Paper 2 (Utilitarism)

Paper 2 (Utilitarism)

  • Submitted By: C-Mcc
  • Date Submitted: 02/26/2015 7:48 AM
  • Category: Philosophy
  • Words: 805
  • Page: 4
  • Views: 1

By John S. Mill standards, no one with a decent amount of intelligence would willingly sacrifice 30 or 40 points of their IQ in exchange for a life guaranteed full of basic pleasures based on his concept of higher and lower pleasures. In Utilitarism, Mills’ uses the principle of Utility to help justify and distinguish the difference between higher and lower pleasures. Siting that higher pleasures tend to be morally and intellectual based and lower pleasures are those of a more physical nature. Mill also used his concept of pleasures (higher and lower) to defend the ethical theory of Utilitarism, also known as the Greatest Happiness Principle.
Utilitarism is a philosophical theory first introduced by British philosopher Jeremy Bentham, which basically holds an action to be held right if it tends to promote happiness for the greatest number of people. The theory also explained that happiness ultimately leads to pleasure, which is what most people strive to have in their life. To further support this theory, Mills’ offers the explanation “that some kinds of pleasures are more desirable and more valuable than others”1. His argument is that not all pleasures are equal, that some pleasures are intrinsically superior to others and should be preferred. He essentially places them into two categories, intellectual pleasures and sensual pleasures. Presumably higher pleasures are generally more intellectual pleasures and lower pleasures are more sensual pleasures. In addition to the types of pleasures as described above, Mill’s also recognized that both quality as well as quantity must be considered when determining the true value of a pleasure.
But Mills’ pointed out that in order for people to truly appreciate higher pleasures they must be able to comprehend and recognize what they are. By Mill’s account, the only way for someone to know what higher pleasures are is they would need to have experienced lower pleasures as well. Mill states, “Now it is an...

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