Aristotle also tends to focus more on the individual's development, whereas Mill is concerned with happiness overall. If some action is considered a vice by Aristotle but produces more happiness, Mill's utilitarianism would endorse that action. For Mill, the final end is pursuing the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people, no matter if it is "vicious" or "virtuous" by other standards.
This happiness is defined by an individual's function, which is achieved by living virtuously. Is this right? Are there important projects in life that ultimately end in suffering, or at the very least have goals totally divorced from pleasure?įor Aristotle, the goal of human life is to rationally pursue happiness over the course of a life. Premise (2) assumes we are ultimately driven by concern for pleasure. Value is not something we each determine for ourselves or something that is always extrinsic - always dependent on other goals. Premise (1): Crucially, Mill (like Aristotle) assumes that there is some kind of intrinsic value all of our actions aim at. We can raise questions for both premises.
(C) So, the intrinsic value of all activities is utility. Mill assumes that eventually if we keep asking the "why am I doing this?" question, we will end with "to feel pleasure or avoid suffering." (2) The chain of reasons behind any action can always be traced back to creating pleasure or avoiding pain.Įxample: While Robin may be attending college so she can get a good job and have a successful life, the end goal of those actions are driven by the sense of joy and happiness of being successful. He simply cooks for the sake of cooking, with no other purpose. He is not paid for it, does not receive any recognition, or any other type of reward for his work. (1) Intrinsic value is the reason someone does an action for the sake of doing it.Įxample: Jim's favorite pastime is cooking. Mill argues that pleasure is an intrinsic value for all actions, but what does that mean? Crucially, utilitarians think we must take into account the utility of everyone (everything) affected by a given decision. The greatest happiness principle holds that we should pursue actions that produce the greatest amount of overall happiness. The goal of utilitarianism is to try to maximize utility, thereby creating the most good for the greatest number of people. Disutility is the property that produces the opposite of pleasure (pain, boredom, frustration, etc). Utility is the property in an object, action, or other activity that produces pleasure. Why do you choose burritos for dinner rather than wheat bran? Why do you pay money for aspirin when you have a headache? We constantly look for trades that will increase pleasure and reduce suffering.
Pursuit of happiness is the relevant reason in deciding what to do.
CHRISTIAN HEDONISTIC DEFINITION MOVIE
If Jeffrey enjoys the movies, but does not enjoy meditating, and nobody else will be affected, then he should go see a movie because it creates more happiness. For instance, suppose Jeffrey is choosing between going to the movies tonight or staying home and meditating. U tilitarianism is the theory that actions are right insofar as they produce happiness and wrong insofar as they produce unhappiness.
CHRISTIAN HEDONISTIC DEFINITION PDF
You can read a PDF of the text here if you prefer to work through that (the password is in your instructor’s email). The book was written to explain utilitarianism and defend it against criticism. In this class, we will be reading portions from Chapter 2 of Mill’s book, On Utilitiarianism. Mill was a child prodigy, raised studying the tenets of utilitarian philosophy with his father (James Mill) and the founder of the movement ( Jeremy Bentham).Ī central theme throughout Mill’s work is the notion that individuals should strive to improve the common good, bettering the lives of all people. In addition to being a philosopher, he was also a political economist and politician. He was also an outspoken feminist, publishing The Subjection of Women in 1869 to promote equality between men and women. He defended the freedom of individuals against absolute state power. John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) is considered the most influential English-speaking philosopher of the nineteenth century.
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