Founder of utilitarian school of thought was

• History • European History • John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), 19th century England's most impactful philosopher, sought to reconcile the ideas of utilitarianism, liberalism, and romanticism. John Stuart Mill was a prolific writer, having written books such as On Liberty, Utilitarianism, The Subjection of Women, and his autobiography, among others. Mill advocated for women's rights, having witnessed the intellectual might of his wife, and staunchly defended personal… John Stuart Mill • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •...

Utilitarianism is one of the most powerful and persuasive approaches to normative ethics in the history of philosophy. Though not fully articulated until the 19 th century, proto-utilitarian positions can be discerned throughout the history of ethical theory. Though there are many varieties of the view discussed, utilitarianism is generally held to be the view that the morally right action is the action that produces the most good. There are many ways to spell out this general claim. One thing to note is that the theory is a form of consequentialism: the right action is understood entirely in terms of consequences produced. What distinguishes utilitarianism from egoism has to do with the scope of the relevant consequences. On the utilitarian view one ought to maximize the overall good — that is, consider the good of others as well as one's own good. The Classical Utilitarians, Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, identified the good with pleasure, so, like Epicurus, were hedonists about value. They also held that we ought to maximize the good, that is, bring about ‘the greatest amount of good for the greatest number’. Utilitarianism is also distinguished by impartiality and agent-neutrality. Everyone's happiness counts the same. When one maximizes the good, it is the good impartially considered. My good counts for no more than anyone else's good. Further, the reason I have to promote the overall good is the same reason anyone else has to so promote the good. It is not pecu...

English philosopher and economist John Stuart Mill was born in his father’s house in Pentonville, London, on May 20, 1806. John Stuart Mill, (born May 20, 1806, Early life and career The eldest son of the British historian, economist, and philosopher Fables, Anabasis, and the whole of the historian While the training the younger Mill received has aroused amazement and From May 1820 until July 1821, Mill was in Two newspapers welcomed his contributions— The Traveller, edited by a friend of Bentham’s, and The Morning Chronicle, edited by his father’s friend John Black. One of his first efforts was a solid argument for freedom of discussion in a series of letters to the Chronicle on the Rationale of Judicial Evidence (5 vol., 1827). He took part eagerly in discussions with the many individuals of distinction who came to his father’s house and engaged in set discussions at a reading society formed at the home of English historian

Modern Morality and Ancient Ethics It is commonly supposed that there is a vital difference between ancient ethics and modern morality. For example, there appears to be a vital difference between virtue ethics and the modern moralities of deontological ethics (Kantianism) and consequentialism (utilitarianism). At second glance, however, one acknowledges that both ethical approaches have more in common than their stereotypes may suggest. Oversimplification, fallacious interpretations, as well as a broad variation within a particular ethical theory make it in general harder to determine the real differences and similarities between ancient ethics and modern morality. But why should we bother about ancient ethics at all? What is the utility of comparing the strengths and weaknesses of the particular approaches? The general answer is that a proper understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of virtue ethics and modern moral theories can be used to overcome current ethical problems and to initiate fruitful developments in ethical reasoning and decision-making. This article examines the differences and similarities between ancient ethics and modern morality by analysing and comparing their main defining features in order to show that the two ethical approaches are less distinct than one might suppose. The first part of the article outlines the main ethical approaches in Table of Contents • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • There are at least two main criteria that each moral t...

1. Pleasure or Happiness Is the Only Thing That Truly Has Intrinsic Value. Utilitarianism gets its name from the term "utility," which in this context does not mean "useful" but, rather, means pleasure or happiness.To say that something has intrinsic value means that it is simply good in itself.A world in which this thing exists, or is possessed, or is experienced, is better than a world without it (all other things being equal). Now Mill admits that we seem to value some things other than pleasure and happiness for their own sake—we value health, beauty, and knowledge in this way. But he argues that we never value anything unless we associate it in some way with pleasure or happiness. Thus, we value beauty because it is pleasurable to behold. We value knowledge because, usually, it is useful to us in coping with the world, and hence is linked to happiness. We value love and friendship because they are sources of pleasure and happiness. 2. Actions Are Right Insofar as They Promote Happiness, Wrong Insofar as They Produce Unhappiness. This principle is controversial. It makes utilitarianism a form of consequentialism since it says that the morality of an action is decided by its consequences. The more happiness is produced among those affected by the action, the better the action is. So, all things being equal, giving presents to a whole gang of children is better than giving a present to just one. Similarly, saving two lives is better than saving one life. That can seem qu...