to be human being even by designing sensual pleasure. Man'...

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3. Utilitarianism in moral philosophy

1. Utilitarianism is roughly defined as the ethical theory that teaches that the end of human conduct is the achievement of happiness or a greater good, and that consequently the discriminating idea that distinguishes conduct into right and wrong is whether or not that conduct maximizes this good or happiness. I agree with Mills on the basis that this achievement of a greater good is essential when ... choosing one's actions. Therefore, I agree with the theory of utilitarianism, but only to a point. Utilitarianism in its original form, also called "act-utilitarianism", focuses solely on the c...

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4. John Stuart Mills and Utilitarianism

According to John Stuart Mill, what does it mean to act rightly or be good? Mill states how people are inclined to act rather than how they should act. He states in his essay written in 1861, Utilitarianism, "actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness; wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. By happiness is intended pleasure and the absence of pain; by unhappiness, pain and the privation of pleasure." Mill proves by this statement that we act in a certain way because of the greatest happiness principle; however, I am not convinced that is the way that peo...

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5. Mills Vs. Hospers

... your life so that great amounts of people can have their life spared, then you are following the principle of the greatest happiness. Mill's utilitarianism when faced with the moral dilemma identifies appropriate ideas but offers no way to gather necessary information to make the right decision. The lack of ... or her, I would need to fulfill my restitution. If I resisted my restitution, then Hospers says use of force would be in need. Hospers and Mills both have different ideas of how life should be lived. There are different ideas and thoughts that both of them have concerning the cho...

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6. Kant vs mill

... right thing because it is what they feel they ought to do as their duty. Therefore, this act would be considered morally just. Utilitarianism, on the other hand, would only see the act as morally permissible if the consequences of that action produce the greatest utility and ... the happiness of a minority if it means overall happiness. For example someone can actually excuse an evil like slavery under Mill's theory of utilitarianism. Mill might respond that the types of pleasure and pain involved are so great that the unhappiness of slavery would outweigh the happiness produced in ... ...

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7. The Ethics of our Southern Women

... black community. The majority of the town ridicules them, but over time the town becomes accepting of their partnership. This is a great example of utilitarianism; their actions not only saved themselves but also benefited the entire town with the services of the café. Ruth's husband returns in the middle of ... to increase, the sum total of happiness, it considers as wasted. (Mills, para. 21) This movie is full of the un-wasted acts of four women. Taking it a step further, the character's actions could be classified as act utilitarianism. In act utilitarianism we focus on the good cons...

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8. Normative Ethics

... fan only last a week, the narrator's action of kindness is good, by three normative ethicist, David Hume, Immanuel Kant, and John Stewart Mills, this small action performed can be shown to be the right action. The moral normative theory, Subjectivism, from Hume's philosophy examines the moral pleasure ... the generalized maxim of the action can be willed to be a universal law of nature. The last moral normative theory is Utilitarianism by John Stewart Mill. Utilitarianism is teleological moral normative theory because it deals with the amount of pleasure or pain that occurs after the ac...

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9. Utility

... should be weighted more heavily than baser pleasures. Furthermore, Mill argues that people's achievement of goals and ends, such as virtuous living, should be counted as part of their happiness. Utilitarianism can serve not only as a moral standard, but also as a sanction, incentive, or motivating reason for an action. There are two Sources of Sanction, Internal and External . Internal Sanction is ... . Compared to Mill Bentham only restrict himself to the socially imposed external sanctions of punishment and blame. However Mill did not make the consequences of improper actions more obvi...

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10. Philosophy Essay

... Germany. Mill's is in no way similar to Hitler, but I referenced how their outlooks are expressed in some form. Mills view factored in the many things that affect Utilitarianism from pleasures, consciences, and down to moral standards. "Of two pleasures, if there be one to which all or ... but why am I bound to promote the general happiness? If my own happiness lies in something else, why may I not give that the preference?" (Utilitarianism. Pg.27). This plays heavily on a person's pleasures and conscience to do what is morally right and yet get a good feeling pleasure from it. ... to ex...

  • Word Count: 1008
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

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