Utilitarianism

In this work, Mill provides a comprehensive explanation of utilitarianism, addressing its core principles and responding to various criticisms.

He argues that happiness, understood as pleasure and the absence of pain, is the ultimate goal of ethical conduct.

Mill distinguishes between higher and lower forms of happiness, preferring intellectual pleasures over bodily ones.

He also discusses the compatibility of utilitarianism with individual rights and justice, arguing that justice has a utilitarian basis and that actions are right in proportion to their ability to promote general happiness.