Explain the Main Strengths of Mill's Utilitarianism
Rule utilitarianism is a form of utilitarianism that says an action is right insofar as it conforms to a rule that leads to the greatest good, or that "the rightness or wrongness of a particular action is a function of the correctness of the rule of which it is an instance
Mill separates pleasure into higher and lower as that he thinks some pleasure like higher is more for the soul and are long term and will benefit you as a person and the lower pleasures which are more material and offer short term pleasure but not the sort that lasts. He use the saying ‘Better to be a human dissatisfied than a pig satisfies; Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied‘ to show the differences between the two pleasures as that you can be a human dissatisfied which is better than being a pig who is satisfied as that you are may not be happy or content but you are doing good which is better than someone who is happy and content but doing bad. Mill is considered a rule utilitarian.
There are many strengths of rule utilitarianism over act utilitarianism. Instead of having to carry out utilitarian calculations for every act, we simply obey the appropriate rule utilitarian rule. Unlike following act utilitarianism’s rules of thumb, obeying a rule utilitarian rule can never lead us to act wrongly because rule utilitarianism defines right acts as those that obey the rules (as long as these rules do not conflict). Act utilitarianism requires that we do what produces the greatest utility in each given situation, even when that seems to go beyond the call of duty. Rule utilitarianism instead requires that we follow a rule or practice only if that rule or practice itself would promote utility.
Act utilitarianism allows anything—breaking promises, assassinating people, torturing—if that would produce the greatest utility in a particular situation. Rule utilitarianism even appears to make progress with the justice/human rights objection. Rule utilitarianism requires that a rule or practice
Mill separates pleasure into higher and lower as that he thinks some pleasure like higher is more for the soul and are long term and will benefit you as a person and the lower pleasures which are more material and offer short term pleasure but not the sort that lasts. He use the saying ‘Better to be a human dissatisfied than a pig satisfies; Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied‘ to show the differences between the two pleasures as that you can be a human dissatisfied which is better than being a pig who is satisfied as that you are may not be happy or content but you are doing good which is better than someone who is happy and content but doing bad. Mill is considered a rule utilitarian.
There are many strengths of rule utilitarianism over act utilitarianism. Instead of having to carry out utilitarian calculations for every act, we simply obey the appropriate rule utilitarian rule. Unlike following act utilitarianism’s rules of thumb, obeying a rule utilitarian rule can never lead us to act wrongly because rule utilitarianism defines right acts as those that obey the rules (as long as these rules do not conflict). Act utilitarianism requires that we do what produces the greatest utility in each given situation, even when that seems to go beyond the call of duty. Rule utilitarianism instead requires that we follow a rule or practice only if that rule or practice itself would promote utility.
Act utilitarianism allows anything—breaking promises, assassinating people, torturing—if that would produce the greatest utility in a particular situation. Rule utilitarianism even appears to make progress with the justice/human rights objection. Rule utilitarianism requires that a rule or practice