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Why Is John Stuart Mill Considered Good

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2.4.4.2. John Stuart Mill About Bentham’s influences on him, John Stuart Mill wrote in his Autobiography: "It gave unity to my conceptions of things. I now had opinions; a creed, a doctrine, a philosophy; in one among the best senses of the word, a religion; the inculcation and diffusion of which could be made the principal outward purpose of a life", meanwhile he had a critical view on Bentham's notions. Mill did not accept Bentham’s idea about the human as an only self-interested being. Instead, he assumed that the human being naturally consists of the desire of perfection and sympathy for his/her fellow. In his Utilitarianism, he tried to justify the 'utilitarian principle' as the foundation of the moral conceptions - and in general the morality. Mill considered good (and just) as happiness and evil (and unjust) as unhappiness. Also, such as the majority of the Utilitarians, he assumed that the greater happiness is what that belongs to the greatest number of people. As the result, he used the …show more content…

The crime makes people unhappy. So, it is bad. 2. The most happiness will be given to the majority of people by punishing the criminal. So, the punishment is good. Thus, in order to balance the good over evil and make the people happy, the punishment must be practiced to the crime. In addition, Mill argued that this theory is derived from the humans' social nature, since people never desire anything but happiness. Having this in mind, he assumed any people's achievement of goals and ends - such as virtuous living - as part of their happiness. Separating his own theory from Bentham’s, Mill argued that since the quality cannot be quantified, the quantitative calculus is unreasonable. Thus, the quality of happiness is more important than the quantity. That is, one should qualify the action not to count it. By this, the utilitarianism tries to achieve the 'highest pleasures' for the most amount of

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He believes that the pleasure or pain a person feels is directly related to whether or not the action was right or wrong (Bentham, 39). This means that an action is right when it causes the greatest pleasure for the person or group of people who are involved. If there is a group of people and a certain action would benefit the majority of them for good, then it would be considered to be the right action. On the other hand, if the action does not benefit the majority and only benefits a few, then it would be considered to be wrong. The ultimate goal of this theory is to bring happiness to those involved and to also prevent evil and unhappiness within the group (Bentham, 39).

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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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Throughout time, it is said that happiness and having good character are the goals of ones life. This was especially true for Aristotle around the Renaissance period as well as John Stuart Mill in the 17th century. Equally these philosophers have similar views of happiness and character morality with very distinct ideals of what it is that constitutes happiness and the relation of character to morality. To Mill and Aristotle, they both agree humans are the only species capable of moral reason, and to thus have a higher capacity for happiness than oher animals. This parallels John Stuart Mills belief that a “beast’s pleasures do not satisfy a human being’s concept of happiness.

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John Stuart Mill was a philosopher, political economist and civil servant in the 19th century . Mill is a Liberalist, which means that he believed that the government should not influence our personal choices as equal citizens of a society. John Mill was also a Utilitarian,

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John Stuart Mill was a pioneer in liberalism, combining his knowledge of 18th century concepts with the emerging 19th century romanticism concepts (1). Born in 1806, Mill was educated by his father, a disciplinarian who enforced his beliefs onto Mill. Along with philosopher Jeremy Bentham, they encouraged Mill in their liberal beliefs (3). He studied Latin and Greek from the early age of 8 which progressed to his studies in political economy, logic and calculus as a teenager (1). Mill eventually suffered a breakdown at a young age, making him reexamine his life purpose and the principles taught to him (2).

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John Stuart Mill was a British philosopher known as “the most influential English speaking philosopher of the nineteenth century.” Mill was a key component in developing Jeremy Bentham’s theory of utilitarianism, which is one of the most significant concepts in moral and political philosophy. One portion of utilitarianism that Mill is responsible for developing is that of the hierarchy of pleasures. When looking at Mill’s hierarchy the distinction between the quality and quantity of pleasures play a large role in his theory. Mill’s theory of utilitarianism still remains the classic defense of the view that we should try to aim at maximizing the welfare and happiness of all creatures alike.

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I will agree with Mill and argue that higher pleasures are better than lower pleasures. In Mill’s essay, he defines Utilitarianism: ‘’actions are right in the proportion 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 unhappiness, pain and the privation of pleasure’’ (Mill, 7). Therefore, Utilitarianism according to Mill considers actions to be right or wrong based on whether or not they make humans happy.

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Intro: John Stuart Mill obtained many intellectual foundations from Aristotle that better informed his own political and philosophical interpretations. Mill goes to great length discussing the nature of liberty within society and the importance of individuality and progression, in On Liberty, taking modern stances on Aristotelian assertions. Aristotle spends ample time describing how to acquire virtue and achieve happiness, focusing on conservative moral appeals within a political realm. Mill and Aristotle share similar perspectives on the importance of diversity and the dangers the tyranny of the majority imposes on society, furthermore they synonymously endeavor to define the best laws for the state. While Mill and Aristotle come to similar conclusions on these subjects,

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This means that human beings are allowed to engage in evil activities so long as they will finally attain their goals in life. It should be understood that the evil deeds involved have far-reaching consequences that are suffered by some members of the society and thus this is totally unacceptable. It would have been good if the explanation is specific to indicate that human beings are only allowed to choose between the acceptable deeds in the society in all their efforts to make their lives successful. This is the only way to make sure that rights of all members of the community are taken care of and respected are required. This is also a good way to enhance co-existence within a society to make sure that conflicts are always

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It was not until Mill’s late teens that he began to study Jeremy Bentham and his utilitarianism theory. “Reading Bentham satisfied Mill’s cravings for scientific precision and gave him a new way of looking at social intercourse” (Buchholz 97). Mill became so intrigued with Bentham that he decided to preach the Benthamite gospel in the Westminster Review, a publication started by his father and Jeremy Bentham. Mill’s views soon changed as he grew older. It is said that Mill had a mid-life crisis at the age of twenty because he took the Bentamite precision too far and actually forgot the ultimate goal of Utilitarianism in the first place, happiness.

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