Preview

John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
578 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism
In the current age people, all over the word are indulging in their own personal pleasures. Some of which may be physical and others may involve more of a mental aspect. In 1861 philosopher John Stuart Mill published “Utilitarianism”, and in this piece Mill introduces his idea of higher and lower pleasure. He states that people require mental pleasure over physical pleasure. In his work, he defends his stance, but in the end his views are not justifiable. Pleasure is based off desire, and individuals can make distinctions on which pleasures are more desired than others without being related to a mental or physical perspective, and how we can decipher between what is physical and what is mental? A major flaw in Mills proposal is how do individuals distinguish between what is mental (higher) pleasure and what is physical (lower) pleasure? In Utilitarianism Mill assumes that higher pleasures are more intellectual and lower pleasures …show more content…
Should one go out and entertain or should one stay in and read a news article? These choices can be made off one’s desire, but are not always easily perforable one over another. Mill believes that when distinguishing between two pleasures you should ask someone who has lived or been through both pleasures to determine which one receives higher pleasure. This solution is too broad that it is unlikely to fit every scenario making it baseless towards Mills argument. Pleasures are different between each person and categorizing them is not realistic. To an artist drawling may achieve the highest intellectual pleasure, but if the artist is put in a place to choose between drawling and dancing and were to ask a dancer which is more beneficial, they will say dancing. Proving that different people benefit from different activities. Mill is trying to make his solution universal, but there are so many different possibilities that it cannot be used as a universal

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Mill separates pleasure into higher and lower as that he thinks some pleasure like higher is more for the soul and are long term and will benefit you as a person and the lower pleasures which are more material and offer short term pleasure but not the sort that lasts. He use the saying ‘Better to be a human dissatisfied than a pig satisfies; Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied‘ to show the differences between the two pleasures as that you can be a human dissatisfied which is better than being a pig who is satisfied as that you are may not be happy or content but you are doing good which is better than someone who is happy and content but doing bad.…

    • 1078 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mill separates pleasure into higher and lower as that he thinks some pleasure like higher is more for the soul and are long term and will benefit you as a person and the lower pleasures which are more material and offer short term pleasure but not the sort that lasts. He use the saying ‘Better to be a human dissatisfied than a pig satisfies; Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied‘ to show the differences between the two pleasures as that you can be a human dissatisfied which is better than being a pig who is satisfied as that you are may not be happy or content but you are doing good which is better than someone who is happy and content but doing bad. Mill is considered a rule utilitarian.…

    • 842 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    To summarize this Mill’s chapter two about what utilitarianism is, basically meaning that individuals would find some kind of pleasure that are more desirable and more valuable to themselves are inherently good. Utilitarianism is pleasurable when the actions are good; when the actions are bad the pleasure decreases. To Mill he compares human pleasures are as equal as animalistic pleasures. It depends on what kind of pleasure people are seeking. For this purpose, Mill mentioned that people would have to look within quality of the pleasure people are seeking as well as quantity.…

    • 387 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “The creed which accepts as the foundation of morals, Utility, or the Greatest Happiness Principle, holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness” (11). That quote is from “Utilitarianism” written by John Stuart Mill. Mill is noted in history as a man who pushed for radical change of social and legal principles using Utilitarianism as his guide. That quote sums up his belief in that theory. In this essay I will be discussing Mill, the theory of Utilitarianism and how that theory relates to contemporary ethical issues.…

    • 430 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    For J.S. Mill, decreasing pain and increasing pleasure is good. However, not all pleasure is the same. Mill argues that intellectual pleasures are superior to bodily pleasures (Mill, Utilitarianism, Chapter 2).…

    • 1095 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ethics Kant vs Mill

    • 1100 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Mill’s theory of Utilitarianism relates moral actions to those that result in the greatest happiness. This explains Mill’s theory on morality. When happiness is reached, there is pleasure and the absence of pain. Pleasure results from the actions higher in utility. Mill believes there’s a difference between higher and lower qualities of pleasure verses quantity of them. If a pleasure were high, a person would choose it over another pleasure that may come with suffering. Saying this he means a person will choose the higher good. He also speaks about the confusion of happiness with satisfaction. The only way to judge a pleasure is to fully understand the quality of pleasure.…

