Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
John stuart mill's theory of utilitarianism
Criticisms of Mill's utilitarianism theory
Utilitarian ethics of john stuart mill
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: John stuart mill's theory of utilitarianism
ABSTRACT: En esta comunicación se presenta la concepción utilitarista de la virtud en John Stuart Mill. El cultivo y la adquisición desinteresada de la virtud se integran en el proceso de autorrealización humana. La virtud es necesaria para la consecución de la felicidad y para el interés general de la sociedad. Se analiza la virtud en Mill como un sentimiento moral que se trasmite por observación. Se finaliza con unas conclusiones críticas sobre esta perspectiva utilitaria de la virtud.
En la tradición ética occidental, la virtud es considerada condición indispensable del perfeccionamiento del ser humano. De ahí que, en general, los planteamientos que tienen en cuenta la autorrealización o el cultivo del individuo, integren un tratamiento más o menos amplio de la cuestión de la virtud. Ahora bien, el tema de la virtud puede ser enfocado desde diversas perspectivas que hagan prevalecer un aspecto u otro de la virtud. Estos enfoques dependerán, en último término, de cómo se haya concebido al ser humano.
Pues bien, esta es la situación de nuestro autor, J. Stuart Mill, que desarrolla el tema de la virtud en dependencia de su concepción utilitarista de la moral, que, a su vez, es consecuencia de su pensamiento en torno al hombre.
1. Contexto de la teoría milliana de la virtud
Como buen utilitarista, Mill no lleva a cabo una especulación completa sobre la naturaleza de la virtud, su tipología, articulación interna... Tan sólo está interesado por su función práctica, y más en concreto por la necesidad que la virtud parece tener como medio para alcanzar la felicidad.
El contexto de su tratamiento de la virtud está expuesto en su artículo "Civilización", (1) de 1836, donde describe la moderna sociedad comercial, incipiente en aquella época. Según Mill, en la sociedad comercial, el hombre concentra sus energías en conseguir dinero y bienes materiales. La valoración de las personas descansa no "sobre lo que es una persona, sino sobre lo que aparenta". Este aparentar viene determinado por el cúmulo de bienes materiales a los que uno puede acceder mediante su dinero. Como consecuencia de este criterio de valoración, cada sujeto singular se ve sometido a una despersonalización: cae bajo parámetros puramente cuantitativos, "está perdido en la muchedumbre" anónima, corre el peligro de perder hasta su propia identidad.
Mill veía con desagrado que, en este tipo de sociedad materializada, lo que se busca es, ante todo, el éxito. Una de sus formas más conspicuas era, a juicio de Mill, poder de influir en la vida pública, a través del arte de la "charlatanería", con el fin de conseguir una audiencia cada vez mayor, inundando, con este fin, el mercado de libros y artículos.
He is was total opposite of Metternich. Mill’s “On liberty” essay was about the individual liberty. To Mill’s, the only important thing is the happiness of the individual, and such happiness may only be accomplished in an enlightened society, in which people are free to partake in their own interests. Thus, Mills stresses the important value of individuality, of personal development, both for the individual and society for future progress. For Mill, an educated person is the one who acts on what he or she understands and who does everything in his or her power to understand. Mill held this model out to all people, not just the specially gifted, and advocates individual initiative over social control. He emphasizes that things done by individuals are done better than those done by governments. Also, individual action advances the mental education of that individual, something that government action cannot ever do, and for government action always poses a threat to liberty and must be carefully
According to the Quest Pattern, Lily, the antagonist in Sue Monk Kidd’s The Secret Life of Bees, comes of age quite elegantly. She has to face some harsh situations that set her journey in motion, acquire knowledge about her past and present, and find a reward during this journey. While Lily’s quest isn’t easy, she finds that “…nobody is perfect. [And] How you just have to close your eyes and breathe out and let the puzzle of the human heart be what it is.” (Kidd 285). To prove that she is coming of age, she follows the pattern, and manages to with a strong will, and a maturity that is generally unknown to others her age.
Mill, John S. The Basic Writings of John Stuart Mill. New York, New York: Modern Library, 2002. Print.
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 beings are endowed with the ability for conscious thought, and they are not satisfied with physical pleasures, but they strive to achieve pleasure of the mind as well.
