ABSTRACT

John Stuart Mill was the leading British philosopher of the nineteenth century. Born in London, he received an intense early education from his father, James Mill, a philosophical and political writer. While pursuing a career in the East India Company, John Stuart Mill published widely in philosophy, political theory, and economics. A strong influence on his life and thought was Harriet Taylor, whom he met in 1831 and married two decades later following the death of her husband. Kant's ethical system concentrates exclusively on the reason for an action and does not take into account its results, Mill's system focuses only on consequences. He defends the view known as "utilitarianism", according to which the ultimate principle of morality is to act so as to produce as much happiness as possible, each person counting equally.