MIll presents a form of hedonism that is quite contrary to its usual connotation. His "utilitarianism" is a principle stating that every person desires more happiness than pain and that actions are moral if they are condusive to this desire. Utilitarianism is empircally based, or centered around observation. Rather than seeking pleasure in any form, Mill contends that some pleasures are greater than others. He believes that, as humans, we are capable of intellectual pleasures rather than simple animal pleasures, and that these intellectual pleasure provide much more quality, which is far superior to quanity. Thus need a way to discern between which is more worthwhile. According to Mill, the only reasonable way to do this is to look at the …show more content…
In utilitarianism, all moral actions promote the greatest happiness in the greatest amount of people. This is done indiscriminitley, meaning that every person counts as one unit and nobody 's happiness is placed over another 's. Indeed, Mill believes that all humans are seeking, as an ultimate end, happiness, and all other pursuits are simply means to that end. He defends this view by raising other possible ends and showing that they are all a part of happiness, rather than a separate puruit. He also shows why, once we have attained a higher sense of intelect and other faculties, no human, save for extreme circumstances, would ever choose to revert to a simpler state of mind, despite the fact that these simpler people may be more satisfied with their lot than those of higher faculties. He believes this a general principle, although sometimes a lack of willpower can cause a person to seak a lower principle. Mill solidifies this sentiment with the statement: better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied" …show more content…
He contends that while a general outline can be provided for ethical behavior, real life is much more situational and particular occurances require quicker thinking. In his vitue ethics, to remain virtuous in a world such as this means we must be conditioned to be vitruous. Aristotle claims that virtue is not inherent in a human, but rather nature predesposes us to be virtuous and we must hone this as we would hone any other art or skill. He asserts that "we become just by doing just acts" (124) in order to illustrate that ethics are not simply an idea but rather that we learn ethics through learning how to live. In striving to be fullfilled in life, we naturally aquire abilities pertinent to an ethical life. Aristotle belives that the best way to act justly is by acting as a just person would act. Basically this means learning by observation as well as basing moral decisions on factors that are outside our own self interest. He shows that while we are not good by nature, in striving to be good, we naturally aquire the state of character of a good person. Aristotle also places heavy emphasis on the concept of living in the mean. He believes that living in between two extremes of a character trait is almost always to best choice, as there are excess to any state of character. We remedy this by finding a balance between the two extremes and acting towards that
...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.
Mill grew up under the influences from his father and Bentham. In his twenties, an indication of the cerebral approach of the early Utilitarians led to Mill’s nervous breakdown. He was influential in the growth of the moral theory of Utilitarianism whose goal was to maximize the personal freedom and happiness of every individual. Mill's principle of utility is that “actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness; wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness”. Utilitarianism is the concept that a man should judge everything based on the ability to promote happiness for the greatest number of individual. He believes that Utilitarianism must show how the conversion can be made from an interest in one’s own particular bliss to that of others. John Stuart Mill also states that moral action should not be judged on the individual case but more along the lines of “rule of thumb” and says that individuals ought to measure the outcomes and settle on their choices in view of the consequence and result that advantages the most people. Mill believes that pleasure is the only wanted consequence. Mill supposes that people are gifted with the capacity for conscious thought, and they are not happy with physical delights, but rather endeavor to accomplish the joy of the psyche too. He asserts that individuals want pleasure and reject
In his defense against the group of opponents who claim that the hedonistic foundations of utilitarianism make it a doctrine worthy of swine, Mill argues that the pleasure seeking of human beings cannot be likened to the pleasure seeking of pigs because the quality of pleasure that each party pursues is distinctly different. He also argues that human beings seeking high quality pleasure is proof that they are above
Mill made a distinction between happiness and sheer sensual pleasure. He defines happiness in terms of higher order pleasure (i.e. social enjoyments, intellectual). In his Utilitarianism (1861), Mill described this principle as follows:According to the Greatest Happiness Principle … The ultimate end, end, with reference to and for the sake of which all other things are desirable (whether we are considering our own good or that of other people), is an existence exempt as far as possible from pain, and as rich as possible enjoyments.Therefore, based on this statement, three ideas may be identified: (1) The goodness of an act may be determined by the consequences of that act. (2) Consequences are determined by the amount of happiness or unhappiness caused. (3) A "good" man is one who considers the other man's pleasure (or pain) as equally as his own.
John Stuart Mill explores the order of pleasures throughout the second chapter (“What Utilitarianism Is”) of his master ethical composition, Utilitarianism. When determining the quality of two pleasures, Mill firmly asserts that the superior pleasure is distinguished by the “decided preference” of those who have experienced both (8). Mill expands on this claim in subsequent paragraphs, contending that one finds greater pleasure in increasingly intellectual activities. In summation, Mill claims that (I.) usually, intellectual pleasures are higher in order than base pleasures, and (II.) a more intelligent person can access superior pleasures than a person of lower faculties. I will also explore the permanence and ephemerality of superior and
In John Stuart Mill’s “Utilitarianism”, Mill generates his thoughts on what Utilitarianism is in chapter 2 of his work. Mill first starts off this chapter by saying that many people misunderstand utilitarianism by interpreting utility as in opposition to pleasure. When in reality, utility is defined
...ry. Some may reject it and have the objection that utilitarianism does not provide an effective way of life. Those who object may say that this moral theory is not good or specific enough, lacks a mention of full human potential and capabilities, and fails to address the special moral values of humans. Mill provides an effective response to those who doubt utilitarianism, and states that there is only one end (happiness) that humans aim for and that humans and humans alone are the only ones who can judge and experience all pleasures and qualities of life.
