John Stuart Mill: Utilitarianism
February 22, 2010
In this particular content, the topic discussed by John Stuart Mill was the concept of Utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is the ideas that the moral worth of an action is determined solely by its utility in providing happiness or pleasure as summed among all sentient beings. It is thus a form of consequentialism, meaning that the moral worth of an action is determined by its outcome. Utilitarianism is often described by the phrase the greatest good for the greatest number of sentient beings, and is also known as the greatest happiness principle. Utility, the good to be maximized, has been defined by various thinkers as happiness or pleasure although preference utilitarians define it as the satisfaction of preferences. It may be described as a life stance, with happiness or pleasure being of ultimate importance. Utilitarianism can be characterised as a quantitative and reductionist approach to ethics. It can be contrasted with deontological ethics and virtue ethics, as well as with other varieties of consequentialism. For me, what I have learned and to make life easier, utilitarianism simply says that when a people does an action, that is the only time that there should only be an outcome. As said earlier, the moral worth of an action should be determined by its outcome. In this content, aside from utilitarianism, there were also two terms which have been discussed. They are the rule utilitarianism and the act utilitarianism. The difference between them for me is the action that they will be doing. Its consequentialism.
