A) Outline the main features of Utilitarianism

John Stuart Mill was the Godson of Bentham and grew up a utilitarian, he adapted some of the ideas of the Bentham, Mill believed that happiness was the basic standard for utility and not pleasure. Mill adapted his form of the utilitarian theory so that it would reflect the fact that pleasures are not all of equal value, and that he took human nature into account. Mill distinguished that there were two forms of pleasure, higher pleasures and lower pleasures. "It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied, better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied". (Mill,1861) Higher pleasures were associated with the mind, such as mental disciple and cultural activities, where as lower pleasures were pleasures associated with the body such as satisfying the bodily need for food and sleep.

Mill believed that there was a more positive role for laws in society, unlike Bentham who thought that laws were secondary. There are principles that work as a general means or securing the greater good. A good example would be lying, while there may be a good reason for lying in a certain circumstance, as an overall principle lying cannot be supported because in the end it does not support the greatest good for the greatest number. Mill acknowledged by breaking the rule may contribute to an individual's short term happiness but is detrimental to long term happiness for all those concerned, this was then known as rule utilitarianism.

Rule utilitarianism believes that firstly rules should be formulated, which are based on utilitarianism principles and each individual can then judge whether specific acts are acceptable. It focuses on general rules that should be followed by the community for the greatest goodness for the majority. This would mean that one individual may have to obey a certain rule for the greater good of the community even if doing so would cause a negative effect on themselves. However Rule Utilitarianism can still permit certain acts such as slavery, which appear to be morally unacceptable now.

Act utilitarianism believes that each act should be judged on its ability to bring about the greatest happiness for the greatest number. Act utilitarianism does not consist of any rules, but aims to provide the best decision in that particular situation on the basis of the principle of utility, which makes it very flexible. However some may say that it has the potential to justify virtually any act committed.

Preference Utilitarianism believes that you should take into account the preferences of the person concerned in each case until they are outweighed by the preferences of others. This allows people to define what pleasure and pain is for them. Peter Singer uses this to argue for the rights of animals alongside the theory of utility. In 1973 R.M.Hare argued for preference utilitarianism, he believed the "right thing" to do is to maximise the satisfaction of the preference of each individual involved.

Peter Singer proposed a utilitarian system with "the best interest" of the individuals concerned at the heart of ethical decision making, his formulation of utilitarianism replaces "pleasure" with "best interest" Henry Sidgwick's approach to utilitarianism was known as motive utilitarianism, which believed the consequence in terms of happiness of an action need not to be the motive for the action. An action could be considered good if its motive was to bring about the maximum good for the maximum number, regardless of the actual outcome

Utilitarianism promotes general happiness to the majority and opposes individual pursuits and it also offers democratic morality. It also makes sense to think of the consequences of our actions before actually doing them, which is often what most people tend to do. Bentham's utilitarianism changed British law and society, his philosophical principles extended into the realm of government. These principles have been associated with several reform acts entered into English law such as the Factory Act of 1833, the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, the Prison Act of 1835 and so on, all due to better the people of society and to provide the greatest goodness for the majority. Bentham and Mill's political reforms have had significant impact on public policy, due to utilitarianism and the government society has gained healthy systems, hospitals and education.

However many difficulties and disadvantages arise due to utilitarianism. For example a main cause of the American Civil War and the sectionalism was the issue that the south were not prepared to abolish slavery. Utilitarianism in fact helped to permit slavery because the majority, in this case the south, were happy and utilitarianism only accounts for the majority and not the minority, the slaves, who suffered and fought for their freedom for years, there appears to be no justice for a long time. Utilitarianism is acceptable in some situations as long as it does not violate the rights of small minorities.