Acceptance of utilitarianism (as postulated by John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham) implies a belief that ethics are based on 'the greatest happiness of the greatest number'. This may appear to be intuitively appealing, but it certainly not easy to define 'happiness' objectively.
Happiness does not always equate to pleasure, and some pleasures are base, empty or malicious. For some philosophers, like Thomas Carlyle (1795 - 1881), measuring happiness could in no way form the basis of a profound philosophical theory of ethics. Carlyle referred to utilitarianism as 'pig philosophy', appealing to '... the swinish pleasures of the multitude'.
In the article below, the author explores the meaning and forms of happiness.
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