Analysis of the Principle of Utility

Analysis of the Principle of Utility
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Introduction to the principle of utility
The issue of moral and ethical behavior poses a great argument on what is good or bad. When defining what is right or wrong ambiguity arises and many questions are left unanswered. People have varying believes and so do great philosophers. In an attempt to solve the inherent ambiguity of what is right or wrong, mill, a great philosopher, came up with a widely used principle; principle of utility (Mill,2010). Although it has been widely opposed by some people and philosophers, a good number of people follow and believe in this principle.
The principle of utility states that all deeds are right as long as they intend to promote one’s happiness and pleasure and those that bring about pain and unhappiness are deemed as wrong. According to this principle, one’s own pleasure is paramount and all actions that promote the same are sought. Obliviously, we experience pleasure when we do things that make us happy like eating, having sex and making merry. Similarly, when we perform some intellectual activities like reading, playing, working, drawing amongst others, we experience pleasure. Although not always, we experience happiness and pleasure when doing what is right to ourselves (MacKinnon, 2011). According to mill’s principle, happiness and pleasure are the most desired outcomes in all our actions. Happiness is the only valuable, desirable and the only intrinsically good thing in our lives. Similarly, the principle focuses on desirable outcomes and satisfaction as the main intention of a good deed. Basically, the principle stresses on the end of an action.
The consequences produced by actions define what is good or evil and is solely measured by the inflicted pleasure and pain. This principle of utility tries to define happiness and pleasure as a unit of ethics and morality (Alican, 1994). This means that if an action makes you happy, then it is morally acceptable according to mill. Often, utilitarian may be heard saying good to mean happiness and bad to mean pain.
Liberty is one foundation as seen in the principle of utility. Mill believed in liberty and was against all actions that restricted people from doing what promoted good in the society. Therefore, he proposed things that promoted the general good of the society. For example, he was against people who abused and restricted women from participating in things that brought about goodness and happiness in the society.
The ancient utilitarian’s were empiricist, optimistic, progressive and most importantly, democratic. Their democracy is seen by the fact that they believed in social policy that worked for the good of all people in the society. However, if the interests of several people conflicted, the actions or policies that promoted happiness to the majority were sought.
The progressiveness of the utilitarian’s was demonstrated by their actions that questioned the status quo. According to them, if something or a certain policy does not promote this principle, change was sought. For example, if a certain policy was not working well or as desired, utilitarian’s campaigned for change. Social structures can only be useful if they promote happiness or good in the society. They judged whether a program within the society was good through the observations or experiences of the general workings and the outcomes.
Utilitarian’s decides on what actions to take by considering the likely impacts of each alternative. For example, a society that is facing insecurity may decide to erect a suicidal structure in their bridge. If this suicidal structure is meant to save more lives, then erecting it is the right thing to do. Similarly, if an alternative barrier of the same cost is more efficient in saving more lives, then it should be built. Essentially, if the status quo is capable of saving more lives, then it should remain. It is therefore important to seek the method that is more efficient in its purpose and essentially in bringing the end result as a good outcome.
Pain and pleasure are the only determiners of what ought to be done. Things such as good education, freedom, fame and fortune can only be said to be good if they promote happiness or pleasure. These are called instrumental goods by philosophers because in many instances they are useful in promoting pleasure or happiness. In this case, pleasure is an intrinsic good, that is, they is they are good in themselves.
Measurement of pleasure and pain
When determining what to do, we need to consider the types and ranges of pleasure we are bound to experience. Therefore, we should count, compare and measure the pleasurable outcomes produced by the wide range of available alternative actions so as to know which the best action to seek is. According to utilitarian’s, pain and pleasure are states that are quantifiable by use of terms like duration, intensity, likelihood and fecundity. These terms are use...