Unlocking Happiness: John Stuart Mills Theory of Utilitarian Pleasure

Abstract

Assignment Four: Meaning of Happiness by John Stuart Mill According to Mill, right actions promote happiness while the wrong action enhances a reverse. In calculating happiness, Mill equates pleasure vs. pain, arguing that the presence of pleasure and the absence of pain result in total happiness. He further associates the theory of utility (utilitarianism) with pleasure which becomes realized without pain. In short, Mill's theory dictates that happiness becomes realized through pleasure which remains primarily defined through the absence of pain in any right action that an individual engages in at any given time. Therefore, one can argue that the moral standards set by Mill's theory of happiness dictate the proper selection of the right actions to enhance freedom from pain, thus resulting in self-happiness and the happiness of the people around you. The absence of pain in a person and the people around the person defines the realization of great happiness in any given situation. Mills argues that “If they ever fancy they would, it is only in cases of unhappiness so extreme, that to escape from it they would exchange their lot for almost any other, however undesirable in their own eyes," implying that only in painful moments that a promise may work for a change. Otherwise, happy people wish to remain happy, and no promise of extreme happiness can they give into regardless of the situation. Such a stand defines Mills' understanding of the value in connection to happiness. A person’s desire may be too valueless compared to other "groups of many" people's desires, thus the need to be considerate for the sake of mutual feelings amongst many. For instance, the cost of changing an unhappy intelligent person to a happy fool may be too valueless to a happy fool but of great...