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Mill Utilitarianism

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What ought a man to do? This is a question that universally seeks solution when we get to use the concept of utilitarianism, and thus calls for consideration on some aspect of our society to able to answer it. The principle of utilitarianism from normative ethics best provides solutions to it. It was developed by Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) and John Stuart Mill (1806-1873). The concept of utilitarianism focuses on the consequences of an action. The moral action is that which produces the greatest good for the greatest number. This means that the happiness of most persons and their general well-being should be prioritized over that of a single individual.
Based on the principle of utility, the concept approves or disapproves the morality of all …show more content…

Hence, he believes that a democracy form of government is the best way to secure a man’s liberty. That is, democracy provides happiness to the greatest number. He further argues that pleasure should be measured on qualitatively and not on a quantitative scale. He says that “it would be absurd that while, in estimating all other things, quality is considered as well as quantity, [and] the estimation of pleasures should be supposed to depend on quantity alone” (Mill, 1998, p. …show more content…

This was Bentham’s solution on how to determine the tightness of an action’s consequences. An action is right if, and only if, the value of its total consequences is at least as great as the value of the total consequences of any alternative course of action for example, it will be wrong to kill on one occasion if the killing will have inferior consequences and right to kill on another occasion if the killing will have the best possible

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Mill Utilitarianism

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