Question

Explain Mill’s Utilitarianism and its hedonist roots. How does Mill overcome the “swine ethic” epithet? What are his arguments?

2. Explain Mill’s Utilitarianism and how it forms the basis for Mill’s social/political Liberalism. How does Mill argue for freedom of expression and opinion?

3. Carefully explain why Marx’s philosophy is sometimes called historical materialism. How is it related to Hegel’s Absolute Idealism and Feuerbach’s materialist philosophy? How does it form a basis for Marxist communism?

4. According to Marx, how does the Capitalist create “surplus value” from “use-value?” How does this lead to social instability and the eventual collapse of Capitalism?

Answer 1

According to Mill, utilitarianism is a moral principle that theoretically based on the assumption that the righteousness of an act is directly in proportion to the happiness that follows them. Similarly, actions that promote unhappiness cannot be regarded morally correct. For Mill, happiness could be conceived as pleasure and the absence of pain. However, Mill also argued that pleasure can differ in quality and quantity, and that pleasures that result from an individual’s higher faculties should be weighted more heavily than baser pleasures. Furthermore, he stated that the achievement of goals and ends should also be counted as part of their happiness. By placing an emphasis on these facets, Mill was able to overcome the “swine ethic” epithet that his predecessors in utilitarianism were criticised for.

Please post the other questions separately as we are supposed to answer just one question or four sub parts of a question.