Central principle of utilitarianism

Utilitarianism

Utilitarianism is a central feature of Western ideas about society, so intrinsically bound up with the cultural framework that it is often applied without acknowledgment. Developed as a system of thought by John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), this form of analysis sought to explain the nature of the human creature and its choices of behavior and from this develop principles of legal policy and legal reform. Taking the biological individual as the basic unit of analysis, utilitarianism asserts that his or her purpose is to gain happiness through the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain. Correspondingly, public policy and law should facilitate choices that promote the “greatest happiness of the greatest number” of a specific population— understood as the sum of happiness of the individuals considered as a whole (Mill, P.45-52).

These ideas were later put forward by the so-called “philosophic radicals” in Britain as a basis for social policies in the 19th century. Thereafter, the principles and purposes of utilitarianism have almost invariably found their way into social analysis and policymaking. His argument was persuasive; the discussion will analyze whole concept and examples.

Conceptual Overview and Discussion

As a legal argument, utilitarianism directs the policymaker to assess the results of existing or proposed laws. If it is criminal law, seeking to prevent certain behaviors through threat of punishment, an attempt is made to “make the punishment fit the crime” by being sufficiently unpleasant, but no more, to deter such actions. In this context, an argument for (or against) capital punishment will examine both particular and similar cases to assess whether the death penalty produces the desired results (i.e., whether it reduces the chances of people killing each other). If, on the other hand, the law is one that aims at distributing economic resources in a way to increase the satisfaction of needs and desires (through welfare measures), studies must assess the altered circumstances of the persons affected.

There is no specific list of material or moral preferences and goals linked to the utilitarian analytical approach other than the satisfaction of individuals and the production of happiness. It is not a Big Brother approach to social policy, directing the one or the many toward that which is “best for them” in the mind of the researcher or the policymaker. Happiness is a personal thing, and the happiness of a group or community of individuals is the sum of what they ...