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Utilitarianism: The Philosophies Of John Stuart Mill

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John Stuart Mill was a very important philosopher in the nineteenth century, as he advocated for reform liberalism and formed the utility theory (Shabani and Deveaux 2014). In the quote provided, it is apparent that Mill sees limiting another person’s freedom as the last resort, only once the individual or others are threatened. Mill supports this statement as he advocates for human freedom and bettering the condition of the individual. Ultimately, John Stuart Mill is a utilitarian. Utilitarian’s want the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people. Creating the greatest amount of happiness means making sure the rights, freedom and security of everyone in a state are protected. I believe this principle will not assist in …show more content…

Acts can be hurtful weather they violate rights or not, and within these violations people may be committing them within the boundaries of the constitution (Shabani and Deveaux 2014). I believe this statement could not be any closer to the truth, although there are rules in the constitution that people are morally obligated to abide to and are justified by punishment does not mean everyone will abide to them. If everyone abided by every law in our constitution and charter of rights and freedom our society would be very close to a utopian society. Therefore, I believe laws should be enforced harder than they are now. Often the idea of jail as a punishment will not stop people from doing bad things, and I believe as a society we should end this. Furthermore, Mill sees the coercion of another’s freedom as simply self-protection (Shabani and Deveaux 2014). He further supports this argument by stating that one the individual has the capacity to be guided by their own decision, and use it coercion they are no longer affecting their own mean but they are affecting the security of others (Shabani and Deveaux 2014). I think this is very important to note as Mill recognizes the rights and liberties of everyone however, he more importantly recognizes the

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