Mill’s Utilitarianism varies from the most general form of...

Mill’s Utilitarianism varies from the most general form of utilitarianism, which claims that one should assess persons, actions, and institutions by how well they promote humans’ happiness. Mill branches off of this basic explanation by interpreting the misconceptions of utilitarianism into utility. This utility is something in opposition to pleasure. In order words, mill utilitarianism utility is the greatest happiness principle. Going along the ultimate end in an accordance to the greatest happiness principle is an existence exempt as far as possible from pain, and as rich as possible in enjoyments, both in point of quantity and quality; the test of quality, and the rule for measuring it against quantity, being the preference felt by†¦show more content†¦So with mill’s principle of utility with exclusive emphasis on the unique intrinsic value of happiness may be a little outlandish because a normative ethical theory of utilitarianism is not of hedonistic character but more so important. The utility principle takes on characteristics that in all utilitarian theories have in common is not the conviction that happiness or therefore anything else in particular is intrinsically good but that the moral understanding of actions is a function of their tendency to promote a sort of intrinsic value, whatever that standard of intrinsic value may be. It would seem then that this principle of utility sho uld be primarily, if not solely, a principle on the moral evaluation of actions. Mills secondary principles are very important in mills quest to explain rules in our moral reasoning. In the text mills takes a position where he defends the utilitarian’s appeal to various moral precepts as secondary principles (chap 2). His discussion often places a comparison to rules of thumb, but the text in Chapter 2 suggests that these secondary principles are generally, imperfectly reliable guides to doing what will maximize happiness and that these secondary principles satisfy two conditions. One being that following this principle but imperfectly leads to optimal results. Secondly the suboptimal results that adherence to what the principle produces cannot be identified reliably and efficiently in advance. 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