Morality And John Stuart Mill's Theory Of Utilitarianism

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. What people consider moral differs, as there are different theories philosophers have proposed that constitute

Defining pleasure is a necessary task, as there are many different levels and kinds of pleasure. In John Stuart Mill’s discussion of what Utilitarianism is, he poses the question of whether a pig’s ability to perceive pleasure is that of a human’s ability to perceive pleasure. Mill explains that a pig is comparable to a beast, and that if a pig’s ability to experience pleasure was identical to a human’s, humans would be satisfied with that a pig would be satisfied with. He also claims that a human would never trade his occasionally pleasurable life, disregarding moral obligation, for the life of a pig that is always satisfied because we as humans know how simple and inferior pigs lives are. While this argument is convincing, Mill does not explain the implications of moral obligation on this topic of Utilitarianism. Humans have no idea what a pigs perception of pleasure really feels like, and perhaps it is identical to a human's perception of pleasure, or yet, more intensified. Aside from this, a simple animal such as a pig could be considered “easier to please”, and would be capable of experiencing even more pleasure than a human would in its lifetime. If indeed this is true, it would be a moral obligation to achieve more pleasure and live the pigs life over a human

Mill argues that while to desire pleasure would make it part of an end, to only desire pleasure itself is a full end. To prove the principle of utility, Mill explains that perhaps desire and pleasure are two of the same thing; to desire something is to seek pleasure. Everyone has desires, and this intriguing concept would prove that pleasure is an end, and would show that everyone desires pleasure as an end to life. But by using this comparison, that both desire and pleasure are the same, it opens new doors to thoughts on other comparisons, and the relationship between pleasure and pain. If someone can be addicted to pain, which surely one can, how could they not desire pain. In an episode of the popular UK based television show, Black Mirror, a doctor is given the ability to experience other people's plain without physical harm. Throughout the episode, he becomes increasingly more dependant on pain, to a point where it becomes a sexual drive. By the end of the episode, he finds himself inflicting physical pain on himself, and on others, with no regret. This example gives a clean illustration of someone who desires pain, and finds pleasure in pain. With the ability to find pain pleasurable, Mill’s concept becomes useless to define what pleasure is and confuses two feelings for two amountable substances which morality is balanced on top of, and therefore fails to