PS 313
Modern Politics
Essay Number Two
Jessica Arteaga-Ramirez
Instructor – Dr. Jackie Vieceli
John Stuart Mill on “The Principle of Happiness”
John Stuart Mill was a dedicated philosopher on his work on ethics; his definition of the utilitarian principle was very popular. So Mill in his essay on human ethics writes about ways to seek utilitarianism or more specifically, the Greatest Happiness Principle. Mill explains that all action is for the sake of some end, and rules of action. It seems natural to understand, must take their whole character and color from the end to which they are obedient. When describing the “Greatest Happiness Principle”, Mill explains that it’s the creed that is accepted as the foundation of morals utility, …show more content…
Morality of your action depends on the result of your actions. Morals should be promoted through utility and immoral when they promote the reverse. Also, Mill says that happiness is, “pleasure and the absence of pain,” and unhappiness is “pain, and the privation of pleasure.” His ethical theory of the greatest happiness principle, according to him is, “actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.” All human beings want and try to promote his or her own happiness, and will always try to avoid being unhappy. Which is actual natural and all right to be both, but promoting happiness becomes an ethical theory when being applied to all human beings on this planet; rather than just one individual. (Mill, …show more content…
The basic idea, John Stuart Mill would like us to consider and apply in our lives is to always do the things that would cause good for most of the people, and by doing that, we prevent the materialization and the occurrence of its counterpart, pain and suffering. This is very much self-explanatory, basic, applicable, and as its name implies utilizable, and this is also the very idea of why I firmly support the utilitarian principle in some parts. I guess my thought on this is still on edge. This moral belief that Mill suggest is not something that is new, or alien to us. This is not just an ideology, but rather an instinctive, and essential characteristic in us. A principle which can be supported through personal reasoning of any individual person, like what I’ve said earlier; the need to let go, be free and look for pleasure that will satisfy the inner being. Considering oneself first on this earth will not make that person selfish. But overall, different people will have different morals and different actions. In the end, the decision to make choices based on moral feelings or what is right and wrong is not from
Modern Politics
Essay Number Two
Jessica Arteaga-Ramirez
Instructor – Dr. Jackie Vieceli
John Stuart Mill on “The Principle of Happiness”
John Stuart Mill was a dedicated philosopher on his work on ethics; his definition of the utilitarian principle was very popular. So Mill in his essay on human ethics writes about ways to seek utilitarianism or more specifically, the Greatest Happiness Principle. Mill explains that all action is for the sake of some end, and rules of action. It seems natural to understand, must take their whole character and color from the end to which they are obedient. When describing the “Greatest Happiness Principle”, Mill explains that it’s the creed that is accepted as the foundation of morals utility, …show more content…
Morality of your action depends on the result of your actions. Morals should be promoted through utility and immoral when they promote the reverse. Also, Mill says that happiness is, “pleasure and the absence of pain,” and unhappiness is “pain, and the privation of pleasure.” His ethical theory of the greatest happiness principle, according to him is, “actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.” All human beings want and try to promote his or her own happiness, and will always try to avoid being unhappy. Which is actual natural and all right to be both, but promoting happiness becomes an ethical theory when being applied to all human beings on this planet; rather than just one individual. (Mill, …show more content…
The basic idea, John Stuart Mill would like us to consider and apply in our lives is to always do the things that would cause good for most of the people, and by doing that, we prevent the materialization and the occurrence of its counterpart, pain and suffering. This is very much self-explanatory, basic, applicable, and as its name implies utilizable, and this is also the very idea of why I firmly support the utilitarian principle in some parts. I guess my thought on this is still on edge. This moral belief that Mill suggest is not something that is new, or alien to us. This is not just an ideology, but rather an instinctive, and essential characteristic in us. A principle which can be supported through personal reasoning of any individual person, like what I’ve said earlier; the need to let go, be free and look for pleasure that will satisfy the inner being. Considering oneself first on this earth will not make that person selfish. But overall, different people will have different morals and different actions. In the end, the decision to make choices based on moral feelings or what is right and wrong is not from