Topic > Philosophy: Utilitarianism by John Stuart Mill - 1314

Philosophy has offered many works and debates on morality and ethics. One of these works is the concept of utilitarianism. One of the most important writers on the theory of utilitarianism is John Stuart Mill. He suggests that utilitarianism might be the guide to morality. His writings on utilitarianism transcend the present in relation to the famous film The Matrix. In the film, people live in a virtual reality where they are relatively happy and content while the real world is filled with a constant struggle to survive. The film revolves around Neo, who tries to free people from the virtual world they live in. In light of utilitarianism, releasing these people would be morally wrong. In this essay I will first explain John Stuart Mill's utilitarianism and some objections it faces. I will then talk about utilitarianism's relationship to the Matrix and why it would be morally wrong to free people and subject them to the real world. John Stuart Mill argues that people often misinterpret utility as a test of right and wrong. This definition of utility narrows the term and denounces its meaning in opposition to pleasure. Mill defines utility as the unit of happiness caused by an action without the unhappiness caused by an action. He calls this the Greatest Happiness Principle or the Utility Principle. Mill's principle states that actions are right when they tend to promote happiness and are wrong when they tend to produce the opposite of happiness. Happiness is defined as intentional pleasure and the absence of pain while unhappiness is defined as pain and the lack of pleasure. Therefore, Mill argues, pleasure and happiness are the only desirable and good things. Mill's definition of utilitarianism states that the act... at the center of the card... is the lower bodily pleasure. Since the world is desolate and they have to struggle to survive, people will simply have to live with their basic needs instead of achieving better and higher pleasures. Furthermore, people may live less moral lives in the real world. In the struggle for survival, people might commit immoral acts such as stealing and killing. The consequences of these actions would reduce happiness and only cause pain to more people. Freeing people from the virtual reality they live in in the Matrix is ​​morally wrong. Freeing them would only cause them more pain and suffering. John Stuart Mill's utilitarianism demonstrates that by allowing people to remain in the virtual world they will be happier than in the real world and therefore will be better for the overall interest of society. Staying in the virtual world will bring maximum utility.