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John Stuart Mill Utilitarianism

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The third and final ethical examination this paper will make is that of John Stuart Mill and utilitarianism. Book definitions can be somewhat confusing on this. The basic idea behind utilitarianism is the right or wrong of an action is determined by the level of happiness or unhappiness it brings about. The only desirable ends in life are pleasure and freedom from pain. For something to be desirable it is either inherently pleasurable or is a means to promote pleasure and will keep pain from happening.
John S. Mill
John Stuart Mill was born early in the 19th century in England and along with Jeremy Bentham, led what we know now as classic utilitarianism. Utilitarians were social reformers who supported things like women's suffrage and an abolition …show more content…

If an action results in the best outcome possible from a list of choices then it is right. The basic idea of consequentialists is that an action is right when it brings out the most good. Good is defined as pleasure with no pain. Robyn and “Little John” LJ Robyn is dating a man who goes by the name “Little John” or LJ. He is someone who is into a street gang and deals drugs on the street. Robyn wants to be a part of the gang and agrees to an initiation. One evening she is supposed to go with LJ to a convenience store and drive the vehicle they will make their escape with. During the robbery, Robyn witnesses LJ commit robbery and turn to leave the store. Unbeknownst to LJ, the clerk aimed a weapon at him as he began to leave. Robyn, seeing this, drove the vehicle she was sitting in through the store front and killed the clerk instantly.
Ethical Views After reading some background information this week, in my opinion there is not any arena in which Robyn’s actions might be considered ethical. Under the rules of virtue ethics, Robyn would have to commit only virtuous acts in order to be or become a virtuous person. Robyn should not have killed an innocent person in order to save her boyfriend who should not have been stealing anyway. This leads to my next

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In Defense of Utilitarianism, J.S. Mill In the excerpt from John Stuart Mill’s book, Utilitarianism, Mill defends the utilitarian theory against three different objections. The first, and strongest opposition to utilitarianism was the accusation that the emphasis on the pursuit of pleasure makes utilitarianism “a doctrine worthy of swine.” This was my favorite argument because Mill defended it so well stating that there are varying degrees of pleasure. He refers to them as “high” and “low” pleasures, which I do agree with.

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When looking at the murderer at the door situation, utilitarianism offers a suitable guide for whether or not you should lie. Utilitarianism offers a way to think of the situation regarding the “Greatest Happiness Principle”, namely regarding the increase in happiness and reduction of pain (John Stuart Mill, 461). Utilitarianism also mentions nobleness in its guideline. There are concerns about the usefulness of utilitarianism in the situation. This most prominently includes which person you should increase the happiness of.

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John Stuart Mill attempts to defend the principle of utility is relation to the principle of justice in Utilitarianism; this defense seeks to explain how utility and justice coincide and not conflict. I find the principles of Utilitarianism conflicting with some principles of justice due to the tensions between utility and justice, but overall agree that justice cannot function without utility. I agree that the principle of utility can be applied in the social sphere and justice but I see the tensions that justice can have with utility. These tensions are developed through the accepted belief of rights, which often are seen as inviolable.

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Do unto others the way you want to be treated by others. This statement is the golden rule of the Kantian philosophy. It is not morally right to force people to do things or to accept things that they do not wish to perform, just because it is the law that demands. According to the categorical imperative, people should make their choices rationally but not because “it is the only right thing to do.” For example, it is the right for every person to get medications when they are sick.

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The age old question of what is moral has lingered in Philosopher’s minds for ages. In order to answer this question, we must know what morality is, and define exactly that. Humans are diverse sentient beings, and having the same morals uniformly is impossible, however when we look at theories that philosophers have proposed, there is a vast amount of speculation as to what makes anything moral. In this essay, I will be deconstructing the ideas of morality and John Stuart Mill’s theory of utilitarianism, helping me by opening opportunities to critique his arguments and concepts. Morality is the concept of what is right and what is wrong.

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In this paper, I will explain the key fundamentals of Utilitarianism and its criticisms as presented by Elliott Sober in his work, Core Questions in Philosophy. I will also present my own example that will object to the principles of Utilitarianism. My conclusion is that Utilitarianism can be proven wrong if we examine certain thought experiments, such as the Trolley Problem. John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism focuses on mainly on happiness. Mill believes that the only thing that is intrinsically valuable is happiness.

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In Utilitarianism, John Stuart Mill defines his philosophy of utilitarianism as providing the greatest good or maximum pleasure, in the absence of pain, for the most people. The dilemma in this philosophy arises from the definition and pursuit of the greatest good. Hobbes said before in the Leviathan that there is no greatest good or Summum Bonum. In Plato’s Republic, Polemarchus’s definition of justice of doing good to friends and causing harm to enemies is rejected by Socrates because one cannot recognize good or evil, without having knowledge of the good. This is not true for Mill’s philosophy of utilitarianism.

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John Stuart Mill’s argument on the government’s role is an anti-perfectionist and utilitarian approach. Utilitarianism is basing an action on what would maximize the most happiness among people. This theory is composed of two components the account of utility which is what is intrinsically good and the Principle of Utility that determines what actions are right based on their outcome. Mill’s take on utilitarianism is that there are different levels of pleasures, where intellectual enjoyment is a higher ranking on pleasure. Moreover, Mill claims that to achieve the greatest happiness of a group of people is for the government to be an impartial judge.

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The passion for Higher Education began during my years as an undergraduate student who worked part-time in the Office of Admissions. As I answered the phone for a many of students and parents, I realized that the information that they always needed, they never had. My degree from the 4-year institution that is now my employer is a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications. While I may not be using all of the skills learned while obtaining my degree I am still able to create my own visions for media within my position. There is no certain degree program that prepares you for Higher Education, but I think that is what makes it special when you put together staff members on a team because everyone can have so many ideas and plans that can work with each other.

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I am writing on John Stuart Mill’s idea of Utilitarianism. This is Mills concept of how to determine what is right and what is wrong based on consequences. Utilitarianism is the idea that the consequence of an action is happiness then the action is therefore considered justified. Mills claims that “each person’s happiness is a good to that person, and the general happiness” (McCloskey, pg 61). When he says this he means that if one specific thing benefits one person then that same thing should be beneficial to everyone else as well.

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1. No, that’s not necessarily true. Utilitarianism requires one to do what produces the largest utility regardless of his motive. (Mill, 1990, p. 175) In this case according to Mill one should focus on the happiness of the few people that he’s dealing with (Mill, p. 175) as he cannot measure the effects of his action on the entire population.

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In On Liberty, Mill portrays the concept of liberty as valuable as a vehicle towards the end goal of maximizing utility. For Mill, such examples are consistent with utilitarianism since happiness is the only concept seen as an end in and of itself. In Chapter 3 ‘On Individuality’, Mill argues that individuality is of worth since it promotes happiness for the individual which in turn means there is happiness for society as a whole (BASPT p.640). Since Mill consistently views liberty as an extrinsic value, which shows liberty is not part of the essential nature of his theory, he stays consistent with the principle of utility that promotes happiness as the only intrinsic value to aim for. For Mill, as long as liberty is valued as a means to the

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The Act Utilitarianism is Judges an act in terms of the consequences

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John Stuart Mill, at the very beginning of chapter 2 entitled “what is utilitarianism”. starts off by explaining to the readers what utility is, Utility is defined as pleasure itself, and the absence of pain. This leads us to another name for utility which is the greatest happiness principle. Mill claims that “actions are right in proportions as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.” “By Happiness is intended pleasure and the absence of pain, by happiness, pain and the privation of pleasure”.

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