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Mill's Utilitarianism Explained

Mill defines utilitarianism as the theory that actions are morally right if they promote happiness and wrong if they produce unhappiness. He argues that higher intellectual and moral pleasures should be valued more than basic physical pleasures. Mill also believes that achieving virtuous goals contributes to one's happiness. He claims utilitarianism aligns with humans' natural social tendencies, so a utilitarian society would feel morally binding. However, critics argue utilitarianism fails to adequately protect individual rights, cannot measure all things by the same standard of happiness, and oversimplifies the complex nature of happiness.

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771 views2 pages

Mill's Utilitarianism Explained

Mill defines utilitarianism as the theory that actions are morally right if they promote happiness and wrong if they produce unhappiness. He argues that higher intellectual and moral pleasures should be valued more than basic physical pleasures. Mill also believes that achieving virtuous goals contributes to one's happiness. He claims utilitarianism aligns with humans' natural social tendencies, so a utilitarian society would feel morally binding. However, critics argue utilitarianism fails to adequately protect individual rights, cannot measure all things by the same standard of happiness, and oversimplifies the complex nature of happiness.

Uploaded by

Manjare Hassin Raad
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Utilitarianism: JS Mill

Mill defines utilitarianism as a theory based on the principle that "actions are right in
proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse
of happiness." Mill defines happiness as pleasure and the absence of pain. He argues that
pleasure can differ in quality and quantity, and that pleasures that are rooted in one's
higher faculties 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.

Mill argues that utilitarianism coincides with "natural" sentiments that originate from
humans' social nature. Therefore, if society were to embrace utilitarianism as an ethic,
people would naturally internalize these standards as morally binding. Mill argues that
happiness is the sole basis of morality, and that people never desire anything but
happiness. He supports this claim by showing that all the other objects of people's desire
are either means to happiness, or included in the definition of happiness. Mill explains at
length that the sentiment of justice is actually based on utility, and that rights exist only
because they are necessary for human happiness.

The theory of utilitarianism has been criticized for many reasons. Critics hold that it does
not provide adequate protection for individual rights, that not everything can be measured
by the same standard, and that happiness is more complex than reflected by the theory.
Mill's essay represents his attempt to respond to these criticisms, and thereby to provide a
more complex and nuanced moral theory.

Mill's argument comprises five chapters. His first chapter serves as an introduction to the
essay. In his second chapter, Mill discusses the definition of utilitarianism, and presents
some misconceptions about the theory. The third chapter is a discussion about the
ultimate sanctions (or rewards) that utilitarianism can offer. The fourth chapter discusses
methods of proving the validity of utilitarianism. In his fifth chapter, Mill writes about
the connection between justice and utility, and argues that happiness is the foundation of
justice.

Strengths of Utilitarianism:

1. Convincing assumptions: preference for


pleasure and happiness.
2. Explains morality as a social extension
of natural inclinations.
3. Transforms difficult moral deliberations
into manageable empirical considerations.
4. Advances flexibility over dogmatic
persistence on principles. The stress is on
the practices conducive to happiness not
on natural rights or norms.
Weaknesses:
1. The concept of happiness is not
clear. Very vague: equated either with
pleasures or with the public good.
2. Measurements and the units of
happiness are arbitrary and subjective.
3. Disregard for motives and
intrinsic values could lead to immoral
and unjust consequences.
4. The social (altruistic) component
could be too demanding if pursued
strictly.

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