A Complete Ethics

For any ethics to exist, there must be some type of moral perception present in individuals and in entire societies. John Stuart Mill found that almost all human beings had the ability to distinguish between so-called higher and lower pleasures (Warburton, 1995). Anyone who experienced true intellectual pleasures was, in his view, aware that these kinds of pleasures were more satisfying than other pleasures such as those associated with eating, drinking, listening to music, or interacting socially and physically with others. This in turn led to perception of degrees of what Mill called "pleasure" or

happiness," which in turn led to the perception that the kinds of experiences on had offered varying levels of satisfaction. Further, this recognition helped the individual recognize the differences between experiences that had a "good" rather than a "bad" effect û the foundation on which moral perception was then built (Warburton, 1995).

Moral choice, as understood by Kant, was based in part on man's ability to use his reason and in part on man's understanding of how ot

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others (Solomon & Higgins, 1995). With respect to the question of moral justification, Kant held that there were two guidelines that should shape moral decision-making. First, one should determine if the action that is planned is "universal" or likely to be right under almost all possible circumstances. Second, one should treat others involved in the decision or choice as independent and valuable human beings whose rights and needs must not be damaged or ignored (Schick & Vaughn, 1999). Only those actions that meet such criteria are to be considered morally right or ethically justifiable in Kant's theory. Mill, in contrast, said that moral action depended on the question of whether or not the action would maximize or minimize happiness for the largest number of people (Warburton, 1995). Mill recognized that it could be very difficult to predict the results of any particular action. Because this was the case, Mill believed that it was necessary to carefully explore the consequences of an action before acting. Mill and Kant disagreed, according to Warburton (1995), on several key areas. For example, Kant believed that any promise made should be kept regardless of the possible outcome of that action. Mill and other utilit
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