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
(Mill, utilitarianism, p.697) To put this into simpler terms, Mill is essentially saying events or experiences are desirable only when it is a source for pleasure, so actions are good when they lead to higher levels of general happiness and they are deemed as bad when it lowers your general level of happiness. However, it is important to note utilitarianism doesn’t say it is morally right for everyone to purse what make them alone happy but instead morality is dictated by what increases the total amount of utility in the world. Pursuing your own happiness at the expense of the majority of social happiness would be viewed as wrong by utilitarian’s. Mill then proceeded to say that morality requires impartial consideration of the interest of everyone involved, its not just about your own happiness. Utilitarian suggest that we make our moral decisions from the position of a benevolent, disinterested spectator.
Utilitarianism is a teleological ethical theory based on the idea that an action is moral if it causes the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people. The theory is concerned with predicted consequences or outcomes of a situation rather than focusing on what is done to get to the outcome. There are many forms of utilitarianism, having been introduced by Jeremy Bentham (act utilitarianism), and later being updated by scholars such as J.S. Mill (rule utilitarianism) and Peter Singer (preference utilitarianism). When referring to issues of business ethics, utilitarianism can allow companies to decide what to do in a given situation based on a simple calculation.
Mill’s Utilitarianism is focused around the greatest happiness principle which states that actions are right to the extent that they tend to promote happiness and wrong to the extent that they tend to promote the opposite. Happiness is defined as pleasure and the absence of pain. Bentham and Mill’s theories of Utilitarianism can be exemplified in trolley problem one, the passive approach. Kant’s theory of value states that the only intrinsically good thing is the “Good Will”, which is the will of an agent doing their duty for the sake of duty. For example, things that seem good like wit, money, or intelligence, are only good to the extent that they bring us other things.
Joseph is blessed to work for a wealthy family. Sadly, Joseph no longer is the favored child, but he is blessed enough not to have to work in the fields. Joseph gained the favor of Pharaoh, who gave him a position of power. Because of Josephs’ position of power, he was able to support his family when a great famine struck their land. As Genesis progresses, Joseph is able to reunite with Jacob, and his brothers.
John Stuart Mill was a transitional thinker with a classical utilitarian philosophy. He was a programmatic thinker with a lifelong project to reconstruct the classical utilitarianism. In this collection of On Liberty and Other Essays, Mill is representing his central moral and political concerns for his time. On Liberty is the first essay in the book, followed by other essays such as Utilitarianism, The Subjection of Women, and then lastly Considerations on Representative Government. John Stuart Mill in his On Liberty essay breaks it up into five chapters supporting his argument that liberty is what is best for mankind and that society should only have power to control actions that directly affect it or harms its members.
If I held a utilitarianism belief I would be looking at maximizing happiness (Sandel, 2009). Jeremy Bentham states we are governed by our feelings of pleasure and pain. The utilitarian approach uses this for the basis of maximizing the pleasure of the community as a whole. Sometimes individual rights can be sacrificed to save the happiness in the majority of the community. According to the Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, the utilitarian view would seek to maximize the overall good.
Utilitarianism acts where the greater value is between either pleasure or pain. He is also applying the Principle of Double-effect under its guideline where there must be sufficient reason grave enough calling for the act to be done, and the intention of the agent is honest. This was seen in the scene where he decided not to concur on the Captain’s command, as he wanted to know and verify first the new order that was disrupted
Utilitarianism is part of consequentialist theories which assess moral right and wrong in terms of the consequences of the actions. Utilitarianism places great importance on actions that produce or increase pleasure and reduce pain. In other words, utilitarianism advocates for happiness producing consequences. Ethical issues in marketing to children Adverts with exaggerated claims to mislead children Some marketers purposefully overstate the qualities or features of a particular product or service to mislead the children in believing that the product or service is exactly the way it has been advertised. In the quest to get the advertised product, children tend to pester their parents to buy them such products.
Additionally, Utilitarianism necessitates the person to be a fair spectator between his happiness and that of others and “To do as you would be done by.” In correlation with my social identity, I believe that every human must follow this golden rule and live by it to achieve social justice. Likewise, Mill’s Utilitarian Morality utterly follows “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Leviticus 18:19, KJV). Which I believe, we must employ on a daily basis to our family members, friends, and countrymen