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    Mill's own revisions to utilitarianism—introducing qualit... — Carmelics
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    Supports→The dogmatism of traditional philosophical ethics is folly because it hobbles moral progress.

    Mill's own revisions to utilitarianism—introducing qualitative distinctions between pleasures—demonstrate that even consequentialist progress requires departing from rigid first principles.

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    Reasons For

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    Reason for
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    • 1.Rigid adherence to quantitative pleasure maximization leads to counterintuitive conclusions (e.g., endorsing mindless contentment over meaningful struggle).
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    • 2.Mill's qualitative distinction preserves utilitarianism's core aim—maximizing well-being—while acknowledging that well-being involves dimensions beyond measurable sensation.
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    • 3.Theoretical evolution in response to internal logical problems is a sign of intellectual maturity, not theoretical failure.
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    Reasons Against

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    • 1.Adding qualitative distinctions to utilitarianism reintroduces exactly the non-consequentialist value judgments the theory originally rejected, undermining its foundational claim.
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    • 2.Mill's revisions could reflect personal philosophical preferences rather than logical necessity—showing revision occurred doesn't prove rigidity was actually problematic.
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    • 3.If 'departing from first principles' is required for progress, then first principles lack the explanatory power consequentialism claims, making the theory foundationally unstable.
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    Key Terms

    Mill(as the subject being discussed)
    John Stuart Mill was a 19th-century British philosopher who wrote influential ideas about liberty, happiness, and what makes a good life.
    Qualitative distinctions between pleasures(as Mill's modification to utilitarianism)
    The idea that not all pleasures are equal in value—for example, Mill argued that intellectual or emotional pleasures (like reading) are higher quality than purely physical pleasures (like eating), even if they're both enjoyable.
    Utilitarianism(One of Sidgwick's three methods of ethics)
    The view that an individual self-evidently ought to aim at the maximum balance of happiness for all sentient beings present and future, whatever the cost to herself; also called Universalistic Hedonism
    consequentialist(Shared position of Russell and Moore)
    One who believes that the rightness or otherwise of an act is in some way dependent on consequences.
    first principles(The foundational class of certain knowledge in Scotus's epistemology)
    Judgments that are self-evidently true upon intellectual formation, requiring no prior derivation

    Connections

    2 topics

    Consequentialism1 linkedVirtue Ethics1 linked

    Related

    Adding qualitative distinctions to utilitarianism reintroduces exactly the non-c...If 'departing from first principles' is required for progress, then first princi...

    Details

    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    2 (1 for, 1 against)
    Edits
    1 edit
    Mill's qualitative distinction preserves utilitarianism's core aim—maximizing we...
    Mill's revisions could reflect personal philosophical preferences rather than lo...
    +3 moreShow less
    Rigid adherence to quantitative pleasure maximization leads to counterintuitive ...The dogmatism of traditional philosophical ethics is folly because it hobbles mo...Theoretical evolution in response to internal logical problems is a sign of inte...