Sunday, December 26, 2010

The Greatest Happiness Principle: John Stuart Mill

Mill's starts off by clarifying what Utilitarianism is not to defend it from misrepresentation and the lack of connection of utility to pleasure and pain. People either remove pleasure completely from the picture or they make utility all about pleasure, both ends of the spectrum misrepresent what philosophers have written about Utility.

"Utility, or the Greatest Happiness Principle, holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness." Mill instead states that pleasure and freedom from pain (or unhappiness) are the only desirable ends. Everything that is desirable is desired because of the pleasure they provide or they promote pleasure or reduce pain.

Part of the misunderstanding of utility is caused by not recognizing that there are different kinds and intensities to pleasure. Epicurean theory of life assigns pleasure to intellect, feelings, imagination, and moral sentiments - much higher values of pleasure than the pleasures of sensation. Mental pleasures have taken priority of the physical, especially when they involve permanence, such as safety. There are kinds of pleasure that are more desirable and valuable than others, and quantity of pleasure is more important than quality.

Mill believes that the superiority of a pleasure is determined by a person who has experienced both - these people will also prefer pleasures of "higher faculties." A person with high faculties requires more to make them happy and can suffer more intense pain but they would never want to be a lower being. Mill says that those who chose lower over higher pleasures do so because they can not obtain the higher. Men lose their high aspirations as they lose their intellectual tastes, as they have neither the time nor the opportunity to reach their higher faculties.

Mill adds quality and quantity to the "Greatest Happiness Principle", saying that we should seek the richest amount of enjoyment and seek to reduce pain - in the greatest extent possible as to include all of mankind and not just the individual.

One of the attacks on Utilitarianism is that it is impossible to obtain happiness, Mill agrees but only if you are arguing that a life of happiness is one of continuously high pleasure. Mill realistically says that happiness often only lasts for moments - with a few exceptions. Utilitarianism is focused on obtaining a life with few pains in-between many moments of various pleasure - a happy life, not an unobtainable perfect life.

Another attack is that Utilitarianism removes self sacrifice, valued by our christian culture, because of the focus on pleasure and the avoidance of pain, which could be caused by self sacrifice. Mill states that Utilitarianism recognizes the power sacrifice has to increase the good for all, but the sacrifice itself is good, which makes sense as the act is often painful or doesn't produce pleasure. Sacrifice must increase the good of all to not be a waste.

Mill says "to do as one would be done by, and to love one's neighbor as oneslef, constitue the ideal perfection of utilitarian morality." These morals call for aligning the happiness, or interest, of each individual with the interest of the whole group as much as possible.

Mill acknowledges that individuals do not always take the greatest social concern into mind because social concern (golden rule) isn't a motive, it is a measurement for judgement and sanctions. Most actions are done for individuals, but that happiness adds to the happiness of the world - as long as the rights of happiness of others isn't violated.

For Utilitarianism to work, people must adopt the morality of this principle. When people adopt utility, they do so because they feel an obligation to it. In turn, people derive obligation from the principles. The external sanctions enforce Utilitarianism but it is the internal sanctions provide the ultimate sanctions. External sanctions are often the hope of gaining favor from others or "fear of displeasure". The internal sanctions is duty - the essence of Conscience. The feelings in our own minds become the ultimate sanction.

It does not matter whether feelings for humanity are born with us or developed in the world, as both have the same result, powerful sentiment that gives way to general happiness as an ethical standard.


Discussion Questions/Comments

In my communication ethics course we were taught that Mill is all about doing the most good for the greatest group of people possible. Pleasure and good aren't the same thing, clearly not connecting to what we taught. Do you think that the reason we were taught this interpretation is because of the desire of Mill to avoid pain? Or because of the part where Mill wants to align the "interest" of each individual?

Was Epicurus one of the first philosophers for Utilitarianism, or was he just one of the strongest defenders?

How did Mill impact the world view of utility?

Why does Mill say that we should focus on quantity of pleasures rather than quality? Is he talking about length of pleasure being more important? Or did I get his meaning backwards and he actually approves of greater quality?



Key Terms/Definitions

Contradistinguished: to differentiate by means of contrasting or opposing qualities
Inveterate: having a particular habit, activity, or interest that is long-established and unlikely to change
Faculties: an inherent mental or physical power


Link to Readinghttps://ereserve.plu.edu/protected/phil/b125_mill.pdf

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