John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism: A Critique

Abstract

The determination of what one ought to, and ought not to do, the search for moral principles that guide one’s actions; these have led a number of philosophers into propounding different moral theories. Among such philosophers is John Stuart Mill who set out to establish an ethics based on pleasure and the morality of human action. Mill needed a measure of quality or value and for him; it is “the principle of utility” otherwise called “the greatest happiness principle”. This principle aims at seeking the pleasure or happiness of the majority. Can these principles serve as a standard of morality in our contemporary society? Should the greatest happiness principle be sought at all cost even at the detriment of some persons? Our work aims at having a moral principle that won’t subjugate personal freedom and liberty. It offers its objectives by determining the moral worth of happiness and undertaking a critical study of the principle of Mill’s utilitarianism. Our work significantly makes a distinction between what is just and what is mere useful. It recommends the Moral Objectivism of Louis P. Pojman thereby, offering for a moral principle that has to do with amelioration of suffering, resolution of conflict, and the promotion of human flourishing.