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Comparing John Stuart Mill And The Catholic Church

788 Words4 Pages

John Stuart Mill and the Catholic Church have two completely different methods of analysis. They may result in the same conclusion at times, but for completely different reasons. John Stuart Mill is the founder of Utilitarianism. Utilitarianism says happiness is pleasure, and is hedonistic. The purpose of Utilitarianism is follow that the right choice is the one that leads to the greatest amount of pleasure (or least amount of pain) for the greatest amount of people. This works off an equation. If the amount of pleasure minus the amount of pain is greater than zero, the consequence is justified. Mill says there are two types of pleasure: bodily and intellectual, with intellectual pleasures such as art, music, reading, etc. being greater than bodily pleasures such as food, water, sex, etc. (CITE ETHICS BOOK, EDIT) The Catholic Church’s teaching is based off of the will of God. It describes morals as virtues that are based off of the four cardinal virtues: …show more content…

To respond in a way which is always humane, just and fraternal. We need to avoid a common temptation nowadays, to discard whatever proves troublesome. Let us remember the golden rule, do unto others as you would have them do unto you. This rule points us in a clear direction. Let us treat others with the same passion and compassion with which we want to be treated. Let us seek for others the same possibilities which we seek for ourselves. Let us help others to grow, as we would like to be helped ourselves. In a word, if we want security, let us give security. If we want life, let us give life. If we want opportunities, let us provide opportunities. The yardstick we use for others will be the yardstick which time will use for us.” (CITATION ROLLCALL.COM

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