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John Stuart Mill Approaches To Happiness Essay

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John Stuart Mill Approaches To Happiness Essay
Leann E. Dalton
Professor Porcella
PHI-160H-S01
November 22nd, 2017
Final Paper Outline: Aristotle vs. John Stuart Mill Approaches to Happiness
Intro
Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics and John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism establish different views on where an individual’s happiness comes from. Aristotle believes that happiness comes from virtue, while John Stuart Mill believes in the Greatest Happiness Principle, which states that pleasure and absence of pain are what make up someone’s happiness. Happiness is a topic discussed in great detail in both works with both individuals presenting different viewpoints.
Aristotle and Nichomachean Ethics
Moral Virtue
Intellectual Virtue
Happiness from Virtue:
‘just’ actions = virtuous actions produce happiness for a community
‘unjust’ actions = vices which cause detriment to …show more content…
"It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied. And if the fool, or the pig, are of a different opinion, it is because they only know their own side of the question. The other party to the comparison knows both sides." (Mill Page 10 ¶1)
Compare and Contrast the Two Views of Happiness
Both perspectives are based on desires, will, and reason.
Both create their theories centered on virtues
Both discuss what drives human action
Differences in approaches:
According to Mill’s utilitarianism, the best action is that which has the best result or
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