Review: Utilitarianism

Mike Todd

DR 38405-1 Worldview and Ethical Theory

January 3, 2016 I. Introduction
Mill, John Stuart, Utilitarianism, Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 2001. 71 pages. ISBN: 0-87220-605-X. $6.00.
John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), was the son of James Mill, colleague and fellow activist of Jeremy Bentham. Under his father’s direction, he studied in all the fields of his day, including Latin, Greek, and French, until at the age of twenty he experienced a breakdown which marked a turning point in his intellectual commitments. At that point, he began to reject the extreme rationalism with which he had grown up and to explore other avenues of philosophical thought.
II. Synopsis Mill entitles …show more content…
The main sanction or penalty, therefore, for those who do not act in accordance with Utilitarian principles, will be the discontent of conscience. Feelings of obligation or duty are, whatever their source may be, normal parts of the human experience, and Mills is convinced that anyone who truly grasps the idea of utility for all will naturally embrace its precepts (31-32). He nonetheless suggests that nurture and education may be employed to encourage a sense of unity with others, going so far as to mention the potential of “this feeling of unity to be taught as a religion, and the whole force of education, of institutions, and of opinion directed, as it once was in the case of religion, to make every person grow up from infancy surrounded on all sides both by the profession and the practice of it” (33). The fourth chapter, entitled “Of What Sort of Proof the Principle of Utility Is Susceptible,” answers the question with the simple observation that people simply do pursue happiness. Some may also pursue virtue, but even then, it is part of the pursuit of happiness. He concludes, then that “if human nature is so constituted as to desire nothing which is not either a part of happiness …show more content…
Evaluation
Mill does an admirable job of keeping both the forest and the trees in focus in this presentation of Utilitarianism. It is clear and succinct enough to provide a basic introduction to Utilitarian thought, but it also lays out a sweeping vision for what society might in his estimation become if these principles were universally embraced and practiced. He expresses evident frustration at mischaracterizations made by opponents of Utilitarianism, but he generally succeeds in not returning the favor.
Mill’s own blind spots are particularly evident in his claim that “Human beings have faculties more elevated than the animal appetites and, when once made conscious of them, do not regard anything as happiness which does not include their gratification” (8). He neither defines what these faculties are, explains why they are superior rather than merely different, nor supports his larger claim about human preferences apart from asserting that “it is an unquestionable fact” (9) and giving a series of examples which clearly reflect his opinion but which he does not actually demonstrate to be universal. Nor does he prove his assertion “that some kinds of pleasures are more desirable and more valuable than others” (8). He also imposes a peculiar double standard in diminishing the importance of people’s natural feelings of injustice while making much of their natural desire for and pursuit of