Kant and Mills Moral Philosophy Term Paper

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Thus, according to Mill, a state of thriving morality would be that in which each individual constantly pursues his own happiness and at the same time that of the others, through all his actions. Mills uses as a central argument for his theory of morality the 'golden rule' of Christianity, as he calls it, which states that each individual should only act as he in his turn would be acted upon by his fellow beings and that each person should love his neighbor as himself: "In the golden rule of Jesus we read the complete spirit of the ethics of utility: 'to do as you would be done by' and 'to love your neighbor as yourself."(Mills, 17) Morality is thus grounded on the awareness and the pursuit of individual good as well as the good of the whole.

Of the two theories described here, Kant's metaphysics of morality seems to be the more pertinent one. The main reason is that to understand, as the German philosopher proposes, the abstract idea of good seems to be indeed the token of a superior, rational judgment.

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The value of good will is independent of the empirical conditions in which the action takes place. Mill's pursuit of general happiness seems less valid by comparison, because of the number of contradictions that can ensue (for example, the happiness of one person may be in the detriment of that of another human creature). Also, Kant realizes that in man's imperfect state, the empirical conditions can considerably change the outcome of a certain action that was meant to be good. Finally, the fact that Kant associates freedom of thought with what he calls a 'good will' suggests that a man has to be truly superior to be able to act solely on the basis of his will, and not from duty or self-interest. Thus, if everyone would act out of a truly 'good will', that is, the will that follows the abstract and pure idea of good, it could be said that the human society has evolved to a higher state. It can be maintained therefore that moral awareness is the most important thing in our world.

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