n that would be caused and evaluate how both sides would be affected. Through this calculation of pleasures and pains, one could tell what was right or wrong. John Stuart Mill, also a British philosopher, modified and expanded on Bentham’s principles. Mill’s approach insists on qualitative utilitarianism, which requires that one consider not only the amount of pain or pleasure, but also the quality of such pain and pleasure. An utilitarian must consider both the consequences of an action and the good and evil that accompanies it. There are advantages and disadvantages in applying this approach to my own life. I know when I am faced with decisions I do find myself weighing all outcomes, what is right and wrong, and what consequences might result. For example, I encountered a dilemma at my summer job two years ago. I was an usher at a concert venue and I was faced with turning my friend’s nephew in for having marijuana on him. It was wrong for him to have the drugs with him but at the same time he would of gotten into a lot of trouble. Could I do that to my friend? Could I not do anything at all? As I contemplated this problem, I did take the utilitarianism approach in trying to decide what would be the best thing to do to handle this. In the end I did turn him in to my boss, as not only was that my job, but if anything happen as a result of using the drugs I would feel responsible for not notifying someone. The disadvantage to this is that there is not enough necessary information available and there is no scale on which to weigh the various considerations. Granted he was only sentenced to community service, how did I know that he consequences could not have been worse, like being sent to jail. I could of decided to handle it myself instead of turning him into my boss. This approach helps in deciding between right and wrong but when it comes to what the consequences actually are and how everyone in t...
