John Stuart Mill And Utilitarianism

Abstract Scholars subscribe to the view that the most potent way of determining the usefulness of any good theory is its applicability to existing societal realities. John Stuart Mill’s theories of liberty, the subjection of women and utilitarianism represents such theories and have helped to shape up the frame of thought of many constitutions in human history. This is evidenced by the attention paid by such constitutions to certain concepts like, freedom, liberty and equality. Mill is considered among the most influential thinkers in the history of liberalism for he contributed widely to social theory, political theory and political economy. However, Mill’s act utilitarianism principle has been greatly criticized by various academics and

It can be used both for moral reasoning and for any type of rational decision-making. In addition to applying in different contexts, it can also be used for deliberations about the interests of different persons and groups. Because Mill was interested in political groups and public policies, they often focused on discovering which actions and policies would maximize the well-being of the relevant group. Their method for determining the well-being of a group involved adding up the benefits and losses that members of the group would experience as a result of adopting one action or policy. The well-being of the group is simply the sum total of the interests of the all of its members. Similarly, if a government is choosing a policy, it should give equal consideration to the well-being of all members of the society. Act utilitarian’s like believe that whenever we are deciding what to do, we should perform the action that will create the greatest happiness. However, critics of act utilitarianism raise three strong objections against it. According to these critics, act utilitarianism approves of actions that are clearly wrong, undermines trust among people and is too demanding because it requires people to make excessive levels of sacrifices. Critics of act utilitarianism claim that it allows judges to sentence innocent people to severe punishments when doing so

John Stuart Mill points out the inherent value of individuality, since individuality is by definition the thriving of the human person through the higher pleasures. He argues that a safe society ought to attempt to promote individuality as it is the pre- requisite for creativity and diversity. Therefore Mill concludes that actions themselves don’t matter, rather the person behind the action and the action together are valuable. However on the limits to the authority of