Approximately three hundred years separate the earliest of these works, The Prince, from the most recent, Utilitarianism, and a progression is discernible in the concept of morality over this span. Machiavelli does not mention the word "morality," but his description of the trends and ideals of human political interaction allow for a reasonable deduction of the concept. Locke, too, does not use the word, but he does write of "the standard of right and wrong." In contrast, Mill writes explicitly and extensively of morality in its forms, sources, and obligations. A logical starting point in this examination is a look at their relative views of human nature.
“Walter Elias Disney was born December 5, 1901, in Chicago, Illinois, to Elias and Flora Disney…Walt’s parents …decided to move closer to family on a farm outside of Marceline, Missouri, in 1906…It was here that he began to draw animals and indulge his imagination. Walt’s exposure to rural life influenced him throughout his career.” (Jolley) When reading about Walt’s early history, it’s noticeable that he came from very humble circumstances. The places he lived, and the experiences he had, shaped his life dramatically. He was an imaginative and hardworking person from the start. “ Walt was only nine years old when he had to get up at 3:30 a.m., seven days a week, to fold and deliver papers for two hours before attending…school” (Jolley) By working at such a young age, life lessons of perseverance and dedication was instilled into his values at a very early.
John Stuart Mill believes in a utilitarian society where people are seen as “things.” Moreover, in utilitarianism the focus of the goal is “forward-looking”, in looking at the consequences but not the ini...
John Stuart Mill argues that the rightness or wrongness of an action, or type of action, is a function of the goodness or badness of its consequences, where good consequences are ones that maximize the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people. In this essay I will evaluate the essential features of Mill’s ethical theory, how that utilitarianism gives wrong answers to moral questions and partiality are damaging to Utilitarianism.
Passive Solar Design Primer. (n.d.). Passive Solar Design Primer. Retrieved May 12, 2014, from http://www.nmsea.org/Passive_Solar/Passive_Solar_Design.htm
Williams, C. J. (2011, June 20). L.A. Times. Retrieved September 21, 2011, from La Times Web Site: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-adv-death-penalty-costs-20110620,0,3505671.story
The most expensive part of the capital punishment process is the initial trials and pre-trials [2]. During this phase, the person accused of murder is determined either guilty or innocent. It is also during this phase that they choose whether or not to sentence said person to death. According to statistics from the Death Penalty Information Center, capital trials (cases with the possibility of the death penalty) cost approximately one million dollars more than a non-capital case. To put it another way, the amount of money needed to sentence someone to death could pay for 8 years of school at Harvard University. The attribute c...
In passive solar design, the vertical and horizontal surfaces control the heat transfer; in winters collect and distribute solar heat and dissipate heat in summer. Passive solar techniques utilize solar energy through direct or indirect solar gain to achieve environmental comfort in the building. The key factors in passive solar building design are: site planning and design; thermal mass; solar geometry; ventilation and vegetation.
Philosophy has offered many works and debates on morality and ethics. One of these works is the concept of utilitarianism. One of the most prominent writers on the theory of utilitarianism is John Stuart Mill. He suggests that utilitarianism may be the guide for morality. His writing on utilitarianism transcends through the present in relation to the famous movie The Matrix. In the movie, people live in a virtual reality where they are relatively happy and content and the real world is filled with a constant struggle to survive. The movie revolves around Neo, who tries to free people from the virtual world in which they live. In light of utilitarianism, freeing these people would be morally wrong. In this essay, I will first explain John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism and some objections it faces. I will then talk about utilitarianism’s relation to The Matrix and why it would be morally wrong to free the people and subject them to the real world.
Fitzpatrick, J. R. (2006). John Stuart Mill's political philosophy: Balancing freedom and the collective good. London [u.a.: Continuum.
middle of paper ... ... Philosophers, such as John Stuart Mill, have debated the role and the extension of government in the people’s lives for centuries. Mill presents a clear and insightful argument, claiming that the government should not be concerned with the free will of the people unless explicit harm has been done to an individual. However, such ideals do not build a strong and lasting community. It is the role of the government to act in the best interests at all times through the prevention of harm and the encouragement of free thought.