One Stage Onward

John Staurt Mills, in chapter five of his autobiography , “ a Crisis in My Mental History: One Stage Onward, (1909-14) argues that people should be able to find their happiness. He supports his claim by first saying that happiness is something to survive by, then he states you need to ask yourself if your are happy or not and try to find your inner happiness. Mill's purpose is to reach out to people that happiness is an important in order to make people live a happy life. He creates a serious tone for people who are trying to find happiness.

John Stuart Mills, in chapter five of his autobiography “A Crisis in My Mental History: One Stage Onward”, (1909-14), suggest that mankind can never find happiness when it is their goal, they can only find it when their minds are fixed on something unrelated to the topic. He supports his claim by first stating, that happiness is only found when we have our minds fixed on something else than our happiness, then he says that when we are conscious of our feelings and when we feel happiness that is when we feel the most misery and sorrow, and finally he suggests that happiness will come naturally as long as we don’t dwell on the feeling. Mill’s purpose is to express that we are not supposed to be focused on happiness, it will come just as naturally as the air we breathe, but if we do we will just find ourselves in a state of misery. He establishes a very informative serious tone for anybody anywhere.

In contrast to these beliefs, in McMahon’s article people begin to argue that the problem was not the search for happiness, but that we are not directing our priorities. To explain, the people, as stated by Mill, feel that there is “too much concentration on gross national product and there should be more focus on gross national happiness”. McMahon made a suggestion in regards to Mill; it was to put in time with a charity, spend time with family, or a walk in the park. McMahon followed that by saying “If you’re lucky, you’ll find happiness; if not, your time won’t be wasted. You might even bring some joy to the world.” To clarify, McMahon is emphasizing the overall idea that happiness is not simply found; it is achieved only when exploring

The amalgam of the human experience and the pursuit of happiness is that of an instinctive and inexorable nature; perchance in happiness lays the fundamental purpose of the human experience. Happiness, throughout the lapse of time—regardless of multifarious discrepancies, such as nationality or age, has proven to be an all-inclusive search. Whether it is derived from power, wealth, success, or elsewhere, happiness is a perpetual pursuit. Illustrious philosopher Aristotle believed “happiness depends upon ourselves (Aristotle)”, speaking to a notion of happiness being an individual endeavor.

Mill describes happiness as pleasure and the absence of pain. He believes that achievement of goals should be counted as a part of one’s happiness. Mill also states that happiness is the sole basis of morality. Happiness is the sole criterion for morality, people never desire anything but happiness. We do desire things like virtue but that is because it constitutes a part of happiness.

Immanuel Kant refers to happiness as contentment (Kant, ) whereas John Stuart Mill refers to it as the pursuit of pleasure and the absence of pain (Mill, p.7). Kant does not base his ethics on happiness. Instead, he argues that morality is based on our duty as a human (Kant, ). To do what is right for Kant is to do what is instinctually moral without giving thought to the overall happiness. On the other hand, Mill does in fact use happiness as the bases for his ethics. He proposes that actions are right if they promote overall happiness and wrong if they promote the opposite of happiness (Mill, ). In this paper, it will be argued that Mill 's views on happiness are more reasonable than those of Kant 's because happiness should be the base for ethics.

Mill defines happiness as the production of happiness and the absence of pain. Unlike Kant's focus on the individual, Mill believed in considering the happiness of everyone that might be affected by the action. People should seek the greatest amount of happiness possible for all involved.

According to society, it is displayed that when people are with their family and friends, they are exceeding 31% more in school. This reveals that happiness helps kids to improve in school. In the article, an autobiography, by John Stuart Mill(1909), claims that happiness is focused on too much, and that people are displaying the wrong activities to find it. John Stuart Mill supports the thesis by using his opinion, that the reader could relate to. The author wants to catch the reader’s attention, in order to push them focus on how they are finding happiness. Nevertheless, John Stuart Mill wants the reader to relate to his opinion. For example, when people are kind or help out a friend and always “ask yourself [if] your happy, and if you cease

In the excerpt of the autobiography “A Crisis in My Mental History: One Stage Onward” (1914) by John Stuart Mill, the author proposes that in order to find happiness, you must stop aiming for your own happiness and fix your mind on other things. He supports his interpretation of happiness by first claiming that concentrating on something else, you will find happiness by the way, then says “Ask yourself whether you are happy, and you cease to be so” (Mill 1), and finally he adds that you will obtain happiness without even thinking about it. Mill’s purpose is to inform the reader that they can focus on other things in life in order to find happiness or something close to it. He forms a deep tone for anyone who is trying to reach happiness.

