![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() However, Mill was also troubled by some criticisms of utilitarianism, and in his attempts to answer these objections, Mill developed his own distinctive doctrine. By happiness is intended pleasure and the absence of pain by unhappiness, pain and the privation of pleasure.” Mill understood his essay as continuing the tradition founded by his father and Bentham. In Utilitarianism, John Stuart Mill defines the doctrine as follows: “The creed which accepts as the foundations of morals ‘utility’ or the ‘greatest happiness principle’ holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness. The course of action that produces the most happiness for the greatest number of persons, is the one that ought to be followed. These Philosophical Radicals, as they were often called, believed that all human motivation could be understood in terms of the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain. As Bentham writes in his Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, “Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure.” The foundational normative principle of utilitarianism is that actions should be judged according to how much happiness they produce. His most formative intellectual influences were the earlier utilitarians: his father, James Mill (1773-1836), and his godfather, Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832). To understand Mill’s philosophical contribution, it is crucial to say something about his personal intellectual history. However, his most lasting influence has been through his utilitarian ethics and liberal political philosophy. He contributed to economics, epistemology, logic, and psychology, among other fields. John Stuart Mill was one of the most important intellectual figures of the nineteenth century. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |