...Philosopher: John Stuart Mill Background According to John Stuart Mill, “Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservative.” John Stuart Mill was a philosopher that was born in 1806 in London, England to philosopher, John Stuart. At age 17, John Stuart Mill became a utilitarian, which means he believed in the doctrine that actions are right if they are useful or for the benefit of a majority. At this point in his life he formed the utilitarian society. At the age of 24 he started to write articles and essays in support of women’s rights. At this point in his life Mill believed that women should have rights and equality but not necessarily be independent. Mill also shared his philosophy on women’s rights with Harriet Taylor. Harriet was married but she and John still shared a close relationship, that did become a social scandal at the time. When Harriet’s husband died, she and John wed in 1849. Mill who typically favored the secret ballot in elections, changed his politically viewpoint because of his wife’s strong belief in public voting for peoples fear of shamefulness. Mill became a strong believer in proportional representation based on reading a book of Thomas Hare’s on democracy. Over the next 15 years, after his wife Harriet died, he worked closely with his stepdaughter Helen, who cared for him as well as became his secretary. He wrote many books during this time, as well as continued...
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...change and are set in stone. Philosophies are just like definitions, the ideas are set in stone and each philosopher has made it their own. The idea of morality that embodies most philosophies is trickier and is a mix of both a definition and opinion. No matter what the definition is, one persons’ opinion could interpret that definition in many different ways. Trying to establish the morality of an action is even trickier than the idea of morality itself. One philosopher will have one belief and another will have a completely different view and an outside person could interpret each of those philosophies in a different way. In the eyes of a utilitarian, such as John Stuart Mills, it would be considered morally justifiable to expend resources on luxuries when those same resources could provide others with the necessities of life. John Stuart Mill was historically known for utilitarianism. This means that he believed the morality of an action is determined by their consequences and uses the principle of utility to evaluate those said consequences. The principle of utility states that actions are right insofar as they promote happiness and wrong insofar as they produce the reverse of happiness. The utilitarianism that Mill is known for is broken into two separate forms. The first is act-utilitarianism; this view says that the particular consequences of each individual action is evaluated by reference to the principle of utility. The second is rule-utilitarianism; this view says that...
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...Name: Institution: Course: Tutor: Date: Theory of Utilitarianism and the Cannabis Dilemma Task 1. What group is the minority group here? How might John Stuart Mill define harm in this scenario? The minority group in this scenario is the terminally ill cancer patients who need marijuana to ease their pain. Mill defines harm in the ‘Harm Principle’. He says that the only reasoning for social coercion is when a person prevents another person from harming the society. He says that the society has an obligation to protect people and to prevent them from exerting harm on their bodies. In the marijuana scenario, the government has a duty to protect people from taking the substances even though the people intend to take it. Task 2. Provide a discussion of John Stuart Mill’s ethical theory in light of current federal law that does not allow patients in Texas to seek alternative medicine, such as medical marijuana, because it is illegal at both the state and federal level. Is this an ethical law according to an application of Mill’s ethical theory? According to John Stuart Mill, an action is right if it promotes happiness to the greatest number of people. Utilitarianism is a moral theory which is founded on the principle that, “if an action promotes happiness it is right and if it promotes pain it is wrong”. There are three principles of this theory. One is the ‘Harm Principle’ which states that the only reasoning for social coercion is when a person prevents another person...
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...BIOGRAPHY OF JOHN STUART MILL Born in Pentonville, a suburb of London, in 1806, John Stuart Mill was one of the leading philosophical radicals who aimed to further the utilitarian philosophy of Jeremy Bentham. At the age of three he began to learn Greek and by the time he was eight he was learning Latin. By the age of fourteen he had done extensive work in logic and mathematics mastering the basics of economic theory. His father James Mill aimed to make John Stuart Mill a leader in views of the philosophical radicals. At fifteen John Stuart Mill undertook the study of Bentham’s research on the theory of legal evidence. This undertaking influenced him making this his life-long goal of reforming the world in the interest of human well-being. At eighteen he spent much time and effort editing manuscripts. Guided by his father he threw himself into the work of the philosophical radicals beginning his career. In 1823 he began working with his father. He rose in the ranks quickly and eventually took his father’s position as Chief Examiner in the East Indian Company. In 1826 John Stuart Mill went through a deep depression. He felt as though his intellect had been educated his feelings had not. He began to read poetry and met Gustave d’Eichtahl in 1828 pulling him out of the depression. He was introduced to the works of Auguste Comte and Jon Sterling who were disciples of Coleridge. (Wilson 2007) Through these great thinkers Mill came to appreciate social and cultural...
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...would turn into pure chaos if people lived with “no regrets,” each individual must live and know their regrets; a person should learn and build off of the mistakes that either they or someone else has made in the past. John Stuart Mill’s ethical theory of Utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism, which means by observing similar past events people are able to predict what may happen in their future. As a result of learning from past events a person would therefore be able to make a choice that would bring maximum utility in future occasions. "Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. By happiness is intended pleasure, and the absence of pain; by unhappiness, pain, and the privation of pleasure" (p.412). Mill believes that looking at the motives behind an action are needed to find the source of why a certain choice was made, but the source does not always explain the action, because even though a person may be good morally they may do a wrongful action, even though they may or may not have been acting with the best of motives. However, that person can always get maximum utility (happiness) if it follows the theory of utilitarianism. Ignorance is not always bliss; following mills theory is necessity for reaching maximum utility, but in order to follow it, one must understand it. Mill’s utilitarianism is the most well-structured theory that will help people achieve maximum utility if followed correctly...
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...Philosopher Research Paper John Stuart Mill Prepared for Professor Sandra Gates Kaplan University Prepared by Lea Geckler November 1, 2011 INTRODUCTION This report discusses the history, theories, proof and weaknesses of John Stuart Mill ideals on Utilitarianism. Mill believes that if people participate in ethical actions it will create pleasure in life, and that is what most people want in life is pleasure not pain. Utilitarian’s believe the only things worth having are pleasurable experiences. Unfortunately not all experiences are pleasurable and they cause pain. Utilitarian’s define good and evil in terms of ethical and non-ethical consequences of pleasure and pain. (Brooks & Dunn, Chapter 3 pg.150) Simply stated do the ethical action and be rewarded with pleasure or do the unethical actions and be rewarded with pain, which can be physical or mental. Mill explains that pleasure and pain can be qualitative and quantitative for example; if you have a project and it time consuming, stressful and mentally exhausting this is the quantitative aspect but getting recognition from your manager or top management on a job well done is the qualitative aspect and that is the pleasure. HISTORYOF JOHN STUART MILL Mill was educated by his father and Jeremy Bentham, the founder of Utilitarianism in modern ethical thought (Encyclopedia of Ethics). He learned Greek at the age of three, Latin by the age of 8, a competent logician by the age of 12 and by age 16...
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...Bentham and John Stuart Mill, identified the good with pleasure”. Therefore pleasure is the ultimate goal that will lead to an ethical society, according to the Utilitarian approach. John Stuart Mill: * was an English philosopher, political economist and civil servant. * He has been called "the most influential English-speaking philosopher of the nineteenth century Theory of liberty: * Mill states that it is acceptable for someone to harm himself as long as he is not harming others. * On Liberty involves an impassioned defense of free speech * The individual ought to be free to do as he wishes unless he harms others. * Individuals are rational enough to make decisions about their good being and choose any religion they want to. * Government should interfere when it is for the protection of society. * Freedom of speech Harm principle: * The harm principle holds that the actions of individuals should only be limited to prevent harm to other individuals. * John Stuart Mill articulated this principle in On Liberty, where he argued that, "The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. * Liberty consists in the freedom to do everything which injures no one else; hence the exercise of the natural rights of each man has no limits except those which assure to the other members of the society the enjoyment of the same rights. These limits...
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...Arts Instructor John Wise September 21, 2014 The Story of Ethics states that the point of the Utilitarian theory is to conceptualize exactly what is good life by “bringing about consequences of a certain sort that is the greatest happiness for the greatest number” (The Story of Ethics). The Story of Ethics also states that the Utilitarian principle of greatest happiness for the greatest number was first popularized by Jeremy Bentham who according to the Lecture Note “version of utilitarianism is known as quantitative utilitarianism” (Lecture Note). According to The Story of Ethics Bentham states that the principle of utility recognizes right and wrong and the causes and effects from right and wrong. These effects can lead to the nature of mankind being either in pain or pleasure and “Bentham assumes that one can only act according to their aversion to pain or desire for pleasure” (The Story of Ethics). The understanding that I have gained from Bentham’s theory is that good and bad is judged by pleasure and pain that is the greater the pleasure the greater the good and the greater the pain the greater the bad. Bentham’s theory is the ethical position that influenced both John Stuart Mill and his father James Mill. According to an article in the Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia “the central aim of John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism is to defend the view that those acts that produce the greatest happiness of the greatest number of people are right and good” (Salem...
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... BY: MUZZAMIL HUSSAIN I. Introduction: Pornography has been defined as any material that is sexually explicit but does not appear to be obscene and, which can be displayed through the Internet, adult movies, magazines and adult stores. Obscenity laws in Canada use the community standards models to determine which pornographic material are in accordance with societal morals, and which should be categorized as obscene. John Stuart Mill and the Harms of Pornography is an article written by David Dyzenhaus in 1992, professor of Law and Philosophy at the University of Toronto. In his article, he raises an interesting idea that liberalists and feminists would support the censorship of pornography (Dyzenhaus, 1992). The feminist viewpoint argues that pornography shows men forcing women into sex; therefore it should be censored because of the harm it causes against women. Dyzenhaus then hypothesizes that because pornography is portrayed as violent material, the classical liberalists such as John Stuart Mill would defend the feminists in censoring such behavior based on his harm principle. The article also raises gender inequality issues of contemporary society, one being the subordination of men to women. Three political philosophies are concerned with the law of obscenity: liberalism, conservatism and feminism. Conservative morality takes into consideration the elements of virtue or wickedness behind pornography and asks if the material in question poses...
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...The philosopher that I have chosen is John Stuart Mill. John Stuart Mill was born on 20th May 1806 in London, to the British economist, historian and philosopher, James Mill and Harriet Burrow. Mill was a philosopher, political and economic theorist, naturalist, feminist, civil servant, scholar and an author. He was well-known as one of the most influential English philosopher of the nineteenth century. He was the eldest son and was educated by his strict father. Mill’s father was a supporter of Jeremy Bentham’s philosophy of utilitarianism and aimed to make his son a genius so that he would carry of Bentham's theory after both his and Bentham’s death. Therefore Mill’s father kept him very sheltered, away from children of his age and taught...
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...John Stuart Mill On Liberty Chapter IV: Of the Limits to the Authority of Society over the Individual 1. OBJECTIVE PART J.S. Mill, in his extended essay On Liberty, more specifically in Chapter 4, discusses the appropriate level of authority that society should have over the individual. He starts by rejecting the idea of social contract previously founded by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, yet acknowledges “the rights and duties” concept by stating that “Though society is not founded on a contract, […]every one who receives the protection of society owes a return for the benefit […] In each person's bearing his share (to be fixed on some equitable principle) of the labours and sacrifices incurred for defending the society or its members from injury and molestation. These conditions society is justified in enforcing at all costs to those who endeavour to withhold fulfilment.” (parag 3) Mill also offers a distinction between punishment by law and punishment by opinion. He admits that some acts are hurtful to others, but not to an extent as to justify government intervention. In these cases, public opinion may be punishment enough: “The acts of an individual may be hurtful to others, or wanting in due consideration for their welfare, without going the length of violating any of their constituted rights. The offender may then be justly punished by opinion, though not by law. (parag 3) Mill then clarifies that he believes in the virtues of goodwill and...
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...John Stuart Mill vs. Immanuel Kant The aim of this paper is to clearly depict how John Stuart Mill’s belief to do good for all is more appropriate for our society than Immanuel Kant’s principle that it is better to do what's morally just. I will explain why Mill’s theory served as a better guide to moral behavior and differentiate between the rights and responsibilities of human beings to themselves and society. Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill are philosophers who addressed the issues of morality in terms of how moral customs are formed. Immanuel Kant presented one perspective in The Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals that is founded on his belief that the worth of man is inherent in his skill to reason. John Stuart Mill holds another belief as presented in the book, Utilitarianism, which is seemingly conflicting with the thoughts of Kant. What is most unique about the ethics of morality is the idea of responsibilities to particular individuals. According to both Mill and Kant, moral obligations are not fundamentally particularistic because they are rooted in universal moral principles. Both philosophers have made great impacts in their niche areas in the field. An analysis of their theories may help develop a better understanding of them and their theories. Mill holds an empiricist theory while Kant holds a rationalist theory. Kant explains morality through forms that he believes are essential to free and sensible judgment. Mill’s utilitarian approach...
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...have no correlation to leading towards harm. John E. Mills indicated “the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others” (Heydt), but lawmakers perceive it justifiable to create laws that are reflective of indirect harm. Laws against Prostitution and drug’s are reflective of indirect harm. If ones using drugs or is a prostitute is not directly harming others in society. Even though laws that reflect indirect harm are to prevent harm from happing, indirect harm should not be considered whilst making laws because they tend to restrict one's freedoms & liberties and there is no substantial evidence that indirect harm leads to harm. Laws tend to create restrictions upon individuals of the society. People are overwhelmed by the pressures of these restrictions and cannot express their freedoms & liberates. Firstly, if one is a distinguish as a criminal under indirect harm laws they will be condemned by society when they have not harmed any individual in society, in fact they have or are only wanting to do what they should able to do freely. Being considered a criminal, ones freedoms are limited to what people’s perception of them is, rather it be good or bad, they have to live according to societies demands. Secondly, these laws are in direct violation of one’s rights, as these individuals have not violated other individuals one rights as per...
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...clients and be able to state, “I am calling as a director of The Energy Cooperative.” The following paper will analyze the ethical issues surrounding the use of such a statement from five different ethical theories. These particular theories come from Immanuel Kant, John Stuart Mill, John Locke, John Rawls, and Lawrence Kohlberg. Finally, there will be a solution that the board should take with the issue, ethical, or otherwise. Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) had an ethical theory dubbed the Categorical Imperative. Within this theory he discusses the morally right and morally wrong ways to go about an action based on experience, which one must gain throughout the course of his life. Because the different moral ways are something that cannot be taught, but actually acquired through experience, something that is morally right at one point in life can later become morally wrong (Janaro, 2009). The example for this particular scenario suggests that if everyone at the Energy Cooperative decides the statement is ethically and morally right to use, then by Kant’s theory, it is ethical. However, this is just the tip of the categorical imperative that “if everyone else could adopt the same decision and it would remain the right choice. . . the decision is ethical” (Kaplan eGuide Chapter1, 2014). The real question, which is easier to understand, and is the underlying basis for accurately interpreting Kant’s theory is “would it be okay for everyone else to do this?” (Janaro, 2009). In this...
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...When we analyze the movie, Blood Work, simultaneously while taking into regard both Deontological and Utilitarian points of view, we notice a complex behavior in all characters involved, especially Terry McCaleb. The main character, Terry McCaleb, has the most complex behavior of all as he has the tendency to jump the fine border between Deontology and Utilitarianism multiple times back and forth. Throughout the entire movie, McCaleb faces multiple Deontological dilemmas but the biggest and most important of all of them is his decision to self-sacrifice for the good of others. He makes a selfless decision which could have very well cost him his life. We need to take under consideration that this time around, his life is a gift from a victim who was murdered and this time is possibly his last chance at life. When analyzing McCaleb, we must consider his living medical condition, potential terminal risks that come with receiving a heart transplant, and his personal struggle to fight rejection of his peers. Even though aware of all disadvantages involved in proceeding with his decision to pursue the killer, McCaleb acts out of duty towards other people disregarding all and any consequences. Kant believed that the real character of people is seen at times when their decisions are hanging in a fine line between different choices. For Kant, a person’s temperament and nature would prevail on the road taken. “It is just then that the worth of this character comes out, which is moral...
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