What is the great happiness? According to John Mills, the greatest happiness is when “actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness; wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.” The greatest happiness principle is the most fundamental claim that he discusses. So, what exactly is happiness itself? Mills defines happiness as pleasure in the absence of pain. Therefore, to be unhappy is to be in the presence of pain and “the privation of pleasure.” Mills believes that it is a person’s duty to promote the general happiness and in a way, despises human beings that rather satisfy their personal desires. But is it selfish to put yourself first or is it the smart thing to do? Mills way of answering this question is by
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To be more specific, high pleasures are “pleasures of the intellect” and low pleasures are bodily/sensual pleasures. Pleasures of the intellect are those like reading, creating art, and getting an education. On the other hand, bodily pleasures are like eating, drinking, and having intercourse. If you agree with utilitarianism, then you can differentiate on which pleasure [high or low] is more pleasurable. For utilitarianism to work you have to rate your pleasures. For example, if I were to give you two options: a full ride to any university or a full ride to any technical college, it’s natural to pick between them because one of the choices is a better bargain, making it more pleasurable. Which makes Mills moral theory true; however, near the end of your lifespan [around the age of 65] would you reflect on your life and admit that was the smartest choice you made? Would you do it all over again or would you do things differently? According to Mills, those who have experienced both types of pleasures will prefer to pick the higher pleasure. A counter example towards that is marriage. Marriage is a high pleasure and it’s something that is desirable to almost everyone. Yet, when young adults talk about marriage to their parents or older people that have been married for years, they are often discouraged or talked out of marrying at a young age. If something so beautiful like marriage is frowned upon,
To be more specific, high pleasures are “pleasures of the intellect” and low pleasures are bodily/sensual pleasures. Pleasures of the intellect are those like reading, creating art, and getting an education. On the other hand, bodily pleasures are like eating, drinking, and having intercourse. If you agree with utilitarianism, then you can differentiate on which pleasure [high or low] is more pleasurable. For utilitarianism to work you have to rate your pleasures. For example, if I were to give you two options: a full ride to any university or a full ride to any technical college, it’s natural to pick between them because one of the choices is a better bargain, making it more pleasurable. Which makes Mills moral theory true; however, near the end of your lifespan [around the age of 65] would you reflect on your life and admit that was the smartest choice you made? Would you do it all over again or would you do things differently? According to Mills, those who have experienced both types of pleasures will prefer to pick the higher pleasure. A counter example towards that is marriage. Marriage is a high pleasure and it’s something that is desirable to almost everyone. Yet, when young adults talk about marriage to their parents or older people that have been married for years, they are often discouraged or talked out of marrying at a young age. If something so beautiful like marriage is frowned upon,