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Mill on utilitarianism. Overview. The foundation of morals. Commitment to the principle of utility Need a richer, more sophisticated understanding of utility and human psychology than provided by Bentham. Higher v. lower pleasures. Intellectual pleasures v. sensations. Happiness.
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Mill on utilitarianism Overview
The foundation of morals • Commitment to the principle of utility • Need a richer, more sophisticated understanding of utility and human psychology than provided by Bentham. • Higher v. lower pleasures. • Intellectual pleasures v. sensations
Happiness • The components of happiness are diverse. • The pleasure of appreciating Bach can be compared to that of composing one’s own haiku, but they are not being measured in terms of a single, mathematical standard. They are not strictly commensurable. • Different activities can come to be valued in their own right. • Over a complete life happiness consists of many different elements, and that the attainment of happiness is the fundamental end at which we aim.
The ‘proof’ • Why is happiness intrinsically valuable? • Mill provides us with a 'proof' of the utilitarian doctrine that happiness is desirable, and the only thing desirable as an end (N.B. not a proof in the formal sense). • Problem moving from the premises that happiness is the only desirable thing in itself and that each individual ought to aim to maximise his happiness to the view that morality aims at the promotion of overall or aggregate happiness.
Explain the way in which Mill develops utilitarianism. Reading – Doing the right thing (part 1) • Sandel on utilitarianism. Why might one oppose utilitarianism?
