Utilitarianism
1. Does Mill’s description of ‘higher pleasures’ make him an
elitist? Is that bad?
2. If a man brought happiness by accident – would it be
moral? compare Mill with Kant.
3. Mill spends a lot of time analyzing what people mean by
“moral”, “right” and “just”. What status do those meanings have in his theory?
Application: If you use the utilitarianism of Mill as a
judgment standard, how would you decide between going to a fun party and Shakespeare
play?
On The Subjection of Women
1. Compare his justification for attacking received opinion
on women with his justification for accepting utilitarianism
2. Is the liberation of woman an inevitable part of history?
What made it take so long according to Mill?
3. What does Mill’s frequent reference to slavery and the
traditional societies of birth and privilege have to do with his argument about
women?
Application 1: In contemporary life, the divorce rate has
gone up considerably. Is this justified by Mill’s arguments, or are they
contradicted by it?
No comments:
Post a Comment