Utilitarianism

Nonfiction | Essay / Speech | Adult | Published in 1861

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Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-2

Chapters 3-4

Chapter 5

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Themes

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Themes

The Purpose of Happiness

At the core of “Utilitarianism” is the argument that the ultimate end of human actions–what purpose or goal humans hope to achieve when humans act–is to achieve happiness. For Mill, the fact that happiness is the goal of all action is connected with definitions of morality, and he believes that morality is synonymous with whatever ultimate end humans hope to achieve with our decisions and behavior. Mill argues that happiness is the ultimate end that humans desire; therefore, actions are moral whenever they help humans achieve that ultimate end, and immoral whenever they go against it.

In Chapter 2, Mill formulates this idea in what he calls the “Utility Principle.” He also refers to his philosophy by Jeremy Bentham’s name for the idea: the “greatest happiness principle.” According to the principle of utility, “actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness” (121). For Mill, happiness essentially refers to pleasure, while the reverse of happiness essentially refers to pain. As humans act so as to achieve pleasure and reduce pain, Mill argues that morality is based around improving pleasure and avoiding harm.

Mill is careful to clarify that though utilitarianism advocates for a life based around pleasure, utilitarianism is not synonymous with hedonism, or the gratification of any and every temptation. Instead, utilitarianism encourages individuals to seek out what Mill calls “higher pleasures,” which are those pleasures that only humans can appreciate, in comparison with other animals. Mill argues that utilitarianism is a philosophy that opposes individualism; rather, utilitarianism prioritizes the good and happiness of society as a whole over that of the individual.

The Relationship Between Virtue and Happiness

Throughout “Utilitarianism,” Mill frequently discusses how virtue fits into the principles of utilitarianism. Mill first addresses this topic in Chapter 2 in his response to critics who cite individuals who voluntarily give up their happiness for the sake of others as proof of motivation that does not concern happiness.

Mill points out that these heroic individuals who embark upon “self-sacrifice” in order to live a life devoid of conventional pleasure do so to improve the lives of others and to increase their happiness. To the aforementioned critics, the existence of such individuals proves that there are other ends for human action besides happiness; specifically, these individuals are seeking out virtue. Mill argues that self-sacrifice always serves to improve the living conditions of others in society so that no one else must undergo the same sacrifice. Utilitarianism is not opposed to sacrifice or virtue, as long as its goal is to “increase…the sum total of happiness” (130). To Mill, self-sacrifice is not in and of “itself a good” (130) and is only virtuous in those cases when the happiness of others is improved.

Mill also discusses virtue in Chapter 4 while describing individuals who desire “virtue and the absence of vice” (149) rather than “pleasure and the absence of pain” (149). Though these individuals appear to contradict the principle of utility, Mill contends that they desire virtue precisely because virtue forms a part of their happiness. For most people, virtue is desirable as a means towards achieving happiness, but a number of individuals also desire virtue in and of itself. To these people, virtue is not a way of attaining a certain goal. Utilitarianism encourages “the cultivation of the love of virtue up to the greatest strength possible” (151), as those individuals who desire virtue for its own sake will only behave in ways that improve society as a whole.

The Necessity of a First Principle of Morality

In Chapter 1, Mill stipulates that the goal of “Utilitarianism” is to discover what he calls the “first principle, or common ground of obligation” (117) that lies at the heart of morality. Philosophers have debated moral actions for centuries, but none of them have defined the law that undergirds all moral decisions. For Mill, a morality debate that lacks “a clear and precise conception of what we are pursuing” (116-117) creates a field of ethics that reflects only actual behavior, rather than proposing how individuals should behave. By stipulating the first principle of morality, which Mill holds to be the principle of utility, Mill argues that individuals will be better able to determine proper moral behavior in a given situation.

The link between justice, morality, and happiness demonstrates the significance of the first principle of morality. In Chapter 5, Mill explores how the pursuit of justice can often lead to confusion regarding morally correct behavior. Mill describes situations in which individuals debate the just course of action, and one such debate concerns criminal punishment. Some people argue for punishments that match “the moral guilt of the culprit” (170) while others argue for only what “is necessary to deter from the offence” (170). This kind of confusion, as well as debates that concern taxes, demonstrate the importance of a first principle of morality. While Mill does not offer solutions to any of these social dilemmas, he argues that through considerations of “social utility alone” (171) as the first principle of morality, one can determine the appropriate course of action.