Individuals happiness and thegeneral happiness

Reference no: EM13523543

Utilitarianism holds that one should seek the ‘general happiness,’ not just one’s own happiness exclusively. But it is not clear how does a person figure out which course of action conforms to the Greatest Happiness Principle. Mill seems to tell us that by encouraging individuals to pursue their own happiness, the ‘general happiness’ will be promoted. One of the challenges against the utilitarian principle is that if each individual is motivated solely by the desire for her own happiness, there is no reason to assume that personal action (motivated the desire for pleasure) will at the same time promote the interests of society. What do you think about this challenge? How does Mill respond to this challenge? Do you think that the utilitarian doctrine has adequately addressed the gap between individuals’ happiness and the “general happiness”?

Reference no: EM13523543

Questions Cloud

Finding meaning in response to the holocaust : How do Buber, Levinas, and Wiesel differ from Frankl in their views of the possibility of finding meaning in response to the Holocaust? What do the terms freedom, responsibility, and suffering mean to Frankl? Does the fact that Wiesel and Frankl endu..

Subject of debate in the philosophical realm : Since the dawn of classical philosophy the question of male and female thought patterns have been a subject of debate in the philosophical realm. Do men and women think differently? Identify and explain how each of the following eras would have an..

Explain the primary ethical perspective : The ethics of Virtue have been the centerpiece of much Philosophical debate over the last twenty five hundred years. Identify and explain the primary ethical perspective in each of the following eras:

About moral issues and hold different moral standards : If men and women do think differently about moral issues and hold different moral standards, Ethics needs to incorporate the results into an appropriate ethical theory. What would be the two primary tenets of a male moral philosophy? What would be th..

Individuals happiness and thegeneral happiness : Utilitarianism holds that one should seek the ‘general happiness,’ not just one’s own happiness exclusively. But it is not clear how does a person figure out which course of action conforms to the Greatest Happiness Principle. Mill seems to tell u..

A symmetric encryption scheme : Consider the El Gamal encryption scheme, a symmetric encryption scheme

Problem with the labor theory of value : Locke does not believe that property appropriation (the activity of mixing one’s labor with natural resource and claim a right over it) will reduce the common property, why? What limits on private property does Locke establish? Once money is intro..

Symmetric encryption scheme : Symmetric encryption scheme

Reasoning involving relations of ideas-matters of fact : According to Hume, our belief in cause and effect cannot be justified by reasoning involving relations of ideas, nor by reasoning involving matters of fact. Explain Hume’s argument. (This question has two parts: first, you need to discuss the diffe..

User Account

All Pages