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The morality of the act can be defended by the Utilitarian principle that the number of deaths (250,000+) caused by dropping the weapons of mass destruction over Hiroshima and Nagasaki was less than the deaths that would have been caused by a land invasion of Japan ("John Stuart Mill").
However, despite the considerable improvement and sophistication provided by Mill to the philosophy of Utilitarianism and the practical usefulness of the 'greatest happiness principle' the theory still suffers from serious flaws.
Dr. Ruut Veenhoven, a professor of Erasmus University, Rotterdam, for instance points out in an article that the 'greatest happiness principle' is particularly problematic when applied at the level of individual choice. This is because we cannot usually foresee the consequences of our actions or whether they would produce happiness or pain but paradoxically the Utilitarian theory deems well-intended behavior to be a-moral if it happens to pan out adversely. He gives the example of a loving mother who saves the life of her sick child who grows up to be a criminal and wonders how could she be condemned for such an act,...
2002. November 6, 2008. http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl201/modules/Philosophers/Mill/mill.html
Fox, James. "Utilitarianism." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. November 6, 2008. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15241c.htm
Garth Kemerling. "Utilitarianism." Philosophy Pages. February 21, 2002. November 6, 2008. http://www.philosophypages.com/hy/5q.htm#lib
Veenhoven, Ruut. "Happiness as an Aim in Public Policy: The Greatest Happiness Principle."
Positive Psychology in Practice. Chapter 39: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.: N.J, 2004.
Utilitarianism
Works Cited
John Stuart Mill." Great Philosophers: Oregon State University Website. 2002. November 6, 2008. http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl201/modules/Philosophers/Mill/mill.html
Fox, James. "Utilitarianism." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. November 6, 2008. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15241c.htm
Garth Kemerling. "Utilitarianism." Philosophy Pages. February 21, 2002. November 6, 2008. http://www.philosophypages.com/hy/5q.htm#lib
Veenhoven, Ruut. "Happiness as an Aim in Public Policy: The Greatest Happiness Principle."
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Mill agrees that the mischief a person does to himself can affect others, and he finds that it is right to bring to bear moral disapprobation, Whenever there is a definite damage, the case moves out of the province of liberty and into that of morality or law. With reference to that which is merely contingent, however, society can afford to bear the inconvenience (Magid 799-800). Mill in his work on
Utilitarianism John Stuart Mill believed in the subjugation of individual interests for the sake of society as a whole, but only when necessary. Of course, determining when such subjugation is necessary is not at all simple, and this is the task in which Mill distinguished himself as a philosopher. In his treatise on moral philosophy, "Utilitarianism," Mill proposed the "greatest-happiness principle" a sort of pseudo-mathematical, economic equation to determine the desirability
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