    • 1100 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Colonies by 1763

    • 294 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Between the settlement at Jamestown in 1607 and the Treaty of Paris in 1763, the most important change that occurred in the colonies was the extension of British ideals far beyond the practice in England itself. The thirteen colonies throughout time all established themselves and soon developed their own identities. Colonies in different areas were known for different things and no one colony was like the other. These people began to see them selves as Carolinians or Georgians, Quakers or new Englanders. Most of these colonist's no longer saw themselves as being citizens of the mother country, but rather as citizens of their colonies. This is when the colonies began to receive their own identities and eventually start to become more and more Americanized. Changes in Religion, economics, Politics, and social structures illustrate this Americanization of the transplanted Europeans.…

    • 294 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Pleasures and pain contribute in determining the classification of one’s actions. In Mill’s Utilitarianism, he examines what determines an action to be considered right or wrong, his own version of the hedonistic utilitarianism argument. He claims that these qualities, including the quantity, are an important factor in determining, when included in the consequences, the criteria of an action. The consequences are significant in determining the results of one’s actions.…

    • 932 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Work Cited

    • 1410 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Mill’s theory of higher pleasures states that when it comes down to pleasures and satisfaction, people tend to set these empirical grounds for these…

    • 1410 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Stuart Mill

    • 918 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Mill’s Utilitarianism states that in order to be moral, one must make decisions based upon the greatest happiness. In…

    • 918 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Marx and Mills

    • 1200 Words
    • 5 Pages

    John Stuart Mill suggests that a person's ethical decision-making process should be based solely upon the amount of happiness that the person can receive. Although Mill fully justifies himself, his approach lacks certain criteria for which happiness can be considered. Happiness should be judged, not only by pleasure, but by pain as well. This paper will examine Mill's position on happiness, and the reasoning behind it. Showing where there are agreements and where there are disagreements will critique the theory of Utilitarianism. By showing the problems that the theory have will reveal what should make up ethical decision-making. John Stuart Mill supports and explains his reasoning in his book, Utilitarianism. Mill illustrates the guidelines of his theory. Mill defines utilitarianism as the quest for happiness. His main point is that one should guide his or her judgements by what will give pleasure. Mill believes that a person should always seek to gain pleasure and reject pain. Utilitarianism also states that the actions of a person should be based upon the "greatest happiness principle". This principle states that ethical actions command the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people. Mill further explores the need for pleasure by noting "a being of higher faculties requires more to make him happy." . He acknowledges that some pleasures are more alluring than others are. He adds to this by making known that when placing value in things to calculate pleasure, not only quantity important but quality as well. Mill's criteria for happiness is easily understood, some statements that he gives are questionable. John Stuart Mill plainly laid out what he believes that the basis for ethical decision-making. First, the pursuit of pleasure is directly related to happiness. This idea can be easily accepted. It is natural for a person to focus his goals on things that will bring him pleasure. It would be absurd if someone's goal in life was to be poor and…

    • 1200 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism, Mill discusses the concept of utilitarianism, defined as, “The doctrine that actions are right if they are useful of for the benefit of a majority.” Mill elaborates on this idea and within the second chapter of his essay, addresses many misconceptions towards this view. Addressing the given quote, one misconception made is that utilitarianism degrades the meaning of life. Some people oppose this view because they think that it is wrong to say that there is no better end than pleasure and freedom from pain. Mill replies to this by saying that there are different qualities of pleasure. He professes about a higher quality pleasure being one which you would choose above another pleasure even if it meant pain…

    • 249 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mill is a utilitarian philosopher who lives by the Greatest Happiness Principle, in which there is a clear distinction between both lower and higher pleasures. Though thoroughly explained, one must also question the justification of these pleasures. Many of these beliefs leave the reader hanging on the edge, with further questions that need to be answered. What is the exact distinction between the lower and higher pleasures? And how are higher pleasures measured as most valuable? How clearly is Mill’s view of lower and higher pleasures justified?…

    • 1249 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cyber Warrants

    • 388 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The law provides suspects with a right to privacy as well as a safeguard to illegal search and seizures in the form of search warrants. While traditional search warrants must specify what can be searched, which makes everything else off limits without obtaining additional warrants, it creates a problem for cyber-related searches. In the case of cyber warrants, just as with traditional warrants, there must be probable cause to issue a warrant. If the probable cause can be established, such as an advertisement concerning the suspect for illegal activity such as child pornography, then the warrant can be issued for a search and seizure of the suspect’s computer. While in this case, it is legal within the constraints of the warrant to obtain the…

    • 388 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Adlerian Theory

    • 2285 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Objective reality is less important than how we interpret reality and the meanings we attach to what we experience…

    • 2285 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays