Ethical Philosophy Of Utilitarianism

Mill determines that there is not a great amount of support for the utilitarian principle, but that is mostly due to it being vastly misunderstood by a large number of people that choose to discredit it, instead of trying to learn its intricacies. The two main criticisms of utilitarianism are opposites of each other in terms of belief. The first group to oppose the happiness theory draws their conclusions from the typical sense of the word utility, where it typically stands for the opposition of pleasure. The other group to oppose this theory holds the opposite view and thinks that utilitarianism bases everything on pleasure. Neither of these are accurate representations of what utilitarianism is. The author defines utilitarianism as

Utilitarianism can be generally defined as a way of thinking where one chooses an action based on the amount of happiness that it would produce. In the book Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues, by Barbara MacKinnon and Andrew Fiala, the authors state “Utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism,” and that “John Stuart Mill explained it as ‘actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.’” (MacKinnon 95). This means that utilitarianism focuses on result of an action based on happiness and that decisions can be taken made by looking at possible outcomes of that decision. What Mill stated would be defined as “ the principle of utility or the greatest happiness principle.”( MacKinnon, 95). This principle is one in which could be

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

All human beings behave in the same particular way. The two things that we constantly experience in our lives are pleasure and pain. We are always trying to find pleasure while trying to avoid pain. We seek pleasure and avoid pain because pleasure produces happiness and pain tends to produce sorrow and anger. An action would be considered right if that action created happiness and an action would be wrong if that action promoted the opposite of happiness (sorrow, anger, etc.). When we try to evaluate the rightness or wrongness of an action we have to contemplate the consequences of other people involved and not just of our own. Moral actions should result in maximizing happiness because it’s the right thing to do not only for yourself but for others as well. The utilitarianism approach states the we should always try to produce the greatest amount of happiness for the largest amount of people over the longest amount of time. Happiness is something that we always struggle to maintain constant in our lives because we regularly find ourselves in problematic situations. When we are in these controversial circumstances we may not incessantly do the right thing because we simply don’t know what the right thing to do is. How we deal with certain issues defines whether we acquire happiness or not.

For utilitarian philosophers, happiness is the supreme value of life. John Stuart 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. By happiness is intended pleasure and the absence of pain; by unhappiness, pain and privation of pleasure” (Mill, Utilitarianism). This meaning that utilitarianism is determined by the calculation of happiness, in which actions are deemed to be good if they tend to produce pleasure, a form of happiness. On the contrary, they are evil if they tend to promote pain. Not only does Mill regard to the end product of happiness in actions, but also considers the motives of such actions. In his argument, Mill defends the idea that happiness as the underlying basis of morality, and that people desire nothing but happiness.

John Stuart Mill’s defends utilitarianism, an ethical theory according to which, as he puts it, “actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness” (155 Ethics). In other words, actions are morally right if they make us happy and actions are morally wrong if they make us unhappy. Utilitarianism is an ethical theory in which an action is morally right if it increases the amount of pleasure and morally wrong if it decreases the amount of pleasure in the world.

In chapters two and three of Mill’s Utilitarianism writings he chose to discuss Utilitarianism’s meaning and principles of Utility. As for the definitions of utilitarianism, Mill described it as, “The Greatest Happiness Principle” (Mill 10). Furthermore, utilitarianism seeks to promote the most happiness for the greater good (Mill 10). In accordance to that, actions are considered good actions if they promote happiness (Mill 10). As Mill describes the definition of Utilitarianism, he also discusses the definition of happiness. Mill describes happiness as, “Intended pleasure, and the absence of pain; by unhappiness, pain, and the privation of pleasure” (Mill 10). In other words, Mill believes that if someone is performing an

Mill is arguing that the basis of morality is dependent upon the existence of pleasure and absence of pain, which is what people most desire. Therefore, an action that leads to an increase in happiness is seen as good and desirable while actions that decrease a state of happiness are seen as bad and should be avoided. Mill further elaborates on the meaning of utilitarianism when he explains, “for that standard is not the agent’s own greatest happiness, but the greatest amount of happiness altogether” (Mill, 11). Utilitarianism is not concerned with actions that increase personal happiness, but those that increase happiness overall. It is important for one not to value his or her happiness over the happiness of others, because if we create happiness for others we will then create happiness for ourselves.

