Question

What role, if any, does the greatest happiness principle play in Mill's rule-utilitarianism?

Answer 1

Ans. Happiness is the most important thing and that this is best achieved when individuals are free to pursue their own goals. In applying the greatest happiness principle to actions and situations, it considers the implications for utility if the action were taken to establish a rule. The Greatest Happiness Principle holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. By happiness is intended pleasure and the absence of pain. As long as the greatest number increased their happiness, any act against the minority could be justified, including torture, sacrifices and even rape. Therefore, the rule that one should tell the truth is a means of securing the greatest happiness for the greatest number within society as a whole. In each case, the rule takes priority over my immediate situation.