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This 3 page paper discusses several aspects of Utilitarianism and defined by John Stuart Mill.
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3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_HVjsmutl.rtf
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its proponents, John Stuart Mill. Discussion There have been a number of objections to Utilitarianism made over the years, most notably that any doctrine that takes as its basic tenet
the idea that mans greatest desire is to maximize pleasure reduces man to the level of swine. Or rather, those that espouse Utilitarianism are in fact swine. Its easy to
see where this comes from: if the doctrine says that mans only purpose is to maximize pleasure, that suggests a certain degree of wallowing in earthy pursuits that appeal to
our basest instincts. But Mill argues that the doctrine is saved from baseness by the fact that there are different levels and types of pleasures, and that man, being a
higher form of life than swine, will choose those pleasures that are more intellectual, rather than those that are animalistic. This brings us to the first question: Is Mills
claim that some pleasures can be qualitatively better than others consistent with his claim that only pleasure matters? Yes, because he is talking about a whole "class" of things called
"things that give us pleasure." Within that class, individuals can pick and choose the things that give them pleasure, whether its reading, poetry, films, good meals-it doesnt really matter in
the context of the doctrine. His point is that things can only be considered "better" when a majority of people agrees that they are better. Even so, whether they are
better or not they are all pleasurable, and that is the only criterion here for deciding what is pleasurable. The appeal to competent judges for the claim that intellectual pleasures
are superior to bodily ones. This would appear to be one of those points on which Mills thinking is "iffy." He insists that mankind will always choose intellectual pursuits over
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