Utilitarianism John Stuart Mill Analysis

Utilitarianism, or the “Greatest Happiness Principle”, is an ethical system that is heavily focused on by John Stuart Mill in his essay appropriately titled, “Utilitarianism”. In the essay, Mill adequately lays out the curriculum for utilitarianism and explains that the actions of being in the right are directly proportional to how much happiness is produced, and the actions of being in the wrong are directly proportional to how much they produce the reverse of happiness (Mill). Happiness produces pleasure while the reverse of happiness produces pain. Therefore, the presence of pleasure and the absence of pain are the only things inherently good (Mill). This ethical system defines “the good” by the explanations laid out previously: “the good” is anything that promotes pleasure and the
It is also important to note that utilitarianism promotes the general overall happiness. In this aspect, utilitarianism can also be linked to consequentialism. Consequentialism deals with the concern for the repercussions of an action or decision. While an action may be viewed as pleasurable and therefore good in the eyes of one, that person must consider how his or her action may affect others. This means that if one man benefits from the choice he makes but thousands suffer from it, that man who made the choice has made the wrong decision because it lowers the overall level of happiness. Utilitarian’s must keep this in mind with every moral decision they make. To a utilitarian, the overall happiness of the situation or world is the most important thing. Pleasure and the absence of pain are the general guidelines to what the general good is and those guidelines are used when determining if the action or decision at hand will benefit the general good of the world. This makes sense considering utilitarianism is nicknamed the “Greatest Happiness