Research on Mill's Theory of Utilitarianism

Actually his imbibes are presented as a reinterpretation, his point being that Epicureanism has been mis lowstood by the philosophers of his feature age as, presumably, merely thoughtless hedonism. He argues that Epicureanism has much in common with Christianity (a philosophy of sacrifice) and Stoicism (a philosophy of grace under pressure). Indirectly, he is arguing that Utilitarianism, too, has been misunderstood, which sets the stage for his extended elaboration of the main aspects of the theory.

The virtuous structure of totality in Utilitarianism is identified as the fact that "pleasure, and freedom from pain, are the only things desirable as ends." That formulation entails a hierarchy of values, which comes down to an explanation of marcher values and concepts in terms of the whole and positions them vis-a-vis the whole. This explains, for example, Mill's view that "some kinds of pleasure are more than desirable and more valuable than others." But the point is that whatever does not belong in the ends of Utilitarianism appears to be considered either subsidiary to the whole or hostile to it in whole or in part.

The totalizing tenet of Utility as Mill describes it comes down to moral structures and fashion that inhere in the greatest good for the greatest derive; this is reinforced by Mill's equating Utilitarianism with the Greatest Happiness Principle. such an equation implies

that Mill's moral philosophy is profoundly social, i.e., that the moral content of individual actions, attitudes, and behavior, which is to be judged gibe as it is consistent with the ends of Utility, overlaps with and perforce spreads across guild as a whole. Indeed, the practical application of Utilitarianism must be in company. On the other hand, the conceptualization of and responsibility for Utilitarianism resides in the individual, more exactly the individual's association with principles of morality that go out coincide in the greatest happiness and pleasure spread across the greatest number.

This can be problematic, for the truth is that individual and social priorities and preferences will not always be identical.

Undoubtedly, the point at which a society's interests and the individual's part, moral action can be interpreted as an action of sacrifice, which of course could cause individual unhappiness. But that is irrelevant, correspond to Mill. Utilitarian happiness does not refer to "the agent's own happiness, only that of all concerned [= society]." Thus the proof of Utilitarianism is in the action, whatever the individual agent may think, or whether the agent thinks at all. Behavior and externals, which go to make up the bring into being of humanity experience as shared social experience are what matter.

The higher faculties, i.e., reason, are uniquely available to humankind, which is uniquely positioned to shape human experience, which is uniquely defined in society. Human beings are also uniquely positioned to engage in actions against interest or instinct. It is not unreasonable to suggest that human beings who behave altogether consistent with instinct and self-interest would shape a society that behaves in a way unrecognizable as moral and virtuous as far as known society is concerned. Mill takes the view that it makes just as much instinct for individuals to behave with virtue, in ways that are meant to have the install of creating a virtuous society as in
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