Happiness Principle,\' Developed by Utilitarian

¶ … Happiness Principle,' developed by Utilitarian philosophers including Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill states: "actions are right only insofar as they tend to produce the greatest balance of pleasure over pain for the largest number of people." Although it is the centerpiece of one of the best known 'consequential' ethical theories that has found useful practical application in certain circumstances, the principle suffers from serious pragmatic and ideological shortcomings.

John Stuart Mill, the 19th century English philosopher, played a vital role in consolidating the Utilitarian theory, originally introduced by Jeremy Bentham, as a major ethical theory of modern times. While defending the basic idea of Bentham that morality or immorality of an action depends on the extent of pleasure or pain it generates, made significant improvements to the structure, meaning, and application of Utilitarian theory (Kemerling). For example, Bentham had treated all forms of happiness as equal, whereas Mill made a distinction between the intellectual or moral pleasures and more physical forms of pleasure -- and considered the former as "superior" to the latter. In order to explain the difference, he famously wrote: "It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied." (Quoted by Fox).

Mill also endeavored to raise the Utilitarian ideal to a higher plane than that of unqualified egoism or selfishness on which it was allegedly based. For instance, he disagreed with Bentham's premise that while pursuing his own happiness, an individual is only prevented from harming others' interest by the external, socially-imposed threat of punishment and blame. Mill believed that human beings are also motivated by such internal sanctions as self-esteem, guilt, and conscience, and do possess an 'unselfish' desire to do good for others; hence the pleasure one derives from doing good for others and the need for avoidance of pain or bad feeling one gets while doing wrong to others, are equally powerful motivators.

A pertinent example of how the 'greatest happiness principle' is applicable in the real world while deciding morally complicated issues is provided by the decision by the United States to use the Atomic bomb against Japan during World War II. 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.