Is Mill a Rule Utilitarian? Essay -- essays research papers

D. VinsonIs Mill A Rule Utilitarian?I dont believe so. I must begin my argument with two definitions and integrity assumption. First, Rule Utilitarianism states that righteousness achieve is defined by whether or not a given action is an instance of a moral rule that tends to increase utility. Second, Act Utilitarianism states that right action is defined by whether or not a given action maximizes utility. Finally, the Utilitarian Principle holds that right actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. I hope that my assumption leave be granted as it is taken verbatim from the text. With these notions as a starting point I believe that I can now state Mill to be an act-utilitarian.The case for Mill being a rule-utilitarian is a strong one. Mill certainly relies heavily on rules in his treatise and argues that they are recyclable to the point of necessity.To consider the rules of morality as improvable is one thingto pass over the intermediate generalizations entirely, and toendeavor to test each individual action directly by the firstprinciple is another.Further on in the text, Mill even seems to minimize the importance of the first principle by declaring that it is hardly useful for settling disputes ove...