For Mill utilitarianism is a theory that is based on the belief that “actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness” also known as the “greatest happiness principle. As “happiness is the sole basis of morality; people rarely want anything but happiness”. Mill believes people’s achievement of goals and ends – virtuous living should be considered a part of the individual’s happiness. Mill defines happiness as pleasure without pain as pleasure can vary in quality and quantity. Mill writes in Utilitarianism, happiness is: “not a life of rapture, but moments of such, in an existence made up of few and transitory pains, many and various pleasures, with a decided predominance of the active over the passive, and having as the foundation of the whole not to expect more from life than it is capable of bestowing.” Mill thought ethics should focus instead on quality of pleasure rather than quantity of pleasure. He divides the pleasures into two categories, that is, higher and lower. Hence, Mill utilitarianism was his differentiation between higher intellectual pleasures and lower bodily pleasures Mill argues that higher pleasures hold actual value; the higher pleasures are more appeasing to one’s feelings. He draws a

Utilitarianism, or the Greatest Happiness Principle, states that the morality of an action should be judged based on the extent to which it produces happiness, or the opposite of happiness—an action is good as long as the result is happiness, and deemed bad if it results in pain. A clearer understanding of what Utilitarianism is can be gained by John Stuart Mill’s characterization of what it is not. He states, “I believe that the very imperfect notion ordinarily formed of its meaning, is the chief obstacle which impedes its reception; and that could it be cleared, even from only the grosser misconceptions, the question would be greatly simplified, and a large proportion of its difficulties removed” (Mill, 2007, p. 4). In defining Utilitarianism, Mill dispels common misconceptions that are held about Utilitarianism in order to give the reader a clearer understanding of the doctrine and the rationales that support it.

Mill writes of utilitarianism in the eponymous work Utilitarianism. According to his work utilitarianism is a means of deciding the moral value of actions. Mill’s theory takes a consequentialist view of actions, saying that the moral worth of an action is decided by the outcome, or consequence. This decision of moral worth is determined by whether the outcome maximizes happiness and minimizes the reverse of happiness. Mill writes that “actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.” Happiness is defined as pleasure and the absence of pain according to Mill, and the action must be considered for the outcome it brings to the most people. This happiness, or pleasure and lack of pain,

Mill also states that an existence with the possibility of happiness must be “…to the greatest extent possible, secured to all mankind; and not to them only, but, so far as the nature of things admits, to the whole sentient creation (234)”. Utilitarianism not only focuses on the attainment of happiness, but the prevention of pain and unhappiness. (230)

The principal of utility is to maximize the happiness in ones self by using benefits misusing the harms. It acts as to produce advantage, pleasure, good or happiness and the greatest net balance of benefits over harms for all affected impartially. In Utilitarianism, J.S. Mill was trying to show that actions and institutions should increase the overall amount of happiness in the world, and stressed the importance of utilitarianism as the first principle in ethics. Happiness should be judged, not only by pleasure, but by pain as well, Mill believes that a person should always seek to gain pleasure and reject pain. According to Smart, the act-utilitarian is to regard rules as mere rules of thumb, and will use them only as rough guides.

When defining “Utility” or the “Greatest Happiness Principle” first explained by John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), one must first understand that Mill defends Utilitarianism, focusing mainly on the concept of consequences. Stating that the point behind “Utility” or the “Greatest Happiness Principle” is that a person’s decisions and actions are decided as right or wrong based on their effect of being able to make someone or ones-self happy or unhappy. To have an understanding for the word happiness, as defined in the “Greatest Happiness Principle”, a person must accept that happiness is the goal of perceived pleasure with the absence of any pain, whether it be emotional or physical.

In his piece, “Utilitarianism”, John Stuart Mill analyzes the concept of pleasure being the highest good people should strive for. To understand this analysis, one must understand the terms of which Mill uses the word “happiness”. Mill describes happiness as being pleasure in the absence of pain. Another term that one would need to understand for this analysis is the term utility. Utility means the same as happiness. For example, when Mill states that someone should do the action the generates the greatest amount of utility, then he is saying the same as that person should do the action whichever generates the greatest amount of happiness or pleasure. Mill builds on this definition saying the right action is the action that produces the highest amount of happiness or utility. Mill would refer to this as the greatest happiness principle. For example, if someone was deciding between hanging out with friends or studying a test, that person should decide whichever action produces the highest amount of utility or happiness. Furthermore, he explains that there are different kinds of pleasure and that some pleasures are more desirable than other pleasures. For example, according to Mill, one might find achieving a high grade on an exam more satisfying than a simple pleasure such as watching a football game. Mill gives a specific example in that a person who achieves the intellectual or higher end pleasure; that person