Philosophy for AS and A Level: Epistemology and Moral Philosophy by Michael Lacewing

Author:Michael Lacewing [Lacewing, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781138690394
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Published: 2017-07-03T21:00:00+00:00

Mill discusses these points briefly in Utilitarianism, Ch. 2, when replying to objections (6) and (7) (see p. 211). It is correct to say that utilitarianism considers people's intentions as irrelevant to whether the action is morally right or not. However, that does not mean that it thinks intentions have nothing at all to do with morality. They are relevant when considering whether someone is a morally good person. And a utilitarian can say that an intention that tends to produce morally wrong actions, such as intending to harm someone, is itself a bad intention, while intentions to produce happiness are good intentions. But we need to separate the judgement of whether an action was right or wrong from the judgement of whether the intention was good or bad.

Good intentions can contribute to the greatest happiness in another way. Having good intentions is one of the ‘ingredients’ of happiness. In MILL'S ‘PROOF’ OF UTILITARIANISM (p. 220), he argues that the desire to do good is one of those things that is desirable (good) for its own sake. For people who desire to do good because it is good, it is part of their happiness that they have this motive. Doing good is, in itself, pleasant to them. If we desire to do good, and nothing prevents us, then we also intend to do good. So good intentions are also part of a good person's happiness. For the utilitarian, this is the best possible psychology to have. What is good is maximising happiness, and here is someone who aims at and gets happiness from maximising happiness – what could be happier!

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