John Stuart Mill
Born 1806, he lived to see 1873.
30 Philosophers, Chapter 29: Mill and Utilitarianism.
John Stuart Mill was born on May 20, 1806, in London, to James Mill, a Scottish-born philosopher and economist, and Harriet Barrow. His Greatest Happiness Principle lies at the core of utilitarianism, advocating for actions that maximize utility, generally understood as producing the greatest well-being for the most people, but how do you measure or evaluate this “utility” or “happiness?”
On May 8, 1873, at age 66, surrounded by a few friends and his stepdaughter Helen, John Stuart Mill took his final breaths.
And now, a premium bonus.
Once people gain political and intellectual freedom, the next question is what they should do with it. Mill’s answer centered on human development, liberty, and the good of society.
Subject: Individual Liberty.
By Mill’s time, generations of thinkers had already weakened the old assumption that rulers should control belief, speech, and individual life. That opened space for a deeper question: what kind of society helps people thrive? Mill argued for broad individual liberty, constrained mainly by harm to others, while asking how freedom could contribute to the greatest good. To live your life well, use your freedom to flourish while protecting the freedom of others to flourish too.
What theory asserts that the most moral action is the one that produces the greatest overall amount of happiness?.
Answer. Utilitarianism.
was first published on TST 2 years ago.
