Utilitarianism

Utilitarianism is the moral view that actions are right if they promote overall happiness and wrong if they produce pain.

John Stuart Mill defines happiness in Utilitarianism as pleasure together with the absence of pain. Unhappiness is pain and the lack of pleasure. For Mill, happiness is the only thing desirable. Everything else is good only as a means to producing pleasure or preventing pain.

Utility or usefulness in morality is measured by how much an action increases this balance of pleasure over pain for everyone affected, not just for the person acting.

Mill insists that happiness is not just any pleasure. Intellectual, moral, and aesthetic pleasures are more valuable than purely bodily pleasures. He distinguishes intellectual, moral, and aesthetic pleasures from bodily or purely sensory pleasures. He argues that intellectual, ethical, and aesthetic pleasures are qualitatively better than sensory pleasures. He claims that competent people prefer pleasures with higher quality.

Each person’s happiness counts equally. No one’s happiness is more important than anyone else’s. Moral agents should consider the total and average happiness of their actions’ effects. It makes utilitarianism a broadly impartial and consequence‑focused theory.

Humans naturally care not only about their own pleasure but also about others, especially loved ones. Concern for others’ happiness is an integral part of each person’s own happiness. It narrows the gap between ‘my good’ and ‘the general good’. People eventually desire general happiness as a constituent of their own well-being.

Comments

Rise of Indian Nationalism

In India , the decades after the First War for Independence (1857) were a period of growing political awareness, manifestation of public opinion, and emergence of leadership at national and provincial levels. Gloomy economic uncertainties created by British colonial rule and the limited opportunities that awaited for the increasing number of western-educated graduates began to dominate the rhetoric of leaders who had begun to think of themselves as a nation despite differences along the lines of region, religion, language, and caste. Dadabhai Naoroji formed East India Association in 1867, and Surendranath Banerjee founded Indian National Association in 1876. Indian National Congress is formed in 1885 in a meeting in Bombay attended by seventy-three Indian delegates. The delegates were mostly members of the upwardly mobile and successful Western-educated provincial elites, engaged in professions such as law, teaching, and journalism. They had acquired political experience from regio...

Effects of Colonization in India

Some people still have the illusion that the British Raj was not all that bad. But in reality is that the British Colonial rule as against the interests of the common people of the Indian sub-continent and it destroyed the education system, economy, ancient monuments and livelihood of the people. One can trace the education system in India to third century B.C. Ancient days, the sages and scholars imparted education orally. After the development of letters it took the form of writing. Palm leaves and bark of trees were used for education. Temples and community centers often took the role of schools. When Buddhism spread in India , education became available to everyone and this led to the establishment of some world famous educational institutions Nalanda, Vikramshila and Takshashila. These educational institutes in fact arose from the monasteries. History has taken special care to give Nalanda University , which flourished from the fifth to 13th century AD, full credit for its e...

History of India - The British Raj

British India or British Raj is the term used to refer to the period of direct British imperial rule of the Indian Subcontinent which included the present-day India , Myanmar , Bangladesh and Pakistan from 1858 to 1947. Much of the territory under British control during this time was not directly ruled by the British, but was nominally independent Princely States which were directly under the rule of the Maharajas, Rajas, Thakurs and Nawabs who entered into treaties as sovereigns with the British monarch as their feudal superior. The British abolished the British East India Company and replaced it with direct rule under the British Crown in 1858. In proclaiming the new direct-rule policy to "the Princes, Chiefs, and Peoples of India", Queen Victoria promised equal treatment under British law, which never materialized. Many existing economic and revenue policies remained virtually unchanged under British Raj. But several administrative modifications were introduced...

Election Talks

The Election Commission of India announced the general election to the 15 th Lok Sabha on March 2, 2009. The elections will be held in 5 phases starting on April 26, 2009 and ending on May 13, 2009. The results of the election will be announced on May 16, 2009. Two phases are over by now. In democracy the election is opportunity to discuss about the future of the country. The state of economy, the current policies, the achievements and failures of the current government etc. should be part of that discussion. Unfortunately our politicians and main stream media seems not interested. Major parties published election manifestos as usual. It talk about subsidies, pensions and free stuff. Also some useless claims of secularism, stability and security. But all of them failed to provide a plan for the future of our country in this fast moving interconnected world. The major discussion points of our politicians are still around secularism. All of them favouring religious and communal elemen...

