Mill's Utilitarianism

Mill, in the chapter labeled “Of What Sort of Proof the Principle of Utility Is Susceptible”, postulates that utilitarianism does not preclude a pursuit of virtue, but rather that a desire for virtue sprouts from a desire for happiness. Mill likens the aspiration for virtue to the pursuit of money: many desire money for money’s sake, because they have grown to associate the happiness acquired by money with money itself. Likewise, Mill puts forward the idea that people grow to associate virtue with the consequential happiness, and thus pursue virtue as an end in and of itself, instead of merely a means to the end of happiness. This argument is vital to Mill’s assertion that the only true end is happiness, while everything else is “only desirable as a means to that end.” However, one need only find an example of a pursuit of virtue for a sake other than happiness to disprove both the assertion that virtue is desired only due to its association with happiness and the assertion that happiness is the only desirable end.

Many followers of Christianity, a religion referenced specifically by Mill, strive to obey the precepts of the religion without regard to the consequences of the obedience. This holds true even for commandments that don’t obviously result in the wellbeing of the actor or others, such as prohibitions against homosexuality or premarital sex. One might argue that they are acting this way because they believe that it is necessary for them to achieve eternal paradise; however, many Christians believe that one achieves heaven through belief in Jesus, and that obedience to Biblical rules is not necessary. Because of this, these Christians would not be obeying the rules due to it being necessary to go to heaven, but purely for obedience’s