John Stuart Mill was a philosopher who rejected the notion of psychological egoism. In essence, Mill expressed support for utilitarianism under a hedonistic belief. Hedonism in this case “implies that the mental state of pleasure is the only thing having intrinsic value (and the mental state of pain is the only intrinsic evil),” (Brink, 2014). It is the idea that everyone is pursuing a state of happiness, and should always behave and make choices that will bring them closer to that point of happiness. A person should pursue decisions that will also contribute to the greatest happiness of all beings. Mill was also famous for his philosophy on liberalism, or that all beings should be free from the absolute rule of another. In no way should a person interrupt the liberty of another person unless it was to prevent harm (Brink, 2014).
Immanuel Kant was a philosopher that valued morality. Moral requirements to Kant “are based on a standard of rationality he dubbed the ‘Categorical Imperative’ (CI). Immorality thus involves a violation of the CI and is thereby irrational,” (Johnson, 2008). Reason is self-governing, and does not include an overarching influence of emotions or passions. Common sense and reasoning would be judgments that “any normal, sane, adult human being would accept,” (Johnson, 2008). A person has a moral obligation to act right, although this is not defined by spirituality, since “reason cannot prove or disprove the existence of Divine Providence,” (Johnson, 2008). Instead, people should “consult facts drawn from experience in order to determine how best to apply [the principle of moral responsibility] to human beings and generate particular conclusions about how we ought to act,” (Johnson, 2008). A person holding behaving by this philosophy would have to be very observant of other people, and generate a moral code based on facts and responsibility to the law and to common humanity and unity.
Aristotle would be a precursor to Kant and Mill’s philosophies. He believed that “ethical virtues (justice, courage, temperance and so on) [are] complex, rational, emotional and social skills What we need is a proper appreciation of the way in which such goods as friendship, pleasure, virtue, honor and wealth fit together as a whole,” (Kraut, 2014). Aristotle, like Mill, believed in the highest good. Where having companions is a good thing to have, Aristotle philosophized that the highest good, or happiness, is something to be sought after since “all other goods are desirable for [the highest good’s] sake,” (Kraut, 2014). In other words, having good things, like friendship and love, would lead to happiness. So it is necessary for people to seek these good things in order to live well.
Kant and Aristotle’s theories resonate the best with my own cultural identity. As an African American woman who lived in the South, it is vitally important to use my resources in order to pursue happiness and success. The goods in my life would be surrounding myself with powerful friends as women, to help my family, and to be supportive of my ethnic community. I appreciate Kant’s view of reason, and sustaining a moral obligation to stand by what is right. Facing misogyny and racism so often has left me unable to fully agree with Mill’s perception of seeking the greatest happiness for the entire whole.
While I appreciate the notion of utilitarianism in that if we can find ways to unite together and defeat racism and misogyny, I cannot really stand by to give the greatest happiness to those who seek to oppress me in any way. This is because I do have a moral obligation to stand up to those people, and grow to be a stronger person and a better caretaker despite my experiences. I can, however, seek a utilitarian approach to anyone living under oppression. I think that ignorance and bigotry are tools that would seek to harm my liberty, as Mill describes it. My responsibility to fight against bigotry and ignorance is to follow Aristotle’s idea of seeking the highest good, or happiness and living well.
References
Brink, D. (2014, August 22). Mill’s moral and political philosophy. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/mill-moral-political/
Johnson, R. (2008, April 6). Kant’s moral philosophy. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-moral/
Kraut, R. (2014, April 21). Aristotle’s ethics. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-ethics/
