Utilitarianism and Morality in John Stuart Mill´s Essay

1012 Words3 Pages

For more than two thousand years, the human race has struggled to effectively establish the basis of morality. Society has made little progress distinguishing between morally right and wrong. Even the most intellectual minds fail to distinguish the underlying principles of morality. A consensus on morality is far from being reached. The struggle to create a basis has created a vigorous warfare, bursting with disagreement and disputation. Despite the lack of understanding, John Stuart Mill confidently believes that truths can still have meaning even if society struggles to understand its principles. Mill does an outstanding job at depicting morality and for that the entire essay is a masterpiece. His claims throughout the essay could not be any closer to the truth. Morals are an often talked about matter, but what is morality? Not everyone is instilled with the same morals, so who’s morally right? Morality is an extremely difficult subject to grasp, which is why there is no set basis for it. What many may accept as morally right, others may view as morally wrong. Parents, media, and teachers affect many of us, but who is to say that they themselves are correct? I constantly question society, but I allow others to freely express their views. Who am I to judge when no true consensus of morality has been reached? August 6th, 1945, the United States became the first to release nuclear warfare, killing 80,000 lives of God instantly. Many staunchly defend the decision and believe the drop was both necessary and unavoidable. I myself listen to the infinite list of reasons, but I disregard it all. Regardless of the billions the United States spent creating the bomb and the saving of soldiers’ lives, neither of the two ... ... middle of paper ... ...f it is unrecognizable to the eye. The standard that he is referring to is the principle of utility, which is also referred to as the “greatest happiness principle.” Mill makes it clear that utilitarianism has had great impact in shaping a moral basis of principles. From top to bottom, John Stuart Mill put forth an incredible essay depicting the various unknown complexities of morality. He has a remarkable understanding and appreciation of utilitarianism and throughout the essay the audience can grasp a clearer understanding of morality. Morality, itself, may never be totally defined, but despite the struggle and lack of definition it still has meaning. Moral instinct comes differently to everyone making it incredibly difficult to discover a basis of morality. Society may never effectively establish the basis, but Mill’s essay provides people with a good idea.

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