John Stuart Mill claims that people often misinterpret utility as the test for right and wrong. This definition of utility restricts the term and denounces its meaning to being opposed to pleasure. Mill defines utility as units of happiness caused by an action without the unhappiness caused by an action. He calls this the Greatest Happiness Principle or the Principle of Utility. Mill’s principle states that actions are right when they tend to promote happiness and are wrong when they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. Happiness is defined as intended pleasure and the absence of pain while unhappiness is defined as pain and the lack of pleasure. Therefore, Mill claims, pleasure and happiness are the only things desirable and good. Mill’s definition of utilitarianism claims that act...
Nevertheless, while Utilitarianism is the key approach of Mill's politics, in On Liberty, Mill's ideal of utility departs from this discourse by disregarding the concept of natural rights. As mentioned earlier, individuality derives from personal development and self-realisation, 'grounded on the permanent interests of man as a progressive beings' (Mill, [1859] 2009, p.20), and this is the true utility of individuality. Thus, 'higher pleasures' (intellectual and moral) are valued more than base pleasures (physical or emotional), contributing to the society, and producing higher forms of happiness. In this sense, Mill 'left the true utilitarian spirit far behind' (Berkowitz, 200, p.148). Within his model, utility no longer accepts 'lower pleasures', embracing the most virtuous principles of individuality and liberty of
Utilitarianism defined, is the contention that a man should judge everything based on the ability to promote the greatest individual happiness. In other words Utilitarianism states that good is what brings the most happiness to the most people. John Stuart Mill based his utilitarian principle on the decisions that we make. He says the decisions should always benefit the most people as much as possible no matter what the consequences might be. Mill says that we should weigh the outcomes and make our decisions based on the outcome that benefits the majority of the people. This leads to him stating that pleasure is the only desirable consequence of our decision or actions. Mill believes that human beings are endowed with the ability for conscious thought, and they are not satisfied with physical pleasures, but they strive to achieve pleasure of the mind as well.
Mill states that in order for you to achieve that happiness you need to have as much pleasure as possible and be absent from pain. Actions that you took would be considered right if they promoted happiness and wrong if they produced the opposite of happiness. If you were stuck between two actions and both would bring you happiness, Mill would argue that you should do the action that provided the most happiness. This action was not necessarily to bring you happiness, but to bring happiness to all concerned. Mill would also favor mental pleasures over physical ones.
Mill’s critics would likely say that Utilitarianism as a whole can function to create selfish people because all are striving towards a life of more pleasure than pain, but Mill shuts this down with the idea of happiness being impartial. Basically, a person must choose an action that yields the most happiness or pleasure, whether that pleasure is for them or not. Mill would recognize that, “Among the qualitatively superior ends are the moral ends, and it is in this that people acquire the sense that they have moral intuitions superior to mere self-interest” (Wilson). By this, it is meant that although people are supposed to take action that will produce the greatest pleasure, the do not do so in a purely selfish manner. Mill goes on to argue that the happiness of individuals is interconnected; therefore one cannot be selfish in such a way. Along with the criticism of Utilitarianism and the principle of utility being selfish, many argue that such a doctrine promotes expediency in order to benefit the person conducting the action alone. I would disagree with these criticisms, and find Mill’s argument valid. His argument counters
Mill is a objectivist, where his results come from observation, conclusions from many instances, and degree of probability. Mill says one must look at all interests, consequences, and the pains and pleasures. Mill believes in utilitarianism where all interests must be treated the same. If there are consequences of some action, they are consequences for all interests, not just the individual. For example, if someone were to cheat on their spouse. According to Mill, even if you cheat on your wife and feel terrible for doing so and know it would hurt her, you must tell your wife you cheated. Even if you will never cheat again, would you will all others to cheat and not tell their spouse. You must treat all interests the same. Mill’s golden rule is utilitarianism. He wants the greatest good for the greatest amount of interests. But it is difficult to know what an interest is. In regards to climate change, is the Earth an interest? Or is it just those inhabit the Earth an interest. In addition to treating all interests the same, Mill also discusses pains and pleasures. Pleasure is different than happiness. Happiness is long-term and earned, while happiness is short term and can be viewed as watching television. One finds pleasure in watching television, while one finds happiness by having children. However, the best judge of pain and pleasure is someone who has experienced
Aristotle then shifts to asking the question that we might feel we are already good people because we are already acting in a just manner. Aristotle disagrees with this. He brings up an example of an artist and shows that the skill of the artist is in what he creates. It is over once the art has been made. Virtue is different. The end does not fully matter, but also needs to be in a good state of mind. We should always want to act in a virtuous way. We can only make it to this by creating habits in living a virtuous life. He also brings up that speeches could make people think they are becoming more virtuous, but it will not do anything. Aristotle then discusses what virtue is. It must be in passions, capacities, or characteristics within the soul. Passions have to do with pleasures and pain, capacities are what helps us understand our
When talking about pleasure there needs to be a distinction between the quality and the quantity. While having many different kinds of pleasures can be considered a good thing, one is more likely to favor quality over quantity. With this distinction in mind, one is more able to quantify their pleasures as higher or lesser pleasures by ascertaining the quality of them. This facilitates the ability to achieve the fundamental moral value that is happiness. In his book Utilitarianism, John Stuart Mill offers a defining of utility as pleasure or the absence of pain in addition to the Utility Principle, where “Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness; wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness” (Mill 7). Through this principle, Mill emphasizes that it is not enough to show that happiness is an end in itself. Mill’s hedonistic view is one in support of the claim that every human action is motivated by or ought to be motivated by the pursuit of pleasure.