ArgeL’s Blog

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In this part of the chapter the author shared the essay of John Stuart Mill. John Stuart Mill is an influential
British Philosopher. He wrote several books about ethics, morality and philosophy. In his essay the main
topic was utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is the idea that the moral worth of an action is determined solely by
its contribution to overall utility that is, its contribution to happiness or pleasure as summed among all
persons. Basically it is the action with the greatest good for the majority. This is the ethical theory that I
agree with. I think that the right thing to do is the one that would benefit the majority. Utilitarianism is also
about actions which would bring happiness to the majority. Another interesting topic discussed in this
essay is of what sort of proof the Principal of Utility us susceptible. Mill argues that the only proof that
something is desirable is that people actually desire it. It is a fact that happiness is a good, because all
people desire their own happiness. Thus, it is clear that happiness is at least one end, and one criterion,
of morality. However, in order to show that happiness is the sole criterion for morality, it is necessary to
show that people never desire anything but happiness. Mill says that people do desire things like virtue,
which in common language is distinguished from happiness……