Browse Content
Life Worth Living is an initiative of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture at Yale Divinity School.
How does a good life feel?
John Stuart Mill on Utilitarianism & Pleasure
Life Worth Living Team
"... to the promotion of pleasure and the prevention of pain."
Listen on
What could we possibly want other than for ourselves and others to feel good?
Quote + Question + Context
How does a good life feel?
For some it may seem obvious that the good life should feel as good as possible. Indeed, what could we possibly want other than for ourselves and others to feel good? Utilitarian philosopher John Stuart Mill offers a classic formulation of this idea.
Quote
[.alt-blockquote]“Pleasure, and freedom from pain, are the only things desirable as ends; and … all desirable things … are desirable either for the pleasure inherent in themselves, or as means to the promotion of pleasure and the prevention of pain.”[.alt-blockquote]
[.alt-blockquote-attribution]—John Stuart Mill, “What Utilitarianism Is” in On Liberty and Other Essays, p. 137[.alt-blockquote-attribution]
Questions
- Do you agree or disagree that pleasure is the only desirable outcome of the life worth living? Why?
- Can you think of any other ends worth striving for? Are you sure you don’t value them only because they lead to pleasure or reduce pain?
- What limits or concerns do you see in this utilitarian perspective? What stipulations would you add to the greatest happiness principle?
- How would your life differ if you lived to cultivate the greatest amount of happiness possible in the world?
Context
- John Stuart Mill's On Liberty and Other Essays.
- Life Worth Living: A Guide to What Matters Most, Chapter 4: How does a good life feel?
Quote + Question + Context
How does a good life feel?
For some it may seem obvious that the good life should feel as good as possible. Indeed, what could we possibly want other than for ourselves and others to feel good? Utilitarian philosopher John Stuart Mill offers a classic formulation of this idea.
Quote
[.alt-blockquote]“Pleasure, and freedom from pain, are the only things desirable as ends; and … all desirable things … are desirable either for the pleasure inherent in themselves, or as means to the promotion of pleasure and the prevention of pain.”[.alt-blockquote]
[.alt-blockquote-attribution]—John Stuart Mill, “What Utilitarianism Is” in On Liberty and Other Essays, p. 137[.alt-blockquote-attribution]
Questions
- Do you agree or disagree that pleasure is the only desirable outcome of the life worth living? Why?
- Can you think of any other ends worth striving for? Are you sure you don’t value them only because they lead to pleasure or reduce pain?
- What limits or concerns do you see in this utilitarian perspective? What stipulations would you add to the greatest happiness principle?
- How would your life differ if you lived to cultivate the greatest amount of happiness possible in the world?
Context
- John Stuart Mill's On Liberty and Other Essays.
- Life Worth Living: A Guide to What Matters Most, Chapter 4: How does a good life feel?
Pairings
Our responses to life's big questions are meant to form a coherent whole—a vision of life worth living. A response to one question will fit well with certain responses to other questions, but it will be incompatible with others. We've provided the "Pairs Well With" and "Pairs Poorly With" sections for this article to help you consider these questions of coherence.
Pairs Well With
- Cost/benefit analysis
- Perhaps some Buddhist conceptions of suffering and how to overcome it
Pairs Poorly With
- Strong affirmation of the sanctity and dignity of life
- Certain Christian elevations of suffering and martyrdom
- Wilde's high evaluation of sorrow
Keep browsing
Join the LWL Community