History of India - The First War of Independence

India 's First War of Independence was a revolt of Indian soldiers and people against the British rule. Historians have used the terms like the Indian Mutiny or the Sepoy Mutiny to describe this event. The rebellion by Indian troops of the British Raj started in March 1857 and continued for months. It had diverse political, economic, military, religious and social causes. Under the Doctrine of Lapse introduced by Lord Dalhousie as part of the British policy of expansionism, if a feudal ruler did not leave a male heir through natural process the land became the property of the British East India Company. In eight years Lord Dalhousie annexed many kingdoms including Jhansi , Awadh or Oudh , Satara, Nagpur and Sambalpur to the company's territory. The feudal landholders and royal armies found themselves unemployed and humiliated. Even the jewels of the royal family of Nagpur were publicly auctioned in Calcutta , a move that was seen as a sign of abject disrespect by the remn...

Towards Independence

After many years of struggle and resolutions, Indian National Congress finally passed a resolution which asks for complete independence for India . On August 8, 1942 the Quit India Resolution was passed at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee which demands complete independence from Britain . It proposed that if the British did not accede to the demands, massive civil disobedience would be launched. At Gowalia Tank, Bombay , Gandhi urged Indians to follow non-violent civil disobedience. He told the masses to act as an independent nation and not to follow the orders of the British. His call found support among a large number of Indians. It also found support among Indian revolutionaries who were not necessarily agree to Gandhi's philosophy of non-violence. Within the Indian independence movement there was a concept of an armed force fighting its way into India to overthrow the British Raj. During the Second World War, this plan found revival, with a number...

History of India - Islamic Rulers

The Deli Sultanate refers to the many Muslim dynasties that ruled in India from 1206 to 1526. Several Turkish and Afghan dynasties ruled from Delhi : the Slave dynasty (1206-90), the Khilji dynasty (1290-1320), the Tughlaq dynasty (1320-1413), the Sayyid dynasty (1414-51), and the Lodi dynasty (1451-1526). During the last quarter of the twelfth century, Muhammad of Ghor invaded the Indo-Gangetic plain, conquering in succession Ghazni, Multan , Sindh, Lahore , and Delhi . Qutb-ud-din Aybak, one of his generals proclaimed himself Sultan of Delhi. In the 13th century, Shams ud din Iltumish (1211 - 1236), a former slave-warrior, established a Turkic kingdom in Delhi, which enabled future sultans to push in every direction; within the next 100 years, the Delhi Sultanate extended its way east to Bengal and south to the Deccan, while the sultanate itself experienced repeated threats from the northwest and internal revolts from displeased, independent-minded nobles. The sultanate was in co...

Mathematics in Ancient India

The first appearance of evidence of the use of mathematics in the Indian subcontinent was in the Indus Valley Civilization, which dates back to around 3300 BC. Excavations at Harappa , Mohenjo-daro and the surrounding area of the Indus River , have uncovered much evidence of the use of basic mathematics. The mathematics used by this early Harappan civilization was very much for practical means, and was primarily concerned with weights and measuring scales. By 1800 BC, Indian mathematicians were discussing the idea of infinity, pointing out that "if you remove a part from infinity or add a part to infinity, what remains is still infinity." By about 400 BC, Indian mathematicians were doing more work on the idea of infinity. The Surya Prajinapti defines five kinds of infinity: an infinite line beginning from an endpoint, an infinite line going directions, an infinite plane, an infinite universe, and the infinity of time. Lot of progress was made in geometry as a result ...

The Pause Principle

The Pause Principle is the practice of intentionally stopping and reflecting before acting. Pausing is a deliberate and strategic act that enables clarity, awareness, and better choices. It is a simple concept with profound implications for leadership, learning, and life. In a world addicted to speed, the idea of slowing down can feel like a failure. We praise hustle. We reward reaction. We glorify multitasking and speed as if they were synonymous with effectiveness. But the best decisions, the most powerful conversations, and the most transformative moments don’t come from speeding up. The term was coined by Kevin Cashman, a leadership coach and author of The Pause Principle: Step Back to Lead Forward. The term captures the essence of a powerful paradox: slowing down can speed up your effectiveness. When we pause, we engage the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for complex thinking, empathy, and decision-making. In contrast, reacting impulsively often activates t...

Influencers

Influencers are people who build a large or highly engaged audience. They can attract their attention and influence their behavior. They are central to modern social media culture and marketing strategies. An influencer is someone who affects the opinions or behavior of followers. Their power does not come from formal expertise but more from perceived authenticity, relatability, and ongoing interaction with a community that trusts them. There are celebrities with millions of followers and a smaller group of communities. Brands often use smaller groups to target and drive high engagement. Mega‑influencers are used for massive reach and visibility. Influencer marketing uses endorsements, reviews, and product placements in influencer content to drive awareness and sales. The influencer is taking advantage of the trust followers place in them. Because many consumers see influencers as more relatable than traditional celebrities, their recommendations can feel like advice from a friend, w...

What's in mind?

Search This Blog