John Stuart Mill on Utilitarianism

Mill begins his discussion of moral theory with

a definition of utilitarianism, stating that this is the creed

that accepts utility as the foundation of morals, meaning the

greatest happiness principle. This holds that actions are right

in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, and wrong as

they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. Happiness means

the intended pleasure and the absence of pain, while unhappiness

means pain and the privation of pleasure. While Mill

agrees that those actions which produce happiness are good and

those that produce pain are bad, it is not the happiness or pain

of the person taking action that is necessarily the guide.

Rather, it is a more abstract happiness overall that is being

. . .
individual freedom, a principle based on utilitarian concepts and applicable to the individual in his or her dealings with society. He says that individuals can best gain their happiness in a civilized society when they are free to pursue their own interest. Mill thus asserts the principle of non-interference where the individual is concerned, though this applies only to adults and not to children. Mill bases his idea on the self-development of the individual. He does not, however, base this idea on any sense that there is a natural right on the part of the individual to develop himself freely, and instead he bases it on the principle of utility. This principle says that each individual should be free to develop his or her own powers and abilities according to his or her will or judgment as long as they do so in a way that does not interfere with the rights of others. From the standpoint of society, says Mill, this is also desirable because it is preferable that individuals develop themselves freely since this enhances society, while having everyone conform does not. Works Cited Kelly, J. M. A Short History of Western Legal Theory. Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1992. Magid, Henry M. "John Stuart Mill." In History
. . .

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