John Stuart Mill Is Considered One Of The Most Influential

John Stuart Mill is considered one of the most influential philosophers of the nineteenth century. In the scholarly journal, â€Å"John Stuart Mill†, Christopher Macleod insights that, â€Å"He was a naturalist, a utilitarian, and a liberal, whose work explores the consequences of a thoroughgoing empiricist outlook† (1). One of the many things that he is widely known for is his contributions and insights of the wide spread physiological following of utilitarianism. Utilitarianism in a nutshell, is the ethical philosophy in which the needs of the highest number of people in a society over the needs of the lowest number of people is considered the ultimate choice. Mill’s interpretation of utilitarianism is that everything that is desirable is desired†¦show more content†¦Without some external basis, who is to say what is â€Å"good† and who gets to make the decision? Not to mention, what are the possible future effects if the promise of good cannot be kept. From the scholarly article â€Å"Consequentialism†, says that, â€Å"Nonetheless, according to classic utilitarianism, what makes it morally wrong to break the promise is its future effects on those other people rather than the fact that the agent promised in the past† (Sinnott-Armstrong 1). As you can see, the philosophy of utilitarianism does not consider how credible nor how sure the needs of the many will achieve happiness or reduced pain from rejecting the few. Another negative aspect of the â€Å"Greatest Happiness Principle† is the considering the other side of the decision. What about the needs of the few? Will choosing the needs of the many grantee the best outcome? Sinnott-Armstrong disagrees. He insights that, â€Å"An act can increase happiness for most people but still fail to maximize the net good in the world if the smaller number of people whose happiness is not increased lose much more than the greater number gains† (1). From thi s quote, he is stating that even choosing highest number of people may not always be the right decision. It is also proven from Sinnott-Armstrong that choosing the greatest number over the few will actually lower their own happiness as a result. In real-world situations, the â€Å"Greatest Happiness Principle† can’t always make real-worldShow MoreRelatedUtilitarianism, By John Stuart Mill And Utilitarianism880 Words   |  4 Pageswith John Stuart Mill and Utilitarianism it is a little bit easier. Utilitarianism is an easy one, for the reason that it is defined by the greatest happiness for everyone involved. Sometimes it does not always make everyone content, but if you look at it as a whole it makes sense. Mill says that we have to look at the bigger picture. One person’s happiness affects another’s and so on. 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