Blog 4

The general theory we have been learning about in class recently is the main human goal is to increase all good outcomes and minimize the bad; however there has been much debate over what this “good” actually is. I believe that the most defensible theory of goodness is Mills’ theory of well being. Although this theory has its objections, it addresses them head on. Also, other theories of goodness addressed in class seem to collapse into Mills’ theory when simplified. This theory basically states that the well being of a human depends largely on their mental states, and in order to achieve “goodness”, one’s mental states must be pleasurable consisting of higher and lower pleasures. The main objection to this theory is a scenario where a person does not know a truth to something that could make his life not good unhappy. It’s suggested that this truth does not make his life good although his mental state is pleasurable and happy. The response to said objection is that not actually knowing this horrid truth is more good to the person than not because ignorance is bliss. In the long run, the more the individual stays unaware of this truth, the better off the individual’s well being is.

Other theories that oppose Mills’ theory of well being are merely external fulfillment's that when satisfied, creates intrinsic feelings of pleasure and well-being. The opposing desire satisfaction theory suggests that goodness comes when your desires are met, yet if a person has all their external desires satisfied, is he or she not happy? Of course they are, their mental states are then pleasurable. The theory of the objective list view states that a person achieves well being when they have a number of things in their life, such as pleasure, satisfied desires, achievement, and more. But who is to tell a person what is good for them other than themselves? There is no greater being who has so much knowledge and well being to create such a list and command that everyone must live like that in order to create a good life. On the other hand, if this list is determined individually, then it would satisfy all the desires of that individual purpose thus giving that person a pleasurable mental state and in turn “goodness”. Both of these objective external theories, when simplified, fold into Mills’ theory of well being.