Essay Example on John Stuart Mill on Utilitarianism: Happiness & Comfort

Introduction

According to John Stuart Mill, "Actions are right proportion as they tend to promote happiness, which is wrong because they tend to produce the reverse of happiness" (Shafer-Landau, 2010). Mill, in this scenario, talks about utilitarianism to give a moral theory of happiness. Mill means that satisfaction is just a pleasure and a lack of pain, but he believes that comfort varies according to quantity and quality. Some desires are rooted in someone's high faculties should be measured heavily with other baser preferences. The paper will define Mill's theory of utilitarianism concerning happiness and compare it with Kant's first and second categorical imperative, then compare the two approaches when it comes to the understanding of happiness.

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Mill's Theory (Right and Wrong)

Mill's theory means that utilitarianism is coinciding with other natural sentiments that come from our social behavior. This means that if society decided to embrace the philosophy of utilitarianism as a form of ethics, people would be able to internalize the standards they incorporate. He believes that happiness is just one basis that consists of morality, and other individuals do not desire anything in life but only delight. Mill can support this theory by giving an example of other objects of an individual's desire, which are just a means to get happy or added in the definition of happiness. Mill says that the sentiments found that injustice only focuses on utility and rights exist because they are considered essential to human happiness.

According to Mill, an example of a situation where someone is doing something wrong is a scenario in which someone decides to give pleasure while focusing on personal happiness. There is no own happiness because it is essential to consider what other people feel. Someone's actions impact the other party's satisfaction, so it is wrong to focus only on personal happiness since it will be the reverse of happiness. On the other hand, an example of a situation of someone doing the right thing is when someone decides to make actions while considering how the other parties will feel. This means that the other parties will be impacted positively, and the results will be happiness.

Happiness Goals

Researchers and skeptics have various definitions when it comes to happiness. My opinion of happiness is based on an example of a person who is addicted to drugs, are they happy? They tend to be feeling good when using medicine, so they are so glad. However, I believe that an even-keeled feeling is healthier psychologically than an atmosphere in which one achieves high levels of happiness daily. This is because what goes up must come down (Shafer-Landau, 2010). Most people believe that satisfaction is what makes life worth living, but most of them forget their moods. Others find other things to be meaningful, like money, love, and virtue. This is because their main focus in life is to feel good daily. It is because they undermine the ability to feel good, no level of good feelings can satisfy someone because what is expected is impossible for most of them. People are right to terminate the current relationship when they find a spouse who brings more happiness to them.

People should stop remaining in the relationship holding to their history with their spouses and have miserable lives. One will only live once, and whether making a mistake or not, no one should be compelled with people who they do not love anymore. However, to me being disloyal to one spouse or partner is wrong. Whether married or having a boyfriend or a girlfriend, people should learn to maintain their loyalty. Individuals find it hard to be happy while in poverty, and money cannot buy happiness either. Many people tend to spend their windfall on material things, new cars, new houses, new gadgets, their bucket list is always the pinning items. It is exceptional to spend money on experiences with other people. Taking your family on weekend gateways visiting new and exciting places with your friends and family will make you much happier, but people rarely choose this. The theory of Utilitarianism by Mills has received criticism from other scholars, including Kant, for many reasons. This is because they believe that it does not give proper when it comes to the rights of individuals; they think that not everything is measured using the same standard, and happiness is more complex than what Mill reflects in theory.

Kant Imperatives and Controversy

According to Kant, there exist both categorical and hypothetical imperatives. A definite is unconditional and absolute and is not dependent on any interior motive. On the other hand, hypothetical imperatives are associated with a purpose (Shafer-Landau, 2010). For example, do not kill is a categorical imperative. It is a general law and does not depend on any interior motive. On the other hand, "do not kill if you don't want to be haunted by the people you kill spirit" is the hypothetical imperative. In this case, there is an interior motive, which is not universal since most people do not depend on spirits. A spirit is haunting the rationale. According to Kant, while on the morality controversy, people need to ask themselves if the action they are about to make is consistent with duty. They also need to ask if their maxims can be considered as the universal law.

Example (Kant's Idea)

For example, can it be a universal law to kill an eight-year-old boy to save hundreds of people who are dying? Moreover, is it the only option to keep people? In case there is no option, one is obliged to save as many lives as possible that the universal law. Hence, according to Kant, it is morally right to kill the child and save thousands of people. Mill, on the other hand, would not agree on the death of a child. No one would be happy by the end of an eight-year-old child. Even if death saves a thousand people, they will always feel bad for owing their lives to a child. According to Kant, though killing the child will not make people happy, it is the right thing to do.

Mill and Kant's Theory Comparison

The two theories can give a good base of morality. According to Kant's categorical imperative, Mill's theory of utility offers essential formulations. Kant's opinion is better because his view can emphasize the significance of rationality, portability, consistency, and respect of individuals in how they live life. Kant is correct because moral absolutes will never be violated. After all, this helps prevent any problems like self-serving exceptions, loopholes, and personal biases when determining duties in life.

Conclusion

Researchers define happiness as finding meaning in what you do, the good feeling daily. General satisfaction is genetically determined than anything else; life changes and moods fluctuate; both are relatively stable. Consistent effort can make this be offset; that's the good news. Thinking of weight if you take in food as much as you want and you're active, your body will gain or settle at a certain weight unlike eating less and engaging yourself in some exercises your weight will adjust accordingly. One will stay at this new weight when the diet becomes a daily routine. Your weight will remain to get back to how it was when you get back to your healthy eating and exercising routine, and so it goes to with the cycle of happiness. Additionally, philosophers differ in their objective of what is ethically right or wrong. Either way, individuals' social setting will help them define what is morally right and wrong.

Reference

Needs, D., & Falls, E. The Ethical Life Fundamental Readings in Ethics and Moral Problems.https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/1d08/eb09ea1acb7d7ebac3743a212905f04e3e37.pdfShafer-

Landau, R. (2010). The Ethical Life: Fundamental Readings in Ethics and Moral Problems. The University of Wisconsin