Jeremy Bentham passed down his philosophy of utilitarianism to John Stuart Mill, Mill used this doctrine to express many of his ideas socially and politically. I would argue that utilitarianism is one of his most important views. It provides background for his views on socialism, morality, capital punishment, and women’s rights. As a liberal of his time, he used utilitarianism to justify his promotion of the modernization and progress of society rather than sticking to tradition. This was seen as very radical progressive behaviour in British society as they thrive of off tradition (no matter how archaic). His doctrine of utilirarianism and influence from Jeremny bentham made him a very famous philosopher and former member of Parilament.
As previously mentioned, John Stuart Mill was a huge proponent of the political doctrine of utilitarianism. In essence, this doctrine holds that an action or policy is morally right if it “promotes happiness and that the greatest happiness of the greatest number should be the guiding principle of conduct” (Mill). This is why it is commonly referred to as the greatest happiness principle. Mill argues in favor of Utilitarianism because it embodies a view of the good life. Moreover, pleasure and freedom from pain are the two most desirable things in life. Mill defends this principle claiming “actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness” (Mill). Jeremy Bentham, Mill’s mentor, heavily influenced Mill’s view and strong affiliation with utilitarianism. One difference between Bentham and Mill’s doctrines of Utilitarianism is that Bentham only considered the quantity of pleasure whereas Mill considered both the quantity and quality of pleasure. As I will discuss later on, his philosophy of utilitarianism is a very broad category which influenced his views on many other aspects of life.
Mill is considered a liberal icon of his time. Inspired by his promotion of utilitarianism, Mill was an advocate for socialism. This is heavily based in his belief in pleasure over pain and the greatest quality of said pleasure for the greatest amount of people. His view socialism was this: “Mill was happy to argue that it should provide certain kinds of public goods: quality education for all, various forms of public healthcare, providing parks and places and recreation, basic utilities, means of communication, funding for the arts and sciences, and endowments to promote human excellence.” These claims as to what the state should provide for citizens are clearly fueled by the idea that the greatest number of people should experience the greatest happiness in order to live in a moral society. Mill is a proponent of what we now call liberal socialism which promotes the idea of equality, enforced by the state, for all people. If all people are equal in all aspects of life and are in good standing, pleasure would outweigh pain by far. This is what really attracted Mill to socialist philosophies. His doctrine of utilitarianism pervades into many of his beliefs in life.
Given the greatest happiness principle, it is intuitive that Mill would not lightly express his support of capital punishment. He claims that capital punishment is “incompatible with resepct for human life.” However, he strongly supports capital punishment for the “aggrevated murderer.” This line of thinking is influenced by his utilitarian conception of morals. A murderer would not provide the highest quality of pleasure for the greatest amount of people, rather they would do quite the opposite; inspire fear and make the world a scary place to live in. If a murderer was sentanced to death, it would provide the most pleasure for the most people. Some may find his logic confusing but one must contextualize it in the frame of utilitarian morals. This is precisely why utilitarianism is one of the most important aspects of Mill’s life. It influenced all areas of his thinking and reasoning. Because he was an MP (member of Parliament) it is crucial that he had a consistent philosophy behind the policies he supported. One can appreciate that almost all of Mill’s views are consistent with his foundational beliefs.
Mill was considered very progressive for his time, this explains why he was a proponent of women’s rights and equality. Women are part of society are are therefore considered when utilitarians think of the highest possible net happiness. Mill’s work, The Subjection of Women, is the direct source of his belief in equality and his disdain for any sexism. He writes that “inequality of women was a relic from the past…it had no place in the modern world.” He pushed this argument further by saying that if half of the human race is subjected by sexism and discrimination, it hinders societal development because certain members are not being valued. He also writes that the societal expectation that women should marry men and be subservient to them invokes an idea of slavery. Slavery does not provide the greatest happiness for those affected. Mill essentially argued that societal discrimination of women keeps the cycle of sexist salvery alive and well. In order for soiecty to be morally right, it must adhere to utilitarian ideals and clearly a society in which sexism is accepted as a norm does not follow those ideals.
John Stuart Mill is infamous today among philosophers, political scientists, and lawyers because of his doctrine of utilitariansim. I chose this as his most influential/important views because of how it heavily influenced his views on many issues. It is also a very prevalent political philosophy today. Utilitarian sympathies can be found in many modern day libertarians. This ideal was also very important in helping Mill popularize his liberal and progessive ideals in a society that is very based in tradtion. His utilitarian views allowed for him to blaze a trail of inclusion, approval for diversity, and diverting the path away from tradition and towards progress. This was rather shocking for British society at the time however Mill played a crucial role in defining the labour party of today as well as liberalism and progressivism.
Glossary:
Utilitarianism-
the doctrine that actions are right if they are useful or for the benefit of a majority.
- the doctrine that an action is right insofar as it promotes happiness, and that the greatest happiness of the greatest number should be the guiding principle of conduct.
Progressivism- support for or advocacy of social reform.
Naturalism- a theory that relates scientific method to philosophy by affirming that all beings and events in the universe (whatever their inherent character may be) are natural.
Liberty- the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one’s way of life, behavior, or political views.
Socialism- a political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means
of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.
Morality- principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior.