Philosophy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Philosophy - Assignment Example of the things they say seem to parallel one another in that the same self-value is recognized though Kant says it is autonomous and comes from within and Mill seems to think it okay to take advantage of others to some degree in order to derive physical pleasure over pain. Kant was a believer in the â€Å"freedom of will† or what we call free will as it pertains to the individual. He also believed that we don’t morally sacrifice our conscience or what is â€Å"good† about us just to meet some expedient need. Mill seems to make the argument that self-preservation comes first. He isn’t going so far as to say it’s okay to trample on others for personal pleasure of the highest degree, but that self-valuation holds the highest place on the ladder. Kant believes that any reasonably sane adult, in possession of rationality and the need to be autonomous (separated from the crowd) in his moral beliefs, will answer the question â€Å"What should I do?† (in this situation) with a two-fold set of beliefs: How will it affect me, and how will it affect others? Moral virtue plus complete happiness equals Highest Good. What is our obligation, our duty, or the good will we must show others when making a determination about how to conduct ourselves in the moral universe? In Mill’s world, the only life’s happiness to be found is in rote self-gratification and the only thing mankind need fret himself about is making certain (s)he is surrounded with only that which makes him feel pleasure and no pain. All else is ‘morally’ expendable, meaning there is no such thing, really, as guilt if the person who derived the pleasurable benefit is happy. Then Kant unwittingly crosses that by saying (close enough) that true happiness comes from within. Mill’s hedonistic stance is that there is no moral guide or judge when a person is pleasuring themselves and that no one has to be surrounded by anything or anyone that does not make them happy or give them their highest pleasures in