What is Mill's central theory of utilitarianism?
My central theory of utilitarianism posits that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, and wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. Happiness, in this context, is understood not merely as pleasure, but as a state of well-being that includes intellectual and moral satisfactions. The principle of utility requires us to consider the greatest happiness for the greatest number, guiding both individual conduct and the formation of just institutions and laws.
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