One might say, however, that some things are desired as a means to happiness. These, he says, are ‘ingredients’ to happiness. Happiness consists of these ‘ingredients’; they are a part of the happiness. Therefore, Mill claims that whatever is desired for its own sake is part of what happiness is, and each individual person desires different things to make them happy. They are means to the end of happiness. It is not possible, according to Mill, to desire something that will not provide some form of pleasure. Pleasure is happiness, and people only desire happiness, and happiness is therefore the only good.

According to society, it displays that when people are with their family and friends, they are exceeding 31% great in school. This reveals that happiness helps kids to improve in school, however some people disagree with this argument. In the article, an autobiography, by John Stuart Mill(1909), claims that people focus on happiness too much, and that people are displaying the wrong activities to find it. To support the thesis, John Stuart Mill creates his own opinion, that the reader could relate to. The author wants to catch the reader’s attention, in order to push them focus on how they are finding happiness. Nevertheless, John Stuart Mill wants the reader to relate to his opinion. For example, when people are kind or help out a friend

“Happiness is pleasure,” according to John Mill (111, The Elements of Moral Philosophy). And pleasure, Mill stated, is a broad term that includes “all mental states that feel good” (111). Mill’s view on pleasure and happiness is akin to the ancient ethical theory of Hedonism, in which pleasure is the ultimate good and pain is the ultimate evil. The Dalai Lama has a contrasting opinion of the description of happiness; he states that “the principle characteristic of genuine happiness is peace: inner peace” (55, Ethics for the New Millennium). He goes on to explain that inner peace is “rooted in concern for others” (55). While the Dalai Lama acknowledges that finding inner peace is dependent on each individual and their basic attitude and desires, he states “it is through achieving our aim by means of effort and self-sacrifice, through considering both the short-term benefit to us and the long-term effects on others’ happiness, and sacrificing

Happiness is the fundamental objective of life. This bold statement is unanimously agreed upon among generations of people on every corner of our planet. However, the real question that has been contested for centuries is the true meaning of happiness? The true meaning of happiness is one of the most highly debated philosophy topics in history. Most famous are the writings of Aristotle and John Stuart Mill who both paint very opposing pictures of happiness. Mill believes happiness is obtained through pleasure and the absence of pain. On the other hand, Aristotle insist happiness is obtained through living a fulfilling, virtuous life. This passage will examine Aristotle 's and Mill 's views on happiness as well as give an opinion one which philosophical theory is most convincing.

John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism and Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics both agree that happiness is essential to a good life but differ on what an individuals happiness consists of. They both recognized the importance of happiness to man and aimed at defining it. Aristotle believed that happiness comes from virtue. He argued that in order to be happy, man must complete his function (Aristotle). On the other hand, John Stuart Mill, argues that pleasure and freedom from pain are what make up someone’s happiness. He felt that man’s purpose in life is to find pleasure, and that pleasure will bring him happiness (Brink). The two philosophers spent much of their time contemplating what it means to be happy, and although they came across different views, they agreed on the overall idea that in order to attain true happiness, men should be engaging in activities that are distinct to

Basically Mill is saying consider others feelings before acting on a decision. Make sure that no one is affected by my choice. My happiness might not be your happiness. What if having the air-conditioned on all day made me happy and sleep comfortable but, made everyone else in my household sick. The cold made me happy but caused others to be sick. Do I act selfish and keep the air conditioner on? Or do I turn it off, buy a fan or a personalize air conditioner? That way everyone is happy. I get to sleep comfortably in the cold and no one gets sick. A good person considers there pleasure but others as well.