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The Philosopher of the week...

The Philosopher of the week. Drumroll, please… . He made utilitarianism palpable to the masses…. The one, the only…. John Stuart Mill 1806-1873. Biography. Mill was born and raised in London, England. His father, James Mill, was an economist, philosopher and historian.

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The Philosopher of the week...

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  1. The Philosopher of the week... Drumroll, please…

  2. He made utilitarianism palpable to the masses… The one, the only….

  3. John Stuart Mill1806-1873

  4. Biography • Mill was born and raised in London, England. • His father, James Mill, was an economist, philosopher and historian. • Young John Mill was intensely educated, learning Greek and Latin before he was five years old! • He became emotionally unstable in his late teens, refusing to attend Oxford (duh!) or Cambridge (huh?) • He eventually followed in his father’s footsteps and went to work for the East India Trading Company • He served as Lord Rector of St Andrew’s University as well as in parliament in Westminster (London).

  5. John Stuart Mill has been called the most influential English-speaking philosopher or the 19th century. His most influential ideas were in the areas of moral and political philosophy.

  6. On Liberty Mill believed that an individual should be able to do as he pleases unless he harms others.  Mill also believed that the government should only interfere when it is for the protection of the society • "The sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number, is self-protection. That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilised community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others."

  7. Moral Philosophy • This is the branch of philosophy that deals with ETHICS, or why we do what we do. • It is as much about what is inherently right and wrong as it is about what we should and shouldn’t do in a given situation. • Mill’s contributions were in an area of moral philosophy called… • UTILITARIANISM • This philosophy had already been considered before Mill, by a man named Jeremy Bentham. • Mill made utilitarianism a bit more applicable to everyday reasoning, as well as to theories of what is morally right, and people’s political rights.

  8. The Problem of Rights • The difficulty with rightsis – how do we distinguish the merit of separate and conflicting rights claims. Who’s rights ‘win’ when we are in conflict? • E.g. Suppose my religious practice disgusts everyone else in the surrounding community. Should I continue to practice? • We need to develop a higher order principle/theory to decide the tough questions…

  9. UTILITARIANISMIS THAT THEORY! • The theory of utilitarianism is based on the principle of the greatest good for the greatest number of people. • It is based not on what you want/need as an individual, but what the outcomes of your actions will be for the greater community. • As an ethical theory, it attempts to provide a rational rather than a religious basis for morality • THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT SHIFT IN MORAL THEORY! • It meant we would be able to sanction and judge acts as good or bad on something other than religious grounds.

  10. Democracy and utilitarianism are inextricably linked. • The way we determine what to do is to take a vote, and whatever the majority wants wins.

  11. Let’s consider a hypothetical situation. • Suppose you are a District Attorney in a community that is composed of easily recognizable majority/minority communities. • A member of the majority community has been killed and witnesses have reliably identified a member of the minority community as the perpetrator, but the police have been unable to find the exact person • The majority community is screaming for vengeance and on the verge of rioting. • We estimate that in the course of the riot, at least 10 people from the minority population will be killed by mob violence. • The idea is to act so as to produce the greatest happiness for the greatest number.

  12. WHAT DO YOU DO? • For Mill, utilitarians should aim not at simply satisfying wants, but satisfying “better” wants: making the greatest number of people ‘happy’ or serving the greater good. • How do we distinguish between wants? • It means sometimes we make a sacrifice in one realm of the community to see the greater good achieved.

  13. We need a moral compass of some kind to help us know what to do. • Let’s put it into a modern context. • We’re going to watch a TED talk on what it means to have a ‘moral operating system.’ • http://www.ted.com/talks/damon_horowitz.html

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