Mill's Proof of the Principle of Utility

Authors

Dale E. Miller, Old Dominion UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-3-2019

Publication Title

1000-Word Philosophy

Pages

4 pp.

Abstract

It may seem obvious that happiness is valuable, but is it the only thing valuable for its own sake, as opposed to being useful as a way to get something else?

The 19th-century utilitarian philosopher John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) argues that it is.[1] His argument is notorious because some critics charge that it contains obvious errors. This essay considers whether Mill really makes elementary blunders.

Comments

Publisher's version available at: https://1000wordphilosophy.com/2019/09/03/mills-proof-of-the-principle-of-utility/

Original Publication Citation

Miller, D. E. (2019). Mill’s proof of the principle of utility. 1000-word Philosophy. https://1000wordphilosophy.com/2019/09/03/mills-proof-of-the-principle-of-utility/

ORCID

0000-0002-8946-0040 (Miller)

Repository Citation

Miller, Dale E., "Mill's Proof of the Principle of Utility" (2019). Philosophy Faculty Publications. 87.
https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/philosophy_fac_pubs/87