Utilitarianism: John Stuart Mill's Pursuit Of Happiness

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Recommended: Moral Philosophy Of John Stuart Mill

Mill argues that utilitarianism as the standard for judging pleasures gives us a method of comparing different kinds of happiness. One person may prefer general equality of happiness in all people while another may feel that a person should be content or happy with and in what they have, or in other words, they should be as happy as possible based on their capabilities. Utilitarianism shows that a way to compare different human being and their types and capacities of happiness is needed. Utility gives people a way to measure happiness and show the comparison of different people and different types of happiness. Critics of utilitarianism argue that having one standard for measuring happiness is problematic and inconclusive. They argue that utilitarianism lowers the value of pleasures …show more content…

Whether its happiness in our home and families or happiness within ourselves, the ultimate end is happiness. Mill wrote that “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 opinions, it is because they only know their side of the question (Mill pg. 20).” I agree with Mill and argue against the critics of utility. There are higher and lower pleasures and as human beings we have the freedom of choice when we decide which pleasure to indulge in. Superior pleasures or higher pleasure are those that appeal to our mental happiness and the basic or lower pleasures are those that appeal to our bodily pleasure. Utilitarianism is based on the “greatest happiness principle”, which means that, “actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness (Mill).” What this means is that happiness is the pleasure and anything that causes the happiness to stop such as unhappiness, pain, or discomfort being physical or mental, is bad and does not show

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