John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism: Consequential Moral Theory

Utilitarianism often flies in the face of our typical intuitions. Where we generally judge an action to be moral or not in itself, utilitarianism is a consequential moral theory. An action is not inherently good or evil on its own. What makes an action morally good or morally wrong is the consequences is produces. According to John Stuart Mill, “actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.” He defines happiness as “pleasure and the absence of pain” (Mill 7). So, the highest moral action is the one that invites happiness and avoids displeasure. Another fundamental principle is maximization. Simply put, the best actions are the ones that promote the most happiness.

The only thing that could potentially prevent us from finding it is a lack of judgment on our part. Any person correctly applying its principles will arrive at nearly the same conclusion as another. Therein lies one of its strengths: consistency.

In the dilemma presented, we must disregard the fact that the person to be benefited from taking the job is ourselves. A good utilitarian is detached from himself: “As between his own happiness and that of others, utilitarianism requires him to be as strictly impartial as a disinterested and benevolent spectator” (Mill 17). As a whole, taking the job will immediately promote the happiness of one person: it will offer peace of mind, income to provide for immediate needs, and be immediately

Surely, taking the job will promote happiness initially- we won’t suffer from hunger, worry or anxiety, and we will be able to keep a roof over our heads. A good utilitarian must consider the long-term effects just as much as he does the short-term. If we are the kind that tends to feel for animals and would suffer emotionally from causing harm to the animals, in the long run, this will likely produce more pain than it will save us. If, however, we are emotionless and the puppy torture won’t cost us more than a single thought, it makes a better case for going through with it. I think that it is typical of the average person to feel sad when they inflict pain. If we were not to take the job, we might suffer temporary discomforts, but eventually, would fight to arrive at a point where those needs were satisfied. We would not have to deal with the guilt of killing the