Epicurus And John Stuart Mill - 967 Words

In part one of our book, â€Å"The Good Life,† we studied five different philosopher’s viewpoints on what is needed in order for a person to have a good, fulfilling life. They all included the concepts of pleasure and happiness to some extent in their theories, but they all approached the ideas in different ways. The two hedonists we studied, Epicurus and John Stuart Mill, place heavy emphasis on the importance of pleasure. They both believe that pleasure is a necessity in the ideal life. Jean Kazez agreed with their viewpoints in her theory and said that happiness was a necessity for a good life. Epicurus and Mill also argue that there is nothing else that we ultimately desire beyond pleasure and that it is an intrinsic good. According to hedonism, pleasure is the most important good and the ultimate goal in life. Epicurus states that pleasure is in intrinsic good. Mill agrees with him, but along with Kazez, says that happiness is also an elemental good. In Epi curus’ theory, he defines pleasure as the absence of pain. Mill also uses this definition, but applies it to happiness as well. Therefore, we can agree on a definition for the two terms that makes sense: happiness and pleasure are both the absence of pain. According to Mill, happiness and pleasure are correlated. He says that happiness is the existence of pleasure. This is what drives all of our actions and desires. We desire things because it will bring us pleasure in some way and we avoid things becauseShow MoreRelatedHappiness And Happiness1736 Words   |  7 Pagesimportant miniscule differences in them that separates them from each other but overall share the same concept of happiness. Key words:Utilitarianism, Modern utilitarianism, Classical Utilitarianism, Act/Rule utilitarianism, Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill Utilitarianism The Utilitarianism philosophy’s concept is mainly characterized by two elements: happiness and consequentialism. According to the utilitarian philosophy, utilitarian happiness is most desired by humans and everythingRead MoreJohn Stuart Mill s Utilitarianism1642 Words   |  7 Pageswide range of interpretations, as well as having no clear meaning. John Stuart Mill, an English philosopher, based his controversial sentiments of happiness on Jeremy Bentham’s utilitarianism, believing that goods are the means to greatest happiness for the greatest number of peoples. Epicurus, an Ancient Greek philosopher, who similarly encouraged people to follow his pleasure based philosophy to obtain happiness. Unlike Mill, Epicurus’ philosophy is based on individualistic hedonism, which often mayRead MoreUtilitarianism, And Principle Of Utility1319 Words   |  6 Pagesappetites and, when once made conscious of them, do not regard anything as happiness which does not include t heir gratification.† (Mill, 332) There have been many philosophers who have taking up the topic of utilitarianism, but one that defines the quality of pleasures along with defining that there are actions behind picking those pleasures would be John Stuart Mill. Mill in his years of talking and discussing utilitarianism disagreed and agreed with philosophers and had a model. In this essay theRead MoreThe Theories Of Pleasure And Ethics1544 Words   |  7 PagesHuman beings can be pleasured in many different ways such as mentally or sexually. Everyone has different but shared values of ethics and how happiness is needed to fuel morality itself. Some interesting gentlemen such, Friedrich Nietzsche and John Stuart Mills were important influential philosophers from the early 19th century. I’ll be comparing both philosophers’ theories of pleasure and ethics. Also, I’m going to focusing on the major similarities and differences they individually perceive on bothRead MoreHedonism : Utilitarianism And Ancient Hedonism1255 Words   |  6 Pages(Rule). There are two major philosophers who developed and explained these two types of utilitarianism. They had different views on happiness and what happiness requires. John Stuart Mill, an English philosopher explained rule-utilitarianism. Mill explained how he believes that pleasure can vary in quantity as well as quality. For Mill there are high pleasures and low pleasures. Low pleasures may be all those temporary pleasures, the ones that are inferior; in the other hand, high pleasures are the onesRead MoreUtilitarianism, Or The Greatest Happiness Principle1407 Words   |  6 Pagesunderstanding of what Utilitarianism is can be gained by John Stuart Mill’s characterization of what it is not. He states, â€Å"I believe that the very imperfect notion ordinarily formed of its meaning, is the chief obstacle which impedes its reception; and that could it be cleared, even from only the grosser misconceptions, the question would be greatly simplified, and a large proportion of its di fficulties removed† (Mill, 2007, p. 4). In defining Utilitarianism, Mill dispels common misconceptions that are heldRead More »Explain Why Mill Distinguishes Between Higher and Lower Pleasures and Assess Whether He Achieves His Aim or Not. «1501 Words   |  7 PagesPY1101 Ethical Theory  »Explain why Mill distinguishes between higher and lower pleasures and assess whether he achieves his aim or not. « March 2005, St Andrews In his Essay Utilitarianism Mill elaborates on Utilitarianism as a moral theory and responds to misconceptions about it. Utilitarianism, in Mills words, is the view that  »actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. «1 In that way, Utilitarianism offers anRead MoreUtilitarianism, by John Stuart Mill Essay1393 Words   |  6 PagesExplain why Mill distinguishes between higher and lower pleasures and assess whether he achieves his aim or not. In his essay, Utilitarianism Mill elaborates on Utilitarianism as a moral theory and responds to misconceptions about it. Utilitarianism, in Mill’s words, is the view that  »actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. «1 In that way, Utilitarianism offers an answer to the fundamental question Ethics is concernedRead MoreUtilitarianism : The Greatest Happiness Principle1574 Words   |  7 Pagesand could be traced all the way back to the Epicureanism of the followers of the Greek philosopher, Epicurus (Mastin 2008). However, it wasn’t until the 19th century when utilitarianism began to gain its popularity and became fully developed and articulated. This is also around the time that utilitarianism began to separate into two separate branches, Rule Utilitarianism and Act Utilitarianism. John Gay (1699-1745) and Richard Cumberland (1631-1718) are a couple of gentlemen who are known for beingRead MoreJohn Stuart Mill s Utilitarianism1553 Words   |  7 PagesJohn Stuart Mill begins the explanation of his version of Utilitarianism by replying to common misconceptions that people hold regarding the theory, and as a result describes his own theory more clearly. The main issue that Mill raises is that people misinterpret the word â€Å"utility† as in opposition to â€Å"pleasure†. However, utility is actually defined as pleasure itself and also the absence of pain. â€Å"Those who know anything about the matter, from Epicurus to Bentham, who maintained the